Reliable life prediction and design methodology for thermal-mechanical fatigue of coke drums

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Coke drums are primary equipment associated with the processing of oil sand bitumen. Damage of coke drums, in the form of bulging deformation or cracking have been reported from time to time. Every year, millions of dollars are spent on repairs and even more (~ $2 million per day) are lost due to interruption of production. Our recently completed work has identified the leading mechanisms to initiation and propagation of damage. The work has also shown a number of further improvement opportunities in the fundamental design methodology of coke drums, including material selection, evaluation of stress/strain history, assessment of thermal-mechanical fatigue lives and operational procedures. In this proposed project we will focus on the development of a more accurate life prediction and reliable design methodology for coke drums. A corresponding design software tool will also be developed for designers, processing and maintenance engineers in the user sectors. The above targets will be reached through well planned and tightly-coupled research activities including acquiring field measurement data, laboratory experiments, numerical simulation and theoretical modeling. Five high quality personnel will be trained through participation in this research project. A more accurate understanding of damage mechanisms and the new design principles will result in constructing more robust new coke drums and in improving management of existing coke drums. As an end-product of the research project, the developed design and analysis software will make our research contributions more easily shared by coke drum fabrication and user communities. It will have commercial application within a high-demand market. Large investments in oil sands continue to occur in Western Canada. The contributions from this proposed research will not only benefit the industrial partners involved, but also extend to a large portion of the Canadian oil industry. It will increase the competence of Canadian companies in the world market, improve the profitability of the Canadian industry, free up labor demands and advance knowledge of the technology.