MECHANICAL
AXIOM’s Mechanical function specialises in the design and engineering assessment of pressure systems. Our Mechanical Engineers have been providing support to owners and operators of high hazard plant for over 20 years, working closely with our clients to improve their assets’ life and reliability, whilst ensuring industry best practices are followed.
Our team is highly qualified and skilled in working with equipment which falls within legislative requirements including PSSR and COMAH. With a wealth of experience, our capabilities include working with pressure equipment design and fitness for service codes such as PD5500, ASME VIII, ASME B31.3, API 579 and BS 7910. Service offerings include:
- Fitness for Service (FFS) Assessments
- Design of Equipment Repair and Modification
- New Equipment Design
- Mechanical Data Sheet Development
- Finite Element Analysis (FEA)
- Pipe Stress Analysis
- Third Party Review Services
- Design Verification Certificates (DVC’s)
- Fracture Mechanics
AXIOM’s Mechanical team sits alongside our Materials Engineering and Process Safety functions, to form AXIOM’s Engineering Services Division. The Engineering Services Division is supported by our UKAS accredited Inspection team, together forming a multi-disciplined service offering which allows AXIOM to deliver solutions of real value to our clients.
Take a look at our Mechanical service offerings for further details on how we can help you.
When reference to the original design code can not demonstrate FFS, AXIOM’s team of Mechanical Engineers are well versed with Level 1 and 2 FFS assessment methods to API 579.
Common deterioration modes:-
- Locally Thinned Areas (LTA’S)
- Pitting Corrosion
- General Corrosion
- Dents and Gouges
- Laminations
- Fire Damage
AXIOM can support our clients with the specification of equipment repairs when FFS cannot be demonstrated, and equipment modifications where required to support plant upgrades.
- Autodesk Inventor 3D Modelling and 2D Drafting Software
- Repairs Specified to Original Design Code
- Repairs Specified to Post Construction Code (e.g ASME PCC-2)
Repair Methods Include:
- Insert Plate
- Patch Plate
- Encirclement Sleeve
- Like for Like Replacement
FEA is used to inform the design of new equipment or the design of repairs and modifications, as well as investigating the fitness for service (FFS) and remnant life of aging assets.
AXIOM is well versed with all recognised pressure vessel design and FFS codes, such as ASME VIII, BS EN 13445, PD5500 and API 579. Consideration can be given to a variety of failure and deterioration modes, such as:
- Plastic Collapse
- Buckling / Instability
- Fatigue
- Ratcheting
- Creep
- Local Failure
- General Metal Loss
- Locally Thinned Areas (LTA’s)
- Pitting
- Fracture
- Distortion
- Dents / Gouges
Piping systems can be subjected to a large variety of loading, whether from static loading such as pressure, thermal and self-weight, and dynamic loading, such as surge.
In addition to this, the loading from the pipework is imposed onto equipment such as pressure vessels, storage tanks and supporting structures.
Services:
AXIOM can support clients with the following:
- New Design
- System Modifications
- Fitness for Service
- System Re-Rate
- Failure Investigations
- Calculate new minimum allowable thicknesses for the entire system, below original design limits
- Feed into other assessments, such as finite element analyses (FEA) or API 579-1 fitness for service
- Quantification of piping loads acting on other equipment.
AXIOM’s team of Mechanical Engineers have access to Crackwise software, licensed by the TWI, to support engineering assessments of crack like defects.Â
- TWI Licensed Crackwise Software
- Assessment to BS 7910
- Screening Assessments
- Engineering Criticality Assessments
- Crack Propagation Assessments
- Charpy / Fracture Toughness Correlation
AXIOM’s team of Mechanical Engineers can support clients with design derification services.
- Design Verification Certificates
- FFS
- Repair and Modification
- New Build Equipment
- Independent Third Party Review
- Team of Chartered Mechanical Engineers to Lead Reviews
AXIOM’s team of Mechanical Engineers can support clients with the procurement of new equipment.
- Vessel / Tank Design
- Design by Rule
- Design by Analysis
- Piping System Design
- Routing
- Stress Analysis
- Isometrics
- Support Specification
- Mechanical Data Sheet Production
- Third Party Reviews of Design Documentation
Supporting the Asset Life Cycle
