Reliability and Integrity Analysis of an Air-Cooled Heat Exchanger Adriano Furini, Willy Ank de Morais

Abstract

Air-cooled heat exchangers are widely used throughout the oil and gas industry, in refineries and petrochemical plants, in low to high pressure conditions, in various temperature ranges, as well as working with fluids and in aggressive environments. Several types of damage can occur in these heat exchangers, in addition to defects and discontinuities arising from the manufacturing process, not necessarily detected by Quality Control during their installation. The complexity of the equipment, which can make inspection challenging, and the safety, environmental and economic consequences in case of failure, justifies the development and application of an integrity management program for this equipment. This work presents the use of risk analysis and statistical tools to increase the time interval between inspections and, even so, avoiding unnecessary maintenance stops and their associated risks and costs.