Inspection, Integrity and CorrosionDamage Mechanisms in Refining and Process Equipment
A crack at a weld toe in a sour water stripper and one found in an austenitic line after a hydrotest can look alike on a radiograph and share nothing in cause. API 571 catalogues the mechanisms that refinery and petrochemical hardware suffers, and this programme trains delegates to name the one in front of them. Going mechanism by mechanism, they cover sulphidation, naphthenic acid attack, high temperature hydrogen attack and the Nelson curves, creep, temper embrittlement, sigma phase, chloride and caustic cracking, polythionic acid cracking, ammonium chloride and bisulphide attack, and thermal fatigue. For each they learn the susceptible alloys, the process trigger, the appearance and the technique that reveals it. Delegates leave able to build a damage mechanism review for a unit and to read a failure report critically.
Course objectives
- Explain how API 571 organises damage mechanisms by type and by unit
- Identify the susceptible alloys and process triggers for each major mechanism
- Recognise sulphidation, naphthenic acid attack and high temperature hydrogen attack from their appearance
- Interpret the Nelson curves for hydrogen service
- Distinguish chloride, caustic and polythionic acid cracking in austenitic and carbon steels
- Evaluate creep, temper embrittlement, sigma phase and thermal fatigue in hot equipment
- Select the detection technique suited to each mechanism
- Prepare a damage mechanism review for a process unit
Who should attend
- Inspection engineers in refineries and petrochemical complexes
- Materials and corrosion engineers
- Process engineers who set operating conditions for hot hydrocarbon units
- Reliability engineers leading failure investigations
- Inspection team leaders preparing turnaround scopes
Course outline
- 01How API 571 classifies damage
- 02Sulphidation and naphthenic acid attack
- 03High temperature hydrogen attack and the Nelson curves
- 04Creep, temper embrittlement and sigma phase
- 05Chloride, caustic and polythionic acid cracking
- 06Ammonium chloride and ammonium bisulphide attack
- 07Thermal and mechanical fatigue
- 08Matching detection techniques to mechanisms
- 09Building a damage mechanism review for a unit
Scheduled sessions
| Dates | Venue | Format | Price | Register |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 to 23 October 2026 | Kigali, Rwanda | Classroom | USD 1,325 per delegate | |
| 9 to 13 November 2026 | Nairobi, Kenya | Classroom | USD 1,325 per delegate | |
| 16 to 20 November 2026 | Online | Online | R8,500 per delegate | |
| 8 to 12 March 2027 | Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | Classroom | USD 1,325 per delegate | |
| 15 to 19 March 2027 | Gaborone, Botswana | Classroom | R19,950 per delegate |
Damage Mechanisms in Refining and Process Equipment
From R8,500