Environment & Safety Gas Processing/LNG Maintenance & Reliability Petrochemicals Process Control Process Optimization Project Management Refining

Rinawi, A.

KELM Engineering LLC, Houston, Texas

Abdulkarim Rinawi is a Senior Vibration and Stress Consultant for KELM Engineering. He has 28 yr of experience in piping, structural and rotating equipment vibration, pressure pulsation, pipe stress and flow analysis in piping, pipeline, power generation and nuclear facilities. Dr. Rinawi earned a PhD in structural engineering from the University of California at Berkeley.

HC condensate sphere inlet pipe failure investigation

KELM Engineering LLC: Rinawi, A.
Saudi Aramco: Al Bukhari, A.  |  Al Hajji, M.  |  Al Boobaid, M.

During a normal turnaround and inspection (T&I) of a hydrocarbon sphere, a fatigue failure in the 24-in. inlet pipe riser was discovered. As per the original 2003 design, the sphere serves as a surge tank during pipeline scraping, as well as a backup for a stabilizer during T&I. Each stabilizer has a capacity of 78,000 bpd. However, due to asymmetry in the piping configuration, the sphere typically receives higher flow of 90,000 bpd, with rates sometimes reaching 110,000 bpd as a result of scraping or other activities happening concurrently. The sphere was upgraded to work continuously in 2012 to handle the anticipated additional condensate by adding an overhead gas compressor and a dedicated condensate shipper pump.

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