Is it for me?


Structural, civil, maintenance, pipeline, materials, welding, inspection and plant engineers including those responsible for maintaining welded equipment and structures, managing the integrity of ageing structures and optimizing asset performance.

Key features of the course:

  • Introduces the concepts of fitness-for-purpose and engineering critical assessment (ECA), using a mixture of lectures, informal discussion, quizzes, videos and software exercises to reinforce learning
  • Focuses on the practical applications of fracture mechanics and covers brittle and ductile fracture, plastic collapse, fatigue crack growth and stress corrosion cracking
  • Highlights fracture and fatigue procedures in BS 7910, with an emphasis on how they are applied to welded structures
  • Covers a range of relevant subjects related to BS 7910, e.g. failure case studies, non-destructive testing (inspection), materials properties, fracture toughness testing
  • Provides practical training in fracture and fatigue assessments using CrackWISE software
  • Provides engineers with a firm foundation in the application of BS 7910 to the assessment of flaws using fitness-for-purpose methods

An online live version of this course is also available via Zoom - find out more.

What will I learn?


Day 1

Failure case studies:
  • Examples of engineering failures
  • Contributing factors and lessons learnt, especially with respect to welded structures
  • Fitness-for-purpose methods:
  • Concept of fitness-for-purpose methods and engineering critical assessment (ECA)
  • Key factors affecting structural integrity
  • Fracture mechanics theory:

  • Main principles of fracture (for driving force and fracture toughness): K, CTOD, J
  • Linear elastic and elastic-plastic fracture mechanics (LEFM and EPFM)

Software Workshop:

  • Fracture assessment to BS 7910
  • Using CrackWISE for fatugue assessment
  • Fracture Quiz


Non-Destructive testing (inspection):

  • Role of NDT in ECA
  • Capabilities of major NDT methods


Materials issues:

  • Awareness of flaw types including fabrication and service flaws
  • Materials/service issues and their effects on fracture toughness

Introduction to BS 7910:
  • Background and definitions relating the day's sessions on input data to the terminology (flaw types and stress categorisation)


Day 2

Fracture mechanics testing:
  • Testing (especially welds) including preparation and post-test analysis
Fracture assessment using the Failure Assessment Diagram (FAD) approach:
  • Definition, main parameters, primary and secondary stresses, local and global collapse
  • Main features and input data to FAD assessments

Fatigue of welded structures:
  • Fatigue design of welded joints
  • Factors which affect the fatigue of welds

Software Workshop:

  • Using CrackWISE for fatigue assessment.
  • Charpy/fracture toughness toolkit


Day 3

Comparison of fracture assessment Options (1-3):
  • Material-specific FADs
  • Fracture toughness R-curves
Fatigue assessment procedures in BS 7910:
  • Fracture mechanics based calculations of fatigue crack growth
  • Fatigue quiz
Annexes of BS 7910 Part 1:
  • BS 7910 annexes - content and use
  • Recent developments in BS 7910

Software Workshop:

  • CrackWISE using R-curves and stress-strain curve data
  • Sensitivity of installation and operation cases.


Other assessment procedures:

  • Links to other flaw assessment procedures (including FITNET and API 579-1/ASME FFS-1)


Day 4

Annexes of BS 7910 Part 2:
  • BS 7910 annexes - content and use
  • Recent developments in BS 7910

Final examples and wrap up session
 

What else should I know?

All venues:
  • This course is given by specialists highly experienced in the development of BS 7910 and in the practical application of fitness-for-purpose methods to a wide range of applications including pressure vessels, pipelines, offshore structures, vehicles, bridges and buildings
  • Training time is typically from 0900-1630, including coffee/tea and lunch breaks, with an earlier finish (approx. 1500) on the final day
  • Participants receive a full set of course notes and a Certificate of Attendance
  • Temporary CrackWISE licenses are provided to participants to allow them to install and use the software immediately before, during and after the training course; participants are therefore requested to bring laptop computers to the course, with the software installed


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