Proceedings of the ASME 2010 Pressure Vessels & Piping Division / K-PVP Conference
PVP2010
Comparison of Thermo-Mechanical Fatigue Life Assessment Methods
for Coke Drums
Jorge A. Penso
Shell Projects and Technology (US)
Houston, Texas, USA
ABSTRACT
Assessing the life of coke drums is a challenge many
refineries have faced since the delayed coking process was
introduced in oil refineries. Delayed coking units are among the
refinery units that have higher economical yields. Welds play
an important role in the life of these vessels. Cracking and
bulging occurrences in the coke drums, most often at the weld
areas, characterize the history of the operation of delayed
coking units. Thermo-mechanical fatigue is the most common
cause for cracking in coke drums. Although coke drums
constitutes a classical example of thermo-mechanical fatigue
there are several other oil processes that are affected by this
mechanism. Hence the findings from this work could be useful
for other applications. Other possible application examples
include mixing points of hot and cold streams, coal gasifiers,
and steam generating equipment.
There are a vast number of models and methods for
estimating the thermo-mechanical fatigue life of engineering
components subjected to thermal and mechanical loads. In this
work, focus is placed on comparing some of the commonly
used methods including,
• API 579 methods
- Elastic stress analysis and equivalent stress
- Elastic-plastic stress analysis and equivalent
strain
- Elastic stress analysis and structural stress
• Creep-fatigue crack initiation using R5 Volume 2/3
• Non-linear isothermal fatigue analysis using maximum
shear strain amplitude with Morrow mean stress
correction
Copyright 2010 by ASME and Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc. All rights reserved.
July 18-22, 2010, Bellevue, Washington, USA
PVP 2010-25810
Radwan Hazime
Safe Technology (U.S.) Limited
Dearborn, Michigan, USA
In this study, a Finite Element (FEA) model is used to
estimate the cyclic stresses and strains for the skirt-to-bottom
head attachment weld. The model includes details of the
geometry, material properties, boundary conditions, and loads.
The results from the FEA are post-processed using the fatigue
methods listed above. Lastly, a parametric study on the most
important process variables is performed.
The results of this work indicate that the predictions of the
number of cycles to crack initiation are not significantly
different between various crack initiation methods, but they are
significantly different when compared with the structural stress
method (a through-thickness crack). Thus, the thermo-
mechanical fatigue algorithm selection should be based on the
assessment goals and service conditions. The parametric
analysis showed that the life of the drum is strongly influenced
by the switch temperature and quench rates with lower switch
temperatures and faster quench rates negatively impacting the
life of the drum.
INTRODUCTION
Delayed coking units (DCU) process description
Delayed coking is a thermal cracking oil refinery process
that converts heavy hydrocarbons (bottoms from atmospheric
and vacuum distillation units) into lighter, more valuable
products and coke. Delayed coking units are normally divided
into coking, fractionation, and gas concentration sections. The
feed to the delayed coking unit is pre-heated in a furnace from
room temperature up to 920°-950°F. With short residence time
in the furnace tubes, coking of the feed material is thereby
delayed until it reaches the coke drums. In the coke drums,
separation between lighter hydrocarbons (liquid and gas
streams) and coke is produced due to thermal cracking of the
hydrocarbon molecules. The lighter products exit from the top
of the drum and flow to a fractionator. However, the coke
1
adheres to the vessel wall and must be mechanically removed at
the end of the coking cycle. Figure 1 shows a simplified flow
diagram of the unit. The cycle involves steam and vapor
preheat, fill, steam and water quench and cleaning. Feed
temperature to a coke drum, as mentioned before, is 920° to
950 °F; outlet temperatures are 800° to 820 °F. The drum
operates at about 50 psi but this pressure varies during the
cycle. The entire cycle lasts between 24-48 hours as shown in
Figure 2. Coke drums operate mostly in pairs to permit the
continuous operation of the delayed coking unit. Only the coke
drum section operates in batch mode.
Fractionator
C4 and lighter
Gasoline
Naphtha
Light gas oil
Heavy gas oil
Feed
Figure 1- DCU simplified flow diagram
Typical Thermal Cycle
Steam preheat
Vapor preheat
1200
Shell Tem p. (oF)
1000
800
600
400
200
Warming time
0 Filler metals choices should follow as close as possible
0 10
Time (hours)
Figure 2- Example of an operational cycle
Coke drums characteristics
These pressure vessels are 13-30 feet in diameter and 80-
100 feet in height. Maximum shell thickness (located at the
bottom) typically varies from 0.56 to 2 inches in thickness.
Nowadays new designs consider uniform thickness. Cladding
thickness might vary from no cladding to cladding thickness
typically ranging from 0.078 to 0.127 inches.
Design
Fatigue life
Coke drums fail at different operation lives. However, the
failure frequency increases with increasing age. Typical time
spans required for through-wall cracking to occur range from
between 3000 and 5000 cycles (24-36 hours/full cycle).
However, some refineries have reported through wall cracking
after shorter time periods. In fact, it is not uncommon to
experience cracking and bulging within the first 5 years of
service. Most of the drums in service have been designed in
according with the ASME Code Section VIII Div. I Code. This
Division does not consider fatigue in sufficient detail during the
design stage [1]. Some new designs have included Div.II in an
effort to consider S-N fatigue design approach. For stress range
estimation, finite element analysis (FEA) has been used during
the last twelve years. The finite element (FE) models have been
calibrated with field temperature and strain measurements taken
from in-service drums [1].
Skirt to shell attachment welds
Coke Drums The design of the shell/skirt attachment is, therefore,
evolving continuously. The life of this welded attachment is
also highly dependent upon the geometry of the joint detail.
Furthermore, the thickness of the skirt and shell, curvature
radius and shell-skirt plate alignment all play important roles
Heater
[2]. Some designers may include the use of a forged piece to
move the weld to another area of lower stress.
FEA predictions at the skirt-shell attachment, calibrated
with strain field measurements, have shown that the stress
ranges are consistent with the stress extremes produced during
warming and quenching. The large temperature gradients
generated during these steps cause high stresses. In the case of
Steam strip Quench the shell/skirt attachment, these stresses are reversed from
Fill compression to tension.
Material Selection
Most common fabrication materials are carbon steel, 1Cr
0.5 Mo, 1.25 Cr 0.5 Mo and 2.25Cr 1 Mo. These plates are
commonly cladded with 410S or 405 austenitic stainless steels.
20 30 40 mechanical properties of the base metal. Figure 3 displays a
sketch of a typical groove weld. Normally, additional tensile,
toughness and hardness testing requirements are added over the
ASME material specifications.
High Ni alloy weld-overlay
Clad
Ni plating
Backing plate
Matching filler metal weld
Figure 3- Sketch of a typical groove weld
Fabrication
Since fatigue is a mechanism highly dependent on the
material surface condition and profile, extra care in having
smooth welding profiles should be taken during construction.
Dimension tolerances also play an important factor in the
2
Copyright 2010 by ASME and Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc. All rights reserved.
fatigue life. A tight QA/QC program should in place to assure have been used since the slots in the skirt are not considered.
compliance with design and material specifications. The model consists of incompatible mode first order hexa
elements and first order penta elements. The FEA model is
Operation shown in Figure 4.
Process variables play very important roles in the lives of
most vessels. There is a financial incentive to reduce the
durations of the warming and quenching steps in the thermal
cycle. This has led some refineries to reduce the length of these
steps. As a result, increased thermal gradients might elevate the
thermal stresses and consequently reduce the fatigue lives of
the drums.
Depending on the feed and operation mode, different types
of coke can be formed: shot, needle, honeycomb and sponge.
Some refineries believe that the differences in porosity in these
different types of coke can affect quenching rates on the drum
wall and consequently affect the stress range. Also, the uneven
quenching rate in the drum wall generates a temperature field
that is difficult to predict. In the operational cycle the following
variables have been identified as the most important affecting
the skirt to bottom head attachment weld: heating rate before
switching, switching temperature, heating rate after switching,
start temperature for quenching and quenching rate.

Welds Figure 4- FEA Model of skirt to bottom head weld.

Welds play an important role in the life of these vessels, and
it is very common to find cracks in weld areas. Standard
welding procedures use single or multiple combinations of
shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), submerged arc welding
(SAW), gas metal arc welding (GMAW), flux cored arc
welding (FCAW) and gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW)
processes. In the case of the skirt to bottom head attachment
welds, backing plate matching filler metals are the most
common choice [3]. Welds in new drums are post-weld heat-
treated (PWHT) whereas in repairs are either PWHT or
controlled deposition welded [4].
Fitness for service assessment- general approach
In this work a finite element (FE) model that includes the
shell to bottom head weld geometry, material properties,
boundary conditions, and loads is developed. The outcome of
the thermo-mechanical model is post-processed using different
fatigue algorithms. The results from various fatigue assessment
approaches are compared and the most appropriate method is
selected for parametric analysis. In the parametric analysis the
most relevant operational variables are assessed. Work is in
progress to establish correlations between key service
conditions and observed fatigue lives which will allow the
definition of optimal operational windows.
NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF SKIRT TO BOTTOM
HEAD ATTACHMENT WELD
Computational models
An Abaqus cyclically symmetrical model of the drum with
1/72 wedge section is prepared. An axi-symmetric model could
Copyright 2010 by ASME and Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc. All rights reserved.
The drum and skirt were manufactured with 1.25Cr-0.5Mo
steel ASME SA387 Grade 11 Class 2. The clad material of the
shell was ASME SA-410 grade 410S. Material properties
include those for base metal, weld metal, and heat affected
zone. Thermal and mechanical properties were collected from
ASME BPVP code Section II, ASM Handbooks [5,6], and
various publically available sources (e.g. EPRI, NIMS).
Heat Transfer Analysis:
The heat transfer analysis is based on measured cycle data
collected from a refinery. The insulated external metal
temperature is assumed to have a heat convection coefficient
h=1.00361E-3 BTU/hr-in2-F at constant environment
temperature of 100oF and the hot box cavity radiation with
emissivity of 0.45 [7]. The hot box convection with variable
amplitude sink temperature (determined iteratively) and
h=0.014201 BTU/hr-in2-F [8]. The heat transfer analysis is
performed for two complete cycles, the second cycle is
considered a thermally stable one.
The analysis consisted of four steps:
Step1: Steam and Vapor Pre-heat. Assumes a constant heat
transfer coefficients on the inside surface of 0.060 BTU/hr-in2-
F and variable single amplitude curve for the inside sink
temperature with vertically variable maximum temperature
(630o to 437oF) based on thermocouple readings.
3
Step 2: Oil fill. Assumes time variable heat transfer coefficients
on the inside surface based on coke accumulation rate. Three
heat transfer coefficients are used, pre-heat, vapor phase, and
coke with max values of 0.060, 0.14, and 0.70 BTU/hr-in2-oF,
respectively. Also a variable single amplitude curve for the
inside sink temperature with vertically varying maximum
temperature (833o to 600oF) based on TC readings is adopted.
Step 3: Steam cool down. Assumes a constant heat transfer
coefficients on the inside surface of 0.040 BTU/hr-in2-oF and a
constant sink temperature on inside surface of 420oF
Step 4: Water quench. Assumes a constant heat transfer
coefficients on the inside surface of 0.030 BTU/hr-in2-oF and a
constant sink temperature on inside surface of 138oF
Structural Analysis:
For the stress analysis, the model is stabilized to the initial
start of cycle temperature. The body force due to gravity is
applied but not the internal pressure. Two types of structural
analysis are performed: a linear elastic transient analysis, and a
non-linear transient analysis. For the linear analysis, the
transient temperature field from cycle 2 of the heat transfer
analysis is imposed. Only one cycle is simulated in four steps
similar to the heat transfer analysis. The output in this case
consists of nodal temperature, stress, and force histories. For
the non-linear FEA, a combined isotropic-kinematic hardening
model is used and five complete cycles are simulated, each
cycle consists of four steps similar to above. However, in this
case, the analysis starts with the temperature field from cycle 1
of the heat transfer analysis and repeats cycle 2 four times
thereafter. The output in this case consists of the total
mechanical strain, stress, and temperature at element nodes.
Thermal mechanical fatigue methods
There are a vast number of models and methods dealing
with thermo-mechanical fatigue life assessment in the
literature. In this work, focus is placed only on few commonly
used methods; three are based on linear elastic FEA and two on
non-linear elastic-plastic FEA.
• Methods based on linear elastic FEA
(a) fe-safe/Verity® similar to Fatigue Assessment of
Welds – Elastic Stress Analysis and Structural Stress (API
579-1 Annex B1, Para B1.5.5) [9]
(b) fe-safe/TURBOlifeTM based on Creep-Fatigue crack
Initiation Procedure for Defect Free Structures (R5 volumes
2/3, 2003) [10]
(c) Elastic Stress Analysis and Equivalent Stresses (API
579-1, Annex B1, Para B1.5.3) [9]
• Methods based on non-linear elastic-plastic FEA
(d) fe-safe Maximum Shear Strain algorithm with Morrow
mean stress correction [11]
Copyright 2010 by ASME and Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc. All rights reserved.
(e) Elastic-Plastic Stress Analysis and Equivalent Strains
(API 579-1, Annex B1, Para B1.5.4) [9]
(a) fe-safe/Verity® Elastic Stress Analysis and Structural Stress
This method is very similar to the one adapted by the
Fitness-For-Service API 579-1/ASME (Annex B1, Para
B1.5.5). This analysis method for FE models uses structural
stresses calculated from nodal forces at the weld. This method
also produces a single Master S-N curve. It has the advantage
that it removes the subjectivity inherent in weld classification
plus the added advantages of using forces and moments at the
weld, and being relatively insensitive to the FE mesh even for
quite course meshes and different element types and
formulations.
(b) fe-safe/TURBOlifeTM Creep-Fatigue Crack Initiation
This is a computer based software method for performing
thermo-mechanical creep-fatigue crack initiation calculations.
The method is based on the R5, V2/3. A computer based
algorithm maximizes the advantage of using detailed material
properties and accurate numerical calculation of stresses and
strains. It also allows the assessment to be performed at every
point in the model for the entire loading history. Elastic FEA is
used to describe transient stress and temperature fields. Plastic
strain is evaluated using Neuber’s method (other options using
Glinka’s method or negative E could also have been used).
Creep strain is evaluated using a robust creep relaxation
technique without the need to make simplifying assumptions
(time or strain hardening). Individual cycles and unmatched
half cycles are identified. The progression from monotonic
material behaviour to cyclically behaviour is included. The
fatigue damage is calculated using temperature dependent
strain-life curves. Ductility exhaustion curves are used to
calculate creep damage as a function of creep rate and
temperature. Creep-fatigue interaction is accounted for by
means of a creep-fatigue interaction diagram. The creep
properties of the heat affected zone used with this method are
estimated based on a published investigation by Laha et al. [12]
(c) Elastic Stress Analysis and Equivalent Stresses
This method has been adapted by API 579-1/ASME FFS-1
(Annex B1, Para B1.5.3). In this method, the controlling stress
for the fatigue evaluation is the effective total equivalent stress
amplitude, defined as one-half of the effective total equivalent
stress range calculated for each cycle in the loading histogram.
The primary plus secondary plus peak equivalent stress is the
equivalent stress, derived from the highest value across the
thickness of a section, of the combination of all primary,
secondary, and peak stresses produced by specified operating
pressures and other mechanical loads and by general and local
thermal effects and including the effects of gross and local
structural discontinuities.
(d) Maximum Shear Strain amplitude with Morrow mean stress
correction
4
 The maximum shear strain criterion proposes that cracks plots show reasonable correlation to allow the model to be used
will initiate on planes which experience the maximum shear in the parametric analysis.
strain amplitude. The strain life equation with Morrow mean
stress correction can be written as,
∆ γ max σ ' −σm
= 1.3( f )(2N f ) b + 1.5( ε f' )(2N f ) c
2 E
∆γ max is the maximum shear strain range on a critical plane
σ m is the mean stress on that plane
σ f' , b, ε f' , and c are the Coffin-Mason coefficients
E is the Young’s Modulus Figure 5a- Skirt to bottom Figure 5b-Drum 1 foot above
head weld the weld line
In this case, the mechanical strains, stresses, and temperatures
are imported from the non-linear FEA output. In fe-safe, a
search algorithm projects the total strain and stress histories
onto planes with 10 degree increments and finds the plane with
the highest damage (the critical plane) using the above
equation. For isothermal fatigue analysis, the life at every node
uses the material properties at the highest temperature that the
node experiences for the cycle under consideration.
Figure 5c- Cone 5 feet along Figure 5d- Skirt 1 foot below
(e) Elastic-Plastic Stress Analysis and Equivalent Strain below the weld line the weld line
In this method the effective strain range is used to evaluate the
fatigue damage for results obtained from an elastic-plastic
FEA. The method is detailed in API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 Figure 6 displays temperature contours for four different times
(Annex B1, Para B1.5.4). The Effective Strain Range is during the cycle.
calculated for each cycle in the loading histogram using either
cycle-by-cycle analysis or the Twice Yield Method. In this
study, the cycle-by-cycle analysis is used with a cyclic
plasticity algorithm incorporating combined isotropic-
kinematic hardening. A small program is written to calculate
the equivalent strain at every node and the life is conservatively
calculated using properties at 800oF

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Heat transfer analysis

Figure 5 show thermocouples’ temperature readings vs.
time curves collected in the field plotted against temperature
predictions with the finite element thermal model at different
height levels. These included thermocouples on: 1) the skirt to
bottom head weld, 2) the drum 1 foot above the weld line, 3)
the cone 5 feet below the weld line along the cone and 4) on the Figure 6- Temperature contours at four points in the cycle.
skirt 1 ft below the weld line. At each height level there are
four thermo-couples equally spaced circumferentially. It was
apparent from collected field data that there was a significant Fatigue analysis based on linear elastic FEA
circumferential variation in the temperature for a given cycle. It (a) Fe-safe/Verity® Elastic stress analysis and structural stress
was also evident, by comparing thermocouple data from The fatigue life plots using fe-safe/Verity® method are shown
different cycles and dates, that the data was stochastic in nature. in Figure 7. The weld toes are analyzed with Verity and the rest
In this work, the circumferential variation in temperature is not of the model is analyzed with the shear strain algorithm with
modeled. The heat transfer coefficients, sink temperatures, and Morrow mean stress correction. The minimum fatigue life of
amplitude curves are calibrated to capture the highest 8,610 cycles occurred at the internal surface of skirt for a
temperatures and most severe gradients at each location. The through-thickness crack. There is not a significant difference
for the skirt weld life between internal and external surface.

5
Copyright 2010 by ASME and Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc. All rights reserved.

Drum WL
2.42E7 cycles
Figure 7- Verity® life contours (Structural Stress method)
(b) Fe-safe/TURBOlifeTM Creep-Fatigue Crack Initiation
The fatigue results for crack initiation predictions from fe-
safe/TURBOlifeTM are shown in Figure 8 in a contour plot of
Log10(life) with and without creep damage. For the case with
creep damage, the minimum life is found to be 623 cycles to
crack initiation at the internal surface of the skirt and 1,598
cycles at the external surface. For the case without creep
damage, the life at the internal surface of the skirt is found to be
636 cycles. The difference in cycles to crack initiation is not
significantly for the case with and without creep damage
consideration. This implies that there is not a significant
contribution from creep damage at that location. It is important
to keep in mind that the creep properties were extrapolated to
800oF from higher temperatures for the weld and base metal,
and are approximated for the HAZ.
Figure 8- Fatigue life contour with TURBOlife TM creep-fatigue
interaction method
Copyright 2010 by ASME and Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc. All rights reserved.
(c) Elastic Stress Analysis and Equivalent Stresses
The fatigue lives using this method are shown in Figure 9 for
several points in the structure. The lowest fatigue life of 1,548
cycles occurs at the internal surface of the skirt weld toe.
Figure 9- Fatigue life with Elastic Stress Analysis and
Equivalent Stresses
Fatigue analysis based on non-linear elastic-
plastic FEA
(d) Maximum shear strain amplitude with Morrow mean stress
correction
The number of cycles to crack initiation using stress and strain
results from a non-linear FEA analysis and the maximum shear
strain algorithm with Morrow mean stress correction is found to
be 544 cycles at the skirt weld toe internal surface, whereas the
fatigue life at the external surface of the skirt is 1,036 cycles
(Figure 10).
Figure 10- Isothermal fatigue results using maximum shear
strain amplitude with Morrow mean stress correction
6
These results are not very different from those obtained with
TURBOlifeTM creep-fatigue interaction method and are slightly
more conservative since the fatigue properties are taken here at
the highest temperature for the cycle at every node, and cycle 5
is analyzed instead of cycle 2. However, the fact that fatigue
results from a linear and a non-linear FEA are close validates
the accuracy and adequacy of using a plasticity correction
method for the fatigue analysis in this case.
(e) Elastic-Plastic Stress Analysis and Equivalent Strain
Figure 11 displays the life contours for this case and shows the
critical location where the shortest life of 2,695 cycles is
located at the internal surface of the skirt. These values are
obtained using the strain life curve for 2.25Cr-1Mo steel at
800oF. A more conservative estimate at that location of 1,875
cycles can be obtained using the strain-life properties for low
alloy steel at 700oF. Note that these predictions are higher than
those obtained with the above discussed method, since the other
methods used approximated fatigue curves for the HAZ that
had lower fatigue strength than both the base and weld metal.
Log
Figure 11- Fatigue life with Elastic-Plastic Stress Analysis and
Equivalent Strain
Table 1 summarizes all the results from the various methods
discussed above. In Verity® the number of cycles is the one
required for through-thickness crack whereas the other methods
are for crack initiation.
Table 1- Summary of Fatigue Results
Copyright 2010 by ASME and Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc. All rights reserved.
All methods show that the lowest life is at the inside of the
skirt-drum weld toe. TURBOlifeTM with creep is the only
method that gives a reasonable fatigue life at the drum weld
line external surface due to the effect of creep damage at that
location.
Sensitivity analysis using linear FEA and Verity®
A sensitivity study using linear FEA and Verity® is
undertaken to further investigate the effect of pre-heat switch
temperature and quench rate. The Verity® method is chosen for
the parametric study since it takes into account crack growth,
and failure is defined as a through-thickness crack. This is
consistent with the failure mode being investigated here. In
addition, Verity® minimizes the uncertainly and sensitivity
associated with the FEA mesh, i.e. element size, type, and
order, and uses linear FEA results which make it very
numerically efficient for this type of analysis.
At the slow quench rate, 4 different switch temperatures are
considered i.e. 565o, 500o, 450o and 400oF. The change in
switch temperature is modelled by starting the filling step at an
earlier time, or shortening the pre-heat step. The corresponding
4 cycles are shown in Figure 12. Note that the quench rate is
the same for all 4 conditions and the curve is simply shifted to
the left.
Figure 12- Temperature history at the weld line for 4 switch
temperatures
The effect of quench rate at a switch temperature of 565oF
is analyzed using three quench rates: fast, moderate and slow.
The different operating cycles are shown in Figure 13. Note
that the pre-heat and fill portion of the cycle are identical for
these three conditions.
7
 Temperature at weldline for different quench rates
900

800
slow
700 Moderate
fast
600
Temperature (F)

500

400

300

200

100

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Second quench cycle time(hrs)

Figure 15- Fatigue contours with different quench rates
Figure 13- Temperature history at the weld line for 3 quench
rates

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Plots showing the Verity® results i.e. Log10(life) contours at
different switch temperatures is shown in Figure 14 whereas the
plots for different quench rates are displayed in Figure 15.
Figure 14- Fatigue contours at different switching temperatures
For a slow quench rate, there is a 47% drop in life by
changing the switch temperature from 565oF to 400oF. For a
switch temperature of 565oF, there is a 43% drop in life upon
changing from slow to fast quench rate. For a given condition,
there is no significant difference in life between the internal and
external surface on the skirt.
Several methods for assessing the life of coke drums have
been investigated. All methods agree in terms of critical
location of crack initiation. In addition, the various methods for
crack initiation predictions are not significantly different from
each other when considering some of the approximations made
especially in terms of material properties. The crack initiation
methods gave relatively close results because the creep effects
appear to be minimal. These findings would not hold true if the
maximum operating temperature is increased so that the
material is operating in the creep range. The only significantly
different life prediction is that of Verity® which is considerably
higher than the other methods. This is largely due to the fact
that Verity® considers failure as a through-thickness crack.
More confidence in the results obtained here for crack
initiation calculation could be gained if more accurate creep
material properties are available for the heat affected zone. In
addition, strain gage measurements could help validate the
stress and strain predictions from the FEA.
Sensitivity studies did show that the switch temperature and
quenching rates have a significant effect on the life of the drum.
Reducing the transient thermal gradients during fill up, by
increasing the switch temperature, and during quench by
slowing down the quench rate would significantly increase the
life of the drum. A more comprehensive sensitivity assessment
using an analytical Design of Experiment (DOE) can be used to
look at more factors and levels affecting the life of the drum.
Combining an analytical DOE with response surface methods
could help quantify the effect of the variability in the stochastic
input variables, e.g. the heat transfer coefficient, on the
response. It is possible that the critical location may shift if the
heat transfer coefficient zones on the inside of the drum are
altered.

8
Copyright 2010 by ASME and Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc. All rights reserved.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors of this paper are grateful to the people who
contributed to this work and express thanks to Shell Projects
and Technology, Shell Global Solutions (US), Inc.,
Shell/Motiva U.S. refineries and Safe Technology (US) Ltd.

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