Damage Mechanisms in Refineries (API 571) Training Course

Course Overview

Learning Objectives

• Analyze the role of damage mechanism knowledge in equipment integrity, inspection planning, and process safety on Day 1.
• Apply the structure and content of API Recommended Practice 571 and its relationship with inspection, risk-based inspection, integrity operating window, and fitness-for-service practices.
• Analyze mechanical and metallurgical failure mechanisms, including brittle fracture, creep, thermal and mechanical fatigue, temper and other embrittlement, erosion, and cavitation.
• Analyze uniform and localized loss-of-thickness mechanisms, including atmospheric corrosion, corrosion under insulation, cooling water corrosion, carbon dioxide corrosion, dew point corrosion, and microbiologically influenced corrosion.
• Analyze high-temperature corrosion mechanisms, including oxidation, sulfidation, carburization, decarburization, metal dusting, and fuel ash corrosion.
• Analyze environment-assisted cracking mechanisms, including chloride, caustic, amine, carbonate, and polythionic acid stress corrosion cracking, corrosion fatigue, and hydrogen embrittlement.
• Analyze refining-specific mechanisms, including wet hydrogen sulfide damage, high-temperature hydrogen attack, naphthenic acid corrosion, and ammonium chloride, ammonium bisulfide, sour water, sulfuric acid, and hydrofluoric acid corrosion.
• Identify the critical factors, affected materials, and susceptible locations for each major damage mechanism.
• Identify active and potential damage mechanisms in major refinery process units, including crude, hydroprocessing, catalytic cracking, reforming, amine, sulfur recovery, sour water, alkylation, and coking units.
• Develop corrosion loops and damage mechanism reviews for process units.
• Select appropriate inspection and monitoring techniques to detect and characterize specific damage mechanisms.
• Apply damage mechanism knowledge to risk-based inspection, integrity operating windows, materials selection, and mitigation strategies by the end of Day 5.

Who Should Attend

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
• Explain why understanding damage mechanisms is essential for equipment integrity.
• Navigate API 571 and apply it in inspection and integrity work.
• Recognize the main mechanical and metallurgical failure mechanisms.
• Identify where thinning and localized corrosion are most likely to occur.
• Recognize high-temperature corrosion mechanisms and their operating drivers.
• Identify conditions that lead to stress corrosion cracking and hydrogen damage.
• Explain the key refining-specific damage mechanisms and where they occur.
• Map damage mechanisms to major refinery process units.
• Develop corrosion loops for a process unit.
• Choose the right inspection techniques for specific damage mechanisms.
• Use damage mechanism knowledge in risk-based inspection and integrity operating windows.
• Recommend practical mitigation measures, including materials and process controls.

Course Outline