Coke Drum Bulges

Coke Drum Bulges

by Richard Boswell Stress Engineering Services

Shell corrugations called bulges are common in older coke drums. These are distortions of the diameter that extend fully or partially around the circumference at various elevations on the vessel. Once they begin to develop, they influence and multiply local stress fields both in hoop and axial directions, and the drum has started to self-destruct. However, it is the circumferential weld seams and not the longitudinal weld seams which are at risk.

The aged coke drum is usually distorted and stretched, worries the operators, and has high maintenance/inspection costs. They are traditionally built as cylindrical ASME Section VIII, Division 1 pressure vessels with a Design Safety Factor of 4, yet they fail by cracking from cyclic loading. A Division 1 vessel is conservatively designed for burst which is a function of the Ultimate Strength. In contrast, Low Cycle Fatigue is related to the elastic Yield Strength and particularly repetitive stress exceeding twice Yield.

Figure 1: Sections of shell removed from a bulged coke drum.

There is an important relationship which determines the initiation of the bulging mechanisms. This concept compares the relative strength of the circumferential weld seam and the base plate metal. A mechanical stress rachet develops between these zones as the drum wall is highly stressed. When the weld has a higher yield, the plate distorts more and this is held
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back by the stronger weld. The result is a drum distortion similar to the drum described in a previous paper concerning Citgo's Coker I drums in early 1990's. In this situation, cracks will begin on the outside at the minimum bulge diameter in the heat affected zones and propagate inward. These are readily detectable from external inspection and can be quickly repaired before a leak develops. Figure 1 shows sections removed from this shell.

If the balance is in the other direction, the seam distorts more than the plate creating shorter bulges and sharper peaks at the maximum diameter. For the weaker weld material, cracking begins from the inside and is generally not discovered until it is through the wall.

Welds will have either a higher or lower Yield Stress than the base material. Perfection is not possible. If an operator could choose, he would likely suggest that external cracking is more manageable. Vessel designers can influence this using techniques described in Citgo's Patent # 5,827,403 issued in 1998.

Low Cycle Fatigue is considered the failure mode for cyclic service coke drums. Life is based on a number of cycles of operation at specific stress ranges, and not as a function of time to failure . There are three basic stages of fatigue failure shown in Figure 2. During the first stage, crack development is not observable and penetration is not detected. In the mid life portion from approximately 50% to 95% of the cyclic life, cracks will incrementally grow to half of their final catastrophic size. During the third and final stage, crack growth is rapid because of reduced cross section created by crack penetration through the thickness and around the circumference. Continued operation beyond 95% of the cyclic life is very dependent upon the inspector's ability to find and measure the crack, and upon the successful repair of those cracks which have reached half of their critical size.

Figure 2: A typical life of a crack demonstrates rapid growth in the Third Stage.
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Coke Drum Bulges

Bulge Analysis A simple and effective method of evaluating the influence of bulging in a corrugated vessel is to solve a finite element model with internal pressure loading. The vessel geometry is readily measured and digitized using laser scan technology. The profile data is easily exported in a format that can be used for finite element geometry.

A simple axis-symmetric shell model can demonstrate the stress contribution of bulges. In general the bulge is a local increase in diameter, creating a radial offset in the axial membrane forces in the wall. This in turn creates ring bending for both axial and hoop stresses which increase the ambient local pressure vessel stress field. Therefore the surface stress varies across the length of the bulge. Figures 3-5 show this variation created by internal pressure in the vessel.

Figure 3: Axial stress distribution across bulges.

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Coke Drum Bulges

Figure 4: Hoop stress distribution across bulges.

Figure 5: Membrane stress distribution across bulges.

Figure 6 displays such a model using 3-D shell elements capable of providing membrane and bending stress. An internal pressure load will create local stress gradients due to ring bending and an extension of the bulge. Stress contour results indicate locations with highest stress and
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these will be the most likely candidates for crack propagation. A severity index can be calculated as a function of nominal stress created by pressure. Figure 7 is an example of stress plots. Other loading conditions can be applied to the model such as thermal gradients and coke crushing due to radial interference.

Figure 6: A 3-D coarse grid model of bulged drum.

Figure 7: Axial Stress results of analysis indicate most likely areas of crack propagation.

Strain Gage Placements

Locations for strain gage placement on a coke drum must be carefully selected, particularly on older, bulged and corrugated drum shells. A location on a minimum bulge diameter will
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behave differently than a location on the maximum of a bulge diameter. This is because of the interaction of average membrane stress and bending stress on the outer surface. During quench as the drum is cooled, the bulge will be pulled in tension (thermal constriction and friction) and flatten, creating the axial and hoop bending stress. Membrane minus bending will be less than membrane plus bending and is a less conservative measurement. In those situations the maximum stress occurs on the inside of the wall.

Figure 8 represents a corrugated coker shell radius as measured with a laser scanning system. Girth weld seams are on a minimum bulge diameter, with maximum stresses on the outside. Strain gage locations were placed near these welds, providing conservative high stress measurements. These welds were known to crack from the outside surface.

Figure 8: Typical laser scan's digital representation of the radial growth for a coke drum ID.

Other drums have been measured with locations near welds that were on the maximum diameter of the bulge. These bulges are typically shorter in width and depth, and create a maximum stress on the inside of the wall. This condition creates cracks from the inside with sudden unanticipated leakage to the outside. Summary

Bulges are local distortions of the diameter that extend fully or partially around the circumference at various elevations on the vessel. Once they begin to develop, the drum has started to self-destruct because the circumferential weld seams are at risk from cracking due the axial surface stress generated by the bulges. Please contact us for additional information.
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