Tolerable FlawSM Diagrams

Nondestructive examination (NDE) of the critical welds in high energy steam piping, headers, and
turbines is quickly becoming a standard periodic maintenance item in todays power plants. Generally,
the NDE itself is quite straightforward; however, the problem arises when the NDE technician discovers
a significant weld or base metal flaw indication. This leads to the following questions:

Should the flaw be repaired before placing the component back into service?
Can the repair be delayed until a future planned outage?

Intertek Asset Integrity Management (AIM) provides the remaining-useful-life service that gives you the
information you need to make the right decisions. Prior to starting the NDE, Intertek AIM will supply
you with a Tolerable Flaw Diagram. The diagram will tell you how long the component can be operated
with the observed flaw before proceeding with repair or replacement. Once a flaw is detected and
sized, the Tolerable Flaw Diagram can be used by the responsible party to determine the remaining
allowable operating time. This operating time could be zero months, in which case the flaw must be
repaired before restart, or the operating time could be as long as 5+ years.

Intertek AIM

601 W. California Avenue 16100 Cairnway Drive, Ste 310

Sunnyvale, CA 94086 Houston, TX 77084
408-745-7000 832-593-0550
 The diagrams cover various failure modes and their combinations,
including creep, thermal and mechanical fatigue, erosion,
corrosion, and stress corrosion cracking. Once prepared, the
diagrams are used during all future inspections.

Tolerable Flaw Diagrams

Customized for specific component and

operating conditions
Show how long a component may be operated
before requiring repair or replacement
Cover various failure modes and their
combinations, including creep, thermal and
mechanical fatigue, erosion, corrosion, and
stress corrosion cracking
Once prepared, can be used during all future
inspections.

Let Intertek AIM prepare Tolerable Flaw Diagrams specifically for your
plants high energy components, such as:
Boiler piping, headers, tubing
Turbine casings, steam chests, rotors, disks, blades
Pumps, fans, condensers, heat exchangers
Pulverizers
Nuclear components including steam generators, containments, reactor vessels, auxiliary
components

For more information please visit www.intertek.com/aim or call us today at 408-745-7000.