It has previously been highlighted (see The FESI Bulletin, Autumn/Winter 2019) that various key ‘themes’ have been identified as part of a more structured approach going forward on the way we go about organising FESI-related events for the increased benefit of our members and for the structural integrity community in general.
During a FESI Council meeting held on February 27, 2020 at the University of Leicester, the ‘champions’ of four of the themes presented initial information they had each compiled on providing an introduction of their theme and potential planned events to be held over the next year or so aimed at progressing the theme. We will publish their conclusions as each theme progresses over the coming months.
Below, Dr Isabel Hadley of TWI outlines the FESI Theme of Codes, Standards, Procedures, and Guidance Documents.
Background
- BS 7910: Guide to methods for assessing the acceptability of flaws in metallic structures (revised in December 2019)
- R6: Assessment of the integrity of structures containing defects (latest Amendment in July 2019)
- Several FESI members are involved in the committees charged with developing and maintaining both of these procedures, and there is a regular exchange of information between them, although the user groups tend to be distinct, with R6 predominant in the nuclear sector and BS 7910 in the oil, gas and renewables sector.
- A third assessment procedure, widely used in the downstream oil and gas sector and particularly suited to in-service damage is:
- API 579-1/ASME FFS-1: Fitness-for-service (revised in June 2016, new revision due in 2020)
- RSE-M: In-service inspection rules for mechanical components of PWR nuclear islands (last updated 2016)
- Liaison with the appropriate committee(s) to ensure that codes and standards do not unwittingly exclude certain processes, practices or procedures (there is a perception by some users that, if a code does not address a process, it is somehow forbidden). Examples might include the use of Electron Beam Welding, Additive Manufacture, or narrow gap welding, or the use of probabilistic assessment methods.
- Organising seminars to raise awareness of relevant codes and standards (eg item 1 below).
- Contributing to the biennial ESIA conference (the next of which will take place in April or May 2021).
- Identifying research work (universities, NSIRC, industrial partners) that could contribute to codes and standards.
- Providing an input to peer review of new/revised codes and standards (for example, the publication of BS 7910:2019 was preceded by a two-month Draft for Public Comment period, but in practice most comments came from existing members of the committee).
Seminars/workshops
(1) Thursday, October 15, 2020: outline plans have been made for a one-day seminar to be held jointly between FESI and The Welding Institute Technical Group on Structural Integrity (TG6) at TWI’s headquarters near Cambridge. The theme will be a comparison between the three major analytical structural integrity codes identified above, all of which have recently been updated, or are in the process of being updated. The timing of this event is intended to coincide with the renewed public availability of the R5/R6 procedures via EDF Energy.
(2) Professor Bo Chen has tentative plans to develop a session called ‘Beyond R5’, to be included in the 2021 ESIA conference (creep and creep/fatigue for future high-temperature reactors, including multi-scale modelling).
(3) The plan for New Manufacturing and Joining Techniques, prepared by Bo Chen, includes a cross-theme workshop to discuss structural integrity aspects of AM materials, and is cross-referenced here as it is relevant to both the “New Manufacturing” and “Codes and standards” themes. Date/place/details to be arranged.
Isabel Hadley
TWI Technology Fellow
TWI LTD