Fitness for Service Simulation
Simulation-driven Fitness-for-Service assessments to evaluate structural integrity, remaining life, and asset integrity decisions.
Evaluating Equipment Fitness for Service
Critical assets inevitably degrade over their service life. Be it refining oil, generating nuclear energy, or building batteries, the equipment and infrastructure suffer damage over time. When this damage is identified, organizations need to determine not only the extent of the flaw, but whether equipment can continue to operate safely and efficiently under existing conditions.
SIMULIA's Fitness-for-Service solutions combine established assessment methodologies with advanced simulation capabilities to evaluate the structural integrity of pressure vessels, piping systems, and other critical equipment. By enabling a realistic understanding of damage mechanisms and their impact on performance, engineers can assess remaining life, support compliance requirements, and make informed decisions to run as-is, rerate, repair, or replace assets with confidence.
Key Benefits of Fitness for Service Simulation
Cost Efficiency
Reduce assessment costs and shorten evaluation timelines.
Extended Asset Life
Minimize unnecessary conservatism in assessments to safely keep equipment in operation longer.
Informed Decisions
Enable data-driven decisions for the management of flawed or damaged equipment.
Regulatory Compliance
Maintain compliance efficiently while addressing complex damage mechanisms.
Simulation-Driven FFS Assessments
As industrial assets age, operators face increasing pressure to ensure safety, maximize equipment availability, and make informed decisions about continued service.
Fitness-for-Service (FFS) assessments help determine whether damaged or aging equipment can continue operating safely. This session explores the three API 579 assessment levels and demonstrates how Abaqus and the 3DEXPERIENCE platform evaluate damage mechanisms, including metal loss, crack-like flaws, shell distortions, and hydrogen embrittlement, to support informed decisions on running as-is, rerating, repairing, or replacing.
Fitness for Service Simulation Workflows
Metal Loss
Simulation is used to evaluate the structural impact of wall thinning and corrosion damage, helping determine remaining strength and safe operating limits.
- Remaining wall thickness and stress redistribution
- Burst pressure and collapse resistance evaluation
- Remaining life and reassessment interval estimation
Weld Misalignment and Shell Distortion
Simulation is used to analyze geometric imperfections and welding-induced distortions, helping assess their effect on structural integrity and code compliance.
- Stress intensification due to misalignment and distortion
- Residual stress and deformation assessment
- Buckling susceptibility and fitness evaluation
Crack Flaws
Simulation is used to determine the acceptability of crack-like defects under service loads, helping predict crack growth and fracture risk.
- Fracture mechanics and crack driving force evaluation
- Crack propagation and remaining life prediction
- Critical flaw size and failure assessment
Dent
Simulation is used to evaluate localized deformation damage and its interaction with operational loading, helping determine repair or continued service suitability.
- Local strain and stress concentration analysis
- Structural integrity under pressure and external loads
- Dent interaction with corrosion or crack defects
Hydrogen Embrittlement
Simulation is used to assess material degradation caused by hydrogen exposure, helping evaluate susceptibility to cracking and brittle failure.
- Hydrogen diffusion and trapping behavior
- Embrittlement-induced loss of ductility and fracture toughness
- Crack initiation risk and do failure assessment
Fatigue
Simulation is used to evaluate cyclic loading effects and accumulated damage, helping estimate remaining fatigue life and inspection requirements.
- Cyclic stress evaluation and damage accumulation
- Fatigue crack initiation and propagation analysis
- Remaining useful life and inspection interval planning
SIMULIA Fitness for Service Simulation Resources
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