AM-12-74 BEST COKE DRUM PRACTICES - Real World Improvements for Delayed Coker Safety and Reliability

Description:

Coke drums are subject to alternating loading every drum cycle, due largely to thermal cycling and interaction with insitu coke. Drum life is often thought of in terms of calendar life, but the proper method is to consider age in terms of how many fatigue cycles (drum fill and quench cycles) the drum has experienced. With less than adequate design and fabrication, the alternating loads can result in premature shell bulging and cracking. It’s important to design robust bulge and fatigue resistant coke drums which, in addition to advances in feed inlet design, operational knowhow and proven methods of using reliable strain gage data to manage fatigue accumulation in the coke drum, provide unmatched reliability and drum life.