The holiday season is rapidly approaching and KnightHawk is available 24/7 to support you needs.  Whether it's field services, lab work, or specialty engineering services we can mobilize to support your facility.  Also, KnightHawk is a registered professional engineering firm in over 30 states and internationally registered to work on a global basis. 

• My Pressure Vessel needs a Fitness for Service (FFS) analysis for an application in the creep stress rupture regime where a crack has developed?  Can the FFS predict when I need to shut down?  The short answer is yes.  This involves a Level 3 fitness for service (FFS) analysis in accordance with API 579/FFS-1 Code.  The FEA models usually involve an elastic plastic model with creep, incorporating fracture mechanics.  Much of the process involves tuning the numerical models to the creep data.   KnightHawk has developed numerical techniques to ensure the analysis is done correctly and meets the Code requirements.  The key is defining and executing a model that best defines the physical situation that is conservative.  KnightHawk has performed over 100 of these studies that have survived third party scrutiny.  Our static equipment group has over a hundred years of experience in vessels and many involving complex risk management issues.
• Guide vanes are failing in your compressor, but the question is why? Perhaps a CFD analysis looking at the flow path can shed some light on the problem.   It is possible that a forcing function from the flow field is causing an interference with the natural frequencies of the system causing a deferential flutter.  Structural dynamics models excited by the loading from the forcing function can validate this.  KHE can evaluate the mechanical and process response using CFD and FEA tools.  Our rotating equipment group has over 150 years of experience in dealing with complex problems in Turbomachinery.
• Has the flow path through the inlet diffuser into my reactor eroded with time?  How has it changed? Laser scanning can aid in providing data on metal loss and insight to the flow path based on erosion patterns.   This data can be useful in development of flow models to help get to  the root of problem.  KnightHawk has state of the art 3-D laser scanning capability that can be done in the field or in our shop.
• Was the weld properly stress relieved or did the weld failure occur do to fatigue or overload? Lab testing can provide insight to the actual cause of the failure.  You may be surprised at the results! In these situations. Sometimes an SEM evaluation will tell the story with proper characterization by our KHE staff.  Our Materials group can get to the bottom of it in our lab.   
   

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Project Spotlights:  

Tower FFS - Petrochemical

Blower Vibration - Smelting facility

Blower Replacement - Nuclear

Division 2 Reactor Design - Vessel Manufacturing

Liquid Ring Compressor Failure Analysis - Petrochemical

Failure Analysis - Off Shore

Marine Hull Design - Defense

Acoustic Pulsation in Gas Compressor - Petrochemical 

24/7 around the world

Jim Salter
Director of Business Development
Cell: (713) 703-9111
Office: (281) 282-9200
Email: jsalter@knighthawk.com

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