UTComp releases FRP equipment assessment guidebook
Free online resource outlines the background and key concepts about FRP and the damage mechanisms that affect reliability.
Source } UTComp
UTComp Inc. (Cambridge, Ont., Canada) has a released a new, free guidebook that aims to help reliability engineers and fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) asset owners understand and overcome the challenges behind FRP equipment — such as vessels, tanks and piping used to store and transport corrosive materials — when it comes to inspection and Fitness For Service assessments.
“Fitness For Service of FRP Composite Assets” outlines the background and key concepts about FRP and the damage mechanisms that affect reliability. The concise, reader-friendly guidebook is based upon UTComp founder and CTO Geoff Clarkson’s 20+ years of development, validation and application of a quantitative method to nondestructively assess in-service FRP with the same rigor and confidence that current standards and practices provide for steel.
The free guidebook covers:
- FRP background and key concepts.
- Damage mechanisms in FRP.
- An overview of UltraAnalytix, UTComp’s validated attenuation-based ultrasound methodology.
- UltraAnalytix applications in the field.
“There are over 200 consensus standards and codes related to the design and construction of FRP equipment, but none of them offer any guidance on what’s required for assessing Fitness For Service,” Clarkson says. “While the gap in standards is closing, many engineers and asset owners have questions that need answers. So we put together this guidebook to provide some technical background and key concepts that help explain how we use attenuation-based ultrasound to determine the condition of FRP assets and predict their remaining lifespan.”
Access the guidebook here.
