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Delayed Coke Drum Damage & Assessment to ASME FFS - 1 / API 579 - 1

        This three day course will examine the application of the ASME VIII Divsion 2 and ASME FFS-1 / API 579 industry standard practices to the evaluation of undamaged and damaged coke drums. To date, these documents have not been successfully applied leading to alternative "blackbox" or "trademarked" approaches that have not been technically detailed and are unsubstantiated by usual engineering practices. These "black boxes" are mostly heuristic and provide unquantifiable and arbitrary guidance.

The major deficiencies in these methods are that they cannot quantitatively answer for a specific drum:

   · what is the current damage status; bulging, skirt cracking
   · what is the projected service life
   · what is the incremental damage for each cycle
   · what is the service life for an unbulged drum
   · what is the impact of weld overlay

Course Highlights

This course will begin by reviewing the applicable engineering mechanics / code criteria underlying the conventional design of coke drums and the "design by analysis" approaches of the ASME VIII Division 2 Code and the ASME FFS -1 / API 579 standard.

The primary obstacles in applying the Code and standard have been some widely held misconceptions, including

     · the thermo-mechanical loading is undefinable
     · strains can only be determined by strain gauging
     · loadings are "too complicated / complex" to evaluate
     · the thermo-mechanical strains are not calculable

A strong understanding of the applicable engineering principles and limitations underlying the industry practice documents will allow the user to apply this newly - acquired knowledge to calculate the fatigue service life of coke drums whether bulged or not, i.e., in both damaged and undamaged states. At installation, coke drums have finite service life determined by actual cyclic conditions encountered in operation. This expected service life, "at new" can be calculated. As operation proceeds, bulging will occur reflecting the unique operational exposure severity of the drum. The FFS techniques can be reliably applied to determine the incremental deterioration being experienced and allows updating of a coke drum's service life throughout its operational life. Repair / replace decisions can be made in a fully deterministic fashion rather than by a heuristic / intuitive approach.

        This course is intended for individuals who are responsible for the design, installation, inspection, repair & maintenance, or fitness for service assessments of delayed [DCU] coke drums in the hydrocarbon processing (HP) and oil sands industries. This includes inspectors, reliability & asset integrity engineers and, business unit managers who have interest in obtaining "hard numbers" to make better repair / replace and business decisions.


Detailed Course Description


Day I

1 Overview & Introduction to Delayed Coking
    · Process & Operation
    · Construction
    · Reliability Issues

2 ASME VIII Div 1 for Coke Drum Design
    · Introduction, ASME VIII Division 1
    · Design by Rules
    · Applicable Engineering Principles
    · Limitations of Principles

3 ASME VIII Div 2 for Coke Drum Design
    · Introduction, ASME VIII Division 2
    · Design by Analysis
    · Applicable Engineering Principles
    · Limitations of Principles

Day II

4 ASME FFS - 1 / API 579
    · Introduction to ASME FFS-1 / API 579
    · Application to Coke Drums
    · Limitations of FFS Practices

5 Damage Mechanisms in Coke Drums
    · Primary, Secondary Damage Mechanisms
    · Fatigue Strength of Materials
    · Particularization

6 Thermo-mechanical Loading
    · Scope
    · Determination of TM Loading
    · Application to Undamaged Drum
    · Application to Damaged Drum

Day III

7 Impact of Bulges, Skirt Cracking
    · Stress / Strain Concentration
    · Impact on Fatigue Service Life

8 Rational Service Fatigue Life Assessment
    · Design versus Service Life
    · Skirt Crack Remediation
    · Weld Overlay
    · Operational Opportunities
    · Optimal Service Life Practices

9 API TR Publications
    · API TR 935 G
    · API TR 935 J

10 Class Challenge
    · Coke Drum Experiences


Course contact and registration information can be obtained from   John Aumuller  P. Eng., Ph. D.,


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