asme boiler codes

asme section 11      

UNDERTHICKNESS EVALUATION REPORT

     
Many utilities replace piping and other components when it is estimated that flow-accelerated corrosion or other causes will reduce the thickness below `minimum Code thickness'. This can be very costly if the condition is found during an outage. Our report delays most replacements so that they can be performed in the most expedient manner. Some highlights of our report are as follows:
  • This report greatly reduces your costs of evaluating local areas of underthickness by providing you with a generic evaluation enveloping most of the underthickness conditions that you will encounter. Our evaluations allow a general reduction of up to 10% below the minimum thickness calculated using the Code formulas. For piping products, this is usually more than 21% below the nominal thickness. Our evaluations also permit local areas of thinning to 50% of the required thickness in small areas with no further evaluation. Our report can be used to modify and support your corporate standards.
  • Our report contains simple, easy-to-use acceptance criteria based on nominal thickness, requiring no calculations or evaluation. It also contains more liberal acceptance criteria for use when the minimum design thickness is available, and an even less conservative, but adequate, approach to be used when some simple calculations are made. All of these criteria meet Section III Code requirements for new construction, but are often not used by engineers because of misunderstandings of the Code provisions.
  • We have justified acceptance of material below the minimum thickness required by the Code formulas to the satisfaction of the NRC. We were able to demonstrate to the NRC and their Code experts that the Code contains provisions that permit material to be less than the Code minimum design thickness in many situations.

  • We have developed an easy-to-use specification that details several ways in which the Code permits you to avoid the detailed analyses you are probably doing to satisfy Case N-480. These analyses are unnecessary, far too conservative, and costly to implement. We can show that most repairs of local underthickness are not technically necessary. With our report, you can demonstrate compliance with the ASME Code. We can also demonstrate that Code requirements can usually be met with the local underthickness, without repair or extensive calculations, or that any necessary repairs can be postponed to a scheduled outage.
  • One customer has reported that our report paid for itself within a couple of weeks by reducing the number of required analyses. We believe that our report will pay for itself by its use in one of your outages. The report is user-friendly for both inspectors and engineers and is certified as meeting ASME Code requirements.
  • Although our Underthickness Evaluation Report is easy to use, Reedy Engineering will provide any needed support in understanding or defending its methodology at no extra cost. We have also included a list of utilities that have purchased this report.

Please contact Reedy Engineering for cost of this report.

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