FEATURE Terminal Management
API Revises
A
significant and beneficial event
a ffecting aluminum intern a l
floating roof (IFR) tanks has
o c c u rred. The American Petro l e u m
Institute (API) has released Addendum
2, revisions to Appendix H, to API
S t a n d a rd 650 (10th edition, dated
November 2001) dealing with welded
steel tanks for oil storage.
This standard promotes adequate
safety an d rea sonable economy
regarding the material, design, fabrica-
tion, erection, and testing of storage
tanks holding petrochemical products.
Addendum 2 includes the latest revi-
sions to Standard 650, Appendix H,
which define the minimum standards
for internal floating roofs.
Considerable discussion must have
ensued in the development of this revi-
sion. It surely was a monumental task. As
a result of this work, product loss, prop-
erty damage, and most important, harm
to human beings will be prevented. The
public and the industry owe a debt of
gratitude to those who worked to develop
this document (see sidebar, page 50).
When the Su bcom mi ttee on
Pressure Vessels and Tanks (SCPVT),
part of the API Committee on Refinery
Equipment, initiated the project in the
fall of 1998 to revise Appendix H, its
members expressed concern about the
safety and perf o rmance of pan and
open bulk-headed steel roofs.
Over the next three years, the
SCPVT considered hundreds of com-
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Floating
Roof Guidelines
BILL GRIMES
Allentech
ments from dozens of companies, and
many were incorporated into the final
document. API rules require that every
comment be considered and that any
negative comment must be satisfied,
withdrawn, or in very unusual circum-
stances, overridden.
Past failures of steel and aluminum
IFRs have been traced to inadequate
design and poorly defined requirements.
Thus, the new recommendations are con-
siderably more comprehensive than pre-
vious versions. The working committee
addressed the minimum requirements for
both quality and safety of IFR designs and
made the design requirements uniform
for all types (steel and aluminum). The
recommendations define minimum loads
and mandate the use of safety factors.
Appendix H also makes it clear that the
purchaser must verify that the IFR manu-
facturer is following the guidelines.
Following is an abridgment of the
revisions as they relate to aluminum IFRs:
1. The sections for plastic sandwich
roofs and plastic materials have
been eliminated, although alter-
native designs and materials may
be specified by the purchaser.
2. Caution statements have been added
for metallic pan and open top
bulkheaded floating roofs (both
typically made from carbon steel).
3. The design specific gravity is now the
lower of 0.7 and actual. It
was 0.7.
4. The purchaser is cautioned to con-
sider a list of specifics when
choosing an IFR type.
5. Material “thickness” or “nominal thick-
ness” is now clarified to be the pur-
chased thickness, with allowance
for standard mill tolerance.
6. All types of IFRs with closed
buoyant members, referred to as
“ c o m p a rtments,” now include
specific requirements for the com-
partments.
7. Each compartment shall be capable
of being field-inspected for the
presence of combustible gas and
resealed to preven t liquid or
vapor entry in the field after such
periodic inspections.
8. All closed flotation compartments
shall be seal-welded to prevent
liquid or vapor entry.
9. For metallic sandwich-panel roofs,
if the purchaser allows, adhesives
may be used to seal the flotation
panels in lieu of welding, but the
purchaser shall consider future
p roduct service, the hydro t e s t
condition, and design condition
changes to specify the adhesive.
10. All IFRs shall include additional
buoyancy to offset the calculated
friction exerted by peripheral and
penetration seals during filling.
This is a new requirement.
11. The uniform design live load may
be redu ced from 12.5 to 5.0
l b / f t 2 if th e floatin g roof is
equipped with drains to prevent
June 2002 • World Refining • 49
 accumulation of liquid. Prior ed-
tions did not require any design
consideration for live load when
drains were included.
12. Aluminum load-carrying members
shall comply with the
“Aluminum Design Manual,”
published by the Aluminum Asso-
ciation In c. The man ual
requires that appropriate factors
of safety be included in design
calculations, illustrates pro p e r
design methodologies, and spec-
fies mechanical properties of var-
ious aluminum alloys. Prior ed-
tions included no re q u i re m e n t
for factors of safety or pro p e r-
analysis of aluminum shapes.
13. Use of any joint-sealing compound,
insulating material, elastomer, or
adhesive must be pre-approved
by the purc h a s e r. The joining
p ro c e d u re an d test re s u l t s
demonstrating the pro p e rties
shall be described completely.
Where such joints are permitted,
any j oint-sealing compound,
insulating material, elastomer, or
adhesive shall be compatible
with the product stored, spec-
fied serv ice cond it ion s, and
materials joined. Resulting joints
shall be equivalent in serv i c e -
bility (with the basic floating roof
comp onents), of a size an d
strength that will accept the roof
design loads without failure or
leakage, and have an expected
life equal to the service life of the
roof.
14. The purchaser is to be given a list
of fa ctors t o consider b efore
selecting peripheral seal type and
mat eri al . The def initi ons of
peripheral seals and types were
improved; however, it should be
noted that definitions are generic
(since the standard is designed
for wide usage), so these do not
a d d ress specifi c re g u l a t o ry
requirements.
15. The primary shoe seal must extend
at least 6 inch es abov e an d
inches in to the li qui d at
the design flotation level. The 6-
inch requirement is new.
50 • World Refining • June 2002
16. The floating roof shall be provided
with adjustable supports, unless
the purchaser specifies fixed sup-
p o rts. In p rior ed itions,
adjustable legs were not man-
dated, and some operators were
unable to maximize their storage
capacity or inexpensively clean
their tanks.
17. Supports shall be fabricated from
pipe, unless cable or another
type is specified and approved by
the purchaser. Cable-suspended
floating roofs have been common
for Allentech for some time now
but are new to Appendix H.
18. The purchaser shall specify if any
protective measures are required
for supports that interface with
stratified product bottoms.
19. The solid area of all circulation vent
s c reen s must be deducted to
d e t e rmine the net open are a .
This is a new requirement.
20. A minimum clear opening of 30
inches is required for fixed-roof
manways used for access. This
value used to be specified at 24
inches.
21. The purchaser shall specify an inlet
diffuser sized to reduce the inlet
velocit y to less th an 3 ft/sec
during initial fill, per API RP
2003. A diffuser has always been
part of a proper installation, but
the requirement guarantees one
will be used.
22. Prior to installation, the floating
roof erector must inspect the
tank for dimensional confor-
mance to Section 5.5 of API 650
and report identified deficiencies
to the purchaser. A shell survey
has always been part of a proper
installation, but this new require
ment guarantees that this step
will be taken.
2 3. The pe ripher al se al mu st be
inspected, and the fit must be
verified as acceptable by the
erector prior to the flotation test.
24. Appendix S, 4.10 shall be followed
when performing a hydrotest on
an aluminum or stainless steel
floating roof.
If you are a potential IFR purchaser,
become familiar with these standards and
address them with your IFR manufac-
turer or supplier and erector. To obtain a
copy of API 650, including Appendix H,
visit the official Web site: http://api-
ep.api.org/publications/index.cfm?bit-
mask=002002000000000000.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bill Grimes is a sales engineer for
Allentech (Bethlehem, Pa.), which
designs, manufactures, and installs
internal floating roofs, perimeter seal
systems, and related products for
a b o v e g round petrochemical storage
tanks, and floating oil-water separator
covers for use at oil refineries and
petrochemical storage terminals. API
canno t p rodu ce docum ents tha t
restrict competition in any way, but
can obtain industry consensus on good
practice.” Grimes can be contacted at
p hone (520) 57 5-1443 or e- mai l
billg@allentech.com. ●
WHO WORKED ON
THE IFR REVISIONS?
The revisions to API 650, Appendix H,
were completed by the SCPVT, part of
the API Committee on Refinery
Equipment. The subcommittee is the
group responsible for revisions to
Standards 650, 620, and 653.
The SCPVT includes a Design
Sub-Group and a Fabrication Sub-
Group, each with about 20 members.
Membership is balanced so that half
represent manufacturers and con-
tractors and half represent end users.
Prime movers in the effort were:
Phil Myers of ChevronTe x a c o ,
chairman of the SCPVT; Larry D.
Foster of Marathon Ashland L.L.C.;
Bruce Roberts of Aramco, chairman
of the Fabrication Sub-Group;
George L. Morovich of Te m c o r, a
member of the Design Sub-Group;
and Rich Basile of ExxonMobil,
chairman of the Design Sub-Group.
Among significant contributors to the
e ffort was Allentech, a prominent
supplier of IFRs.
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