The Refractory Expert

All Things Refractory

Long Term Maintenance Plans

Schedule
Your first goal should be to assemble a maintenance program where the customer can schedule both critical and normal maintenance items into a timeframe that keeps the refractory repairs off the critical path of the outage schedule.

Budget
A second goal is to save the customer money. The inception of a program includes 1) a structured review of the maintenance records of the customers current maintenance program, 2) surveys of the units under operational conditions, and 3) an inspection of the refractory linings during the outage / turnaround.

Hire a reputable source to assemble a practical preventative maintenance program that will result in lower refractory costs over the long term and assist customers to handle this effort “in house” through training of plant personnel in all aspects of maintenance of refractory linings. This includes inspections of the refractory linings as well as the budgeting process to assemble the long term maintenance plan.

 

Expert Witness

Defined as “a witness who is qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education may testify in the form of an opinion or otherwise if the individual possesses the scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will help in the understanding of the facts or to determine a singular fact in issue, the testimony of the individual is based on sufficient facts or data, the testimony of the individual is the product of reliable principles and methods; and the individual can reliably apply the principles and methods to the facts of the problem.”

If you do not have the skilled resources, hire a reputable firm to assist in the collection of data to support the testimony related to litigation and to assist as an independent source of information through review, inspections and testimony as an expert witness.

Reliability

The primary source of reliability is based on simple concepts which provide a refractory lining that is based on good engineering and industry practices for the particular application.

These concepts are:

  1. Specification of the Correct Materials
  2. Engineering and Design of the Refractory Lining
  3. Pre-qualification of the installation techniques and crew
  4. Installation – installation – installation

The design of refractory lining involved the application of good engineering practices that balance the operational aspects of the equipment with the critical elements required in the refractory lining. These elements include the balancing of the design of the anchoring / tie back systems, the thermal expansion, hot load deformation and the thermal profiles into the design of the refractory lining to accommodate issues related to abrasion, corrosion, thermal mechanical attack and strength issues caused by operation of the unit. The final result is the preparation of a refractory lining that incorporates the all aspects of the engineering and design that will provide a reliable refractory lining for the project.

The pre-qualification process is based on the API standard which includes all aspects of the installation process. Additionally, you must specify the pre-qualification and testing all personnel installing welded components based on relevant ASME or AWS standards prior to application. Remember that the refractory design is only as good as the installation, therefore the pre-qualification of personnel is one key aspect of the installation process.

Improper installation of the design is a primary cause for failure for many refractory lining. A simple process of planning the installation through the preparation of installation procedures, quality verification documentation, and site monitoring / audits to verify the correct implementation of the intended design goes a long way to the successful completion of any project.

Risk Management

A successful project has incorporated plans that look ahead for the unexpected and assesses the possible impacts that future risks can have on the overall project. Part of the process is ensure that the identification all of the adverse events that can happen have a plan in place to alleviate negative impacts to operations, schedule and installations.

It is essential to with customers to identify events that could happen throughout the life of the project that would adversely impact to the schedule, cost or quality, and to work with your customer to prioritize the risks related to the project or maintenance of the equipment.

For each project, calculate risk exposure based on impact, probability and ability to control risk and establish a plan related to risk avoidance and mitigation strategies into place.

Inspection Test Plans

The purpose of an Inspection and Test Plan (ITP) is assemble documentation that records all inspection and testing requirements relevant to a specific process or area. An Inspection and Test Plan identifies the items of materials and work items requiring inspection and/or tested, the inspection parties and frequency of the inspections, as well as Hold and Witness Points.

The ITP will include references to relevant standards, acceptance criteria and the records to be maintained. Inspection and Test Plans, when properly implemented, help ensure through verification that work has been performed to the required specification, standard, site requirements, and sutiable documentation has been collected.

 

Work Procedures

A work procedure is typically defined as a step by step sequence of activities with a definite start and end point that must be followed in the same sequence in order to correctly perform the task.

In the case of refractory installation, the work procedure is a critical component that provides the connectivity between the project design and specification, the material supplier’s instructions and the actual installation.

A proper work procedure should provide the connectivity between all aspects of the installation in order to result in the desired outcome of the installation.

Current projects and maintenance programs have incorporated the Safety component into the work procedure which has changed the standard procedure into the Safe Work Method Statement or the Work Method Statement.

It is essential to incorporate the requirement for a the work method statements into each of project / maintenance specifications to ensure that there are a clear and concise set of installation instructions for the work crew to follow for each of the work tasks.

In addition, the installation crew must have both training of the work method and access to the documentation during the installation phase. In the case of international projects or locations where English is a second language, the work method statements should been translated into the local language for a clear understanding of the requirements.

Installation Methods

The installation of refractory linings have evolved dramatically over the past 60 years which has resulted in multiple installation options that are available for any given application.

The choice of the correct installation method has to be balanced with the design refractory system and material selection along with the anticipated life of the refractory lining.

There is a tradeoff between the cost of the refractory lining versus the lost production time and revenues due to down time or emergency repairs of a damaged refractory lining.

Specifications

The specification is the document(s) that accurately and plainly describe the technical requirements for the materials, procedures, quality verification, application techniques and testing to establish the guidelines for a successful installation of a refractory lining.

The cornerstone to refractory reliability lies in the creation and adherence to the specification and guideline of any project.

Material Specification

The material specification presents the specific physical property requirements for each of the material classifications that will be used on the project.

The physical properties values serve as the baseline for the refractory design, the pre-qualification for the material to be incorporated into the design, pre-shipment verification the specified material meets the project requirements as well as verification the field installation of each refractory material meets the overall requirements of the project.

The refractory specification typically incorporates the material requirement for each material that can be used as a new or replacement product which references the materials related to chemical composition, compressive or tensile strength, abrasion or corrosive resistance, shrinkage, thermal expansion, thermal conductivity as well as other physical properties related to the use of the refractory material.