Fitness-for-service (FFS) and flaw assessment(Deterministic and

Probabilistic)
Development and application of FFS techniques, can help solve problems that may arise throughout the
lifecycle of a component from design to decommissioning minimizing risk and cost.

You Will Learn To

- Analyze, evaluate, and monitor pressure vessels, piping, and tanks for continued operation
- Explain how to apply background information on fitness-for-service assessment, especially as it applies
to the refining and chemical process industries, which are the primary focus of API 579
- Identify the main parts of the API/ASME standard, as well as the annexes
- Explain the practical application of the techniques incorporated in API 579-1/ASME FFS-1
When are FFS assessments used?
Fitness-for-service assessments evaluate the structural integrity of components and their suitability for
continuous service. Procedures such as BS 7910:2013, API 579/ASME FFS-1, ASME B31G, DNV-OS-
F101 and FITNET enable the integrity of critical pressure components and welded structures to be
assessed against different failure modes, using a validated engineering approach.

An FFS assessment provides a quantitative measure of the structural integrity of a component containing
flaws. Standards used to carry out these assessments provide guidelines which can be used to make run-
repair-replace decisions, assisting plant management in identifying appropriate mitigation actions to
ensure that the component can be operated safely.

Fitness-for-service assessment is a multi-disciplinary engineering approach that is used to determine if

equipment is fit to continue operation for some desired future period. The equipment may contain flaws,
have sustained damage, or have aged so that it cannot be evaluated by use of the original construction
codes. API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 is a comprehensive consensus industry recommended practice that can
be used to analyze, evaluate, and monitor equipment for continued operation. The main types of
equipment covered by this standard are pressure vessels, piping, and tanks. This course is timely,
emphasizing the practical application of a recently updated standard.

The method can be used to support design, fabrication, operation, change of service and life extension
programs, and is employed widely in a range of industries, including power generation, oil & gas,
chemical processing andaerospace. Assessments of this type are widely used as part of the plant lifetime
management process, to confidently increase availability, reliability, efficiency and safety.

Any unplanned shutdown of a manufacturing or process plant is expensive in terms of both loss of
production and the manpower required to solve a particular mechanical integrity issue. Fitness-for-service
assessments, especially at the lower screening assessment levels, can quickly determine if equipment is
safe for immediate return to service. Higher levels of assessment can be complex and time-consuming
but still generally require less time than the ordering, supply and commissioning of replacement
equipment.

http://www.slideshare.net/ram111eg/api-579-asme-ffs-2-2009-fitness-for-service-example-problem-manual?
from_action=save
http://www.scribd.com/doc/157962536/API-579-a-S-M-E-FFS-2-2009-Fitness-for-Service-Example-Problem-
Manual#scribd
http://www.scribd.com/doc/103054729/API-579-Ejemplos

http://www.slideshare.net/SalmanAjweh/api-579-2007
http://www.slideshare.net/ram111eg/api-579-asme-ffs-2-
2009-fitness-for-service-example-problem-manual?
from_action=save

http://www.scribd.com/doc/157962536/API-579-a-S-M-E-FFS-
2-2009-Fitness-for-Service-Example-Problem-Manual#scribd

http://www.scribd.com/doc/103054729/API-579-Ejemplos

http://www.slideshare.net/SalmanAjweh/api-579-2007

Fitness for Service (Deterministic and Probabilistic)

TWI has a long history in the area of fitness-for-service (FFS) and flaw assessment, having been at the forefront of the
development and experimental validation of modern FFS methods.

Our experts are highly experienced in the development and application of FFS techniques, particularly for the avoidance of
brittle and ductile fracture and also general and local metal loss. TWI can help solve problems that may arise throughout
the lifecycle of a component from design to decommissioning minimising risk and cost.

TWI staff are actively involved in the ongoing research and development of industry standards such as British Standard BS
7910 Guide on methods for assessing the acceptability of flaws in metallic structures, API Fitness-for-Service: API 579-
1/ASME FFS-1 and UK nuclear industrys fracture assessment code R6 Assessment of the integrity of structures containing
defects.

When are FFS assessments used?

Fitness-for-service assessments evaluate the structural integrity of components and their suitability for continuous service.
Procedures such as BS 7910:2013, API 579/ASME FFS-1, ASME B31G, DNV-OS-F101 and FITNET enable the integrity of
critical pressure components and welded structures to be assessed against different failure modes, using a validated
engineering approach.

An FFS assessment provides a quantitative measure of the structural integrity of a component containing flaws. Standards
used to carry out these assessments provide guidelines which can be used to make run-repair-replace decisions, assisting
plant management in identifying appropriate mitigation actions to ensure that the component can be operated safely.

The method can be used to support design, fabrication, operation, change of service and life extension programmes, and is
employed widely in a range of industries, including power generation, oil & gas, chemical processing andaerospace.
Assessments of this type are widely used as part of the plant lifetime management process, to confidently increase
availability, reliability, efficiency and safety.

Any unplanned shutdown of a manufacturing or process plant is expensive in terms of both loss of production and the
manpower required to solve a particular mechanical integrity issue. Fitness-for-service assessments, especially at the
lower screening assessment levels, can quickly determine if equipment is safe for immediate return to service. Higher
levels of assessment can be complex and time-consuming but still generally require less time than the ordering, supply
and commissioning of replacement equipment.
Fitness-for-service assessment is a multi-disciplinary engineering approach that is used to determine if
equipment is fit to continue operation for some desired future period. The equipment may contain flaws,
have sustained damage, or have aged so that it cannot be evaluated by use of the original construction
codes. API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 is a comprehensive consensus industry recommended practice that can
be used to analyze, evaluate, and monitor equipment for continued operation. The main types of
equipment covered by this standard are pressure vessels, piping, and tanks. This course is timely,
emphasizing the practical application of a recently updated standard.

Completing this course will help participants understand and apply the API/ASME fitness-for-service
standard in their daily work. The material presented in the course shows how the disciplines of stress
analysis, materials engineering, and nondestructive inspection interact and apply to fitness-for-service
assessment. The assessment methods apply to pressure vessels, piping, and tanks that are inservice.

The course includes an extensive set of notes to supplement the contents of the recommended practice,
and the recommended practice contains numerous example problems that illustrate fitness-for-service
assessment.

You Will Learn To

- Analyze, evaluate, and monitor pressure vessels, piping, and tanks for continued operation
- Explain how to apply background information on fitness-for-service assessment, especially as it applies
to the refining and chemical process industries, which are the primary focus of API 579
- Identify the main parts of the API/ASME standard, as well as the annexes
- Explain the practical application of the techniques incorporated in API 579-1/ASME FFS-1