Fitness-For-Service Assessment for Pressure Equipment in Chemical Plants

neers (ASME), which is the international design standard for pressure equipment. Along with design and production, plant maintenance technology is also important. Maintenance technology is formed on the three pillars of inspection, evaluation, and repair and replacement.3) Inspection is nondestructive inspection technology for detecting defects arising while the equipment is in service. Evaluation is technology for carrying out evaluations as to whether the defects detected during inspections affect the soundness of the equipment from a destructive mechanical point of view. These evaluations are called Fitness for Service (FFS). Repair and replacement are technologies for carrying out repairs and replacements for the defects determined to affect the health of the plant as a result of the fitness for service evaluations. These technologies provide optimal judgment indicators according to the type and history of the equipment, the type of defect and the strength of materials rather than just carrying out indiscriminate maintenance on each piece of pressure equipment. In the field of nuclear power, operations are started with the specifications for the maintenance methods for nuclear power plants already determined by civil standards.4) In the field of pressure equipment for chemical plants in Japan, we try to draft and implement stanFitness-For-Service Assessment for Pressure Equipment in Chemical Plants Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. Process & Production Technology Center Takuyo KAIDA