Mechanical Failure Analysis

ATS’ mechanical failure analysis team is dedicated to helping individuals, corporations and manufacturers identify the root causes of component and system failures. Our technically advanced labs enable our experts to perform accurate and efficient tests, incorporated in precise and detailed reports. With years of experience, our professionals perform daily inspections on a wide variety of mechanical failures which may include common fatigue and overstress failures to and unique failures.

Our services are prevalent among the automotive, aerospace, nuclear, manufacturing and military industries. Testing is performed per industry standards, including ASTM E2332, ASTM E3, ASTM E18, ASTM E384, ASTM E112, ASTM E10, ASTM A247, ASTM B487, ASTM B748, equivalent ISO standards, and applicable specialized procedures.

Tests Include:

• Optical Factography
• Scanning Electron Microscopy
• Energy Dispersive Spectoroscopy (EDS)
• Impact Testing
• Tensile Testing
• Shear Testing
• Torsion Testing
• Pressure Testing
• Hardness Testing

Results May Reveal Mechanical Failures Due To:

• Ductility Issues
• Brittle Products and Components
• Fatigue
• Overload
• Environmental Effects
• Manufacturing Defects
• Contamination
• Corrosion

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Onshore & Offshore Structures & Systems

Onshore Structures and Systems

 

Exponent is actively involved in providing risk assessment services for owners and operators of onshore petrochemical process facilities. These assessments focus on naturally occurring hazards such as hurricanes and earthquakes, and also on man-made hazards like vapor-cloud explosions. The scope of services provided by Exponent includes probabilistic and deterministic hazard definitions, onsite inspections, structural and material load and stress analyses using advanced modeling tools, vulnerability determinations, probable maximum loss estimations for property and business, and mitigation planning. The broad range of expertise among our staff enables us to conduct such assessments in a thorough and timely manner. The benefits of our multidisciplinary approach include better understanding of employee exposures to potentially hazardous situations, improved knowledge of asset vulnerabilities, identification of opportunities for cost-effective mitigation measures to reduce potential losses, and more thorough assessment of loss exposures from an insurance perspective.

Offshore Structures and Systems 

 

Exponent can assist offshore oil and gas operators with determination of load capacities and performance levels for a range of fixed and floating production or storage systems. These services include using advanced modeling tools to conduct structural analyses of platform systems or components, from caisson wellheads to drilling derricks, in accordance with the latest American Petroleum Institute best practices and specifications. Our analytical expertise and capabilities also include pipelines and well completion (casing and tubing). We have extensive expertise in materials testing, modeling, and thermal load analysis, which are important considerations when dealing with the extreme operating environments often encountered by oil and gas operators. Several of Exponent’s senior technical staff have previous work experience with major energy companies, and therefore are familiar with the needs and challenges faced by the offshore industry.

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Petrochemical Industry

Chemical process accidents are often the result of unexpected interaction between automated process equipment and operators. In the drive to improve safety and reliability, chemical process facilities tend to rely heavily on automation using sophisticated instrumentation, computers, and programmable logic controllers to run their plants. In an effort to improve energy efficiency and reduce pollution, various pieces of equipment are interconnected in ways that complicate their operation. Equipment failures or operator errors can lead to sudden and unexpected changes in the plant operation. If these disruptions to normal process operation exceed the capabilities of the operators or the capacity of the safety systems, a severe accident can occur, potentially producing a devastating fire, explosion, or toxic release. 

The petrochemical process industries represent a significant contribution to the world economy. Companies in this industry produce a wide variety of products, including ethylene, vinyl chloride, styrene monomer, propylene, benzene, toluene, and xylene, which are the raw materials for many plastics. Producing these chemicals involves handling hazardous materials and managing large amounts of energy. Because of these conditions, when something goes wrong at a petrochemical processing facility, it can have catastrophic consequences. 

 

With more than 40 years of experience analyzing thousands of failures, Exponent is a leader in loss investigation, including material failures, fires, and explosions. These investigations range from high-loss disasters to small incidents for major national and international oil refiners. This experience provides Exponent engineers and scientists unique insights in addressing various risk and reliability issues and assessing environmental and health impacts, to help our clients increase the safety of their personnel, processes, and facilities and minimize operational disruptions and property loss. Additionally, our expertise in risk assessment, release characterization, dispersion modeling, vapor cloud explosion analysis, industrial hygiene, toxicology, and epidemiology allows us to comprehensively examine the consequences of both hypothetical and actual releases of toxic and flammable substances.

Exponent has a wide range of in-house expertise that integrates the latest process, safety, risk, and environmental developments into our work. As a result, we can address everything from small, focused analyses to complex, multi-disciplinary projects. The capabilities of our experts allow Exponent to offer the following services:

• Accident and incident investigation 
• Root-cause analysis (RCA) 
• Fire and explosion analysis 
• Fire protection engineering 
• Fitness-for-service evaluation 
• Specification, corrosion control, and failure analysis of materials 
• Evaluation of pressure relief systems, vessels, and piping 
• Analysis of atmospheric releases, spills, and environmental fate 
• Groundwater and soil remediation support 
• Compliance with standards and regulations 
• Risk and reliability analysis and quantitative risk assessment 
• Process hazards analysis (PHA) 
• Hazard and operability analysis (HAZOP) 
• Failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) 
• Review of process safety management (PSM) and risk management program (RMP) 
• Safety and health training 
• Environmental impact and baseline assessments 
• Site security and vulnerability analysis 
• Site investigation and remediation 
• Hydrology and groundwater monitoring 
• Project management, performance, scheduling, and construction delay analysis

 

Further, Exponent is actively involved in providing risk assessment services for owners and operators of onshore petrochemical process facilities. These assessments focus on naturally occurring hazards such as hurricanes and earthquakes, and also on man-made hazards such as vapor cloud explosions. The scope of services provided by Exponent includes probabilistic and deterministic hazard definitions, onsite inspections, structural and material load and stress analyses using advance modeling tools, vulnerability determinations, probable maximum loss estimations for property and business, and mitigation planning. The broad range of expertise among various Exponent practices enables us to offer clients the skills necessary to conduct such assessments in a thorough and timely manner. The benefits include better understanding of employee exposures to potentially hazardous situations, current knowledge of asset vulnerabilities, identification of opportunities for cost-effective mitigation measures to reduce potential losses, and better knowledge of loss exposures from an insurance perspective.

Exponent engineers and scientists regularly publish in leading technical journals, present at conferences, serve on National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) technical committees, chair American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) conference sessions, and provide peer review for journals such as Process Safety Progress, Journal of Petroleum Science & Engineering (JPSE), and Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries (JLPPI).

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Oil and gas exploration, and production life cycle

Oil and gas exploration, and production life cycle

Cairn looks to create, add and realise value for stakeholders, but not at the expense of the safety and well-being of people and the environment. We manage the risks associated with our business responsibly for all our activities and wherever we operate. This means, we aim to behave professionally in our dealings with people and within the environment from the very start of any project or activity.

The oil and gas business is, by nature, long-term and our approach covers every stage of the oil and gas life-cycle and is outlined below.

1. Due diligence

Before making an acquisition or investment, applying for an exploration licence or farming-in to an existing project, Cairn carries out an extensive risk-screening process which includes assessing whether there are potential health and safety, social, human rights, political, corruption, security or environmental impacts. This is used in decision-making on whether or not to proceed and if investment goes ahead it informs approaches to risk management going forward.

In 2014 we conducted due diligence on farm-in opportunities including the Mesana blocks in Spain.  We farmed-in to the PL420 block and drilling project operated by Statoil in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. We also farmed out of UK sector blocks P2040 and P2086, reducing our interests south of Catcher.

2. Prequalification

When we apply for an exploration licence, the necessary documents are submitted to the relevant authorities. Typically this includes information about our legal status, financial capability, technical competence and plans to manage health, safety and environmental risks, and contributions to local economic development.

In 2014 Cairn participated in the 23^rd licensing round in the Barents Sea, Norway.

3. Exploration seismic

Once Cairn has been awarded the right to explore in a certain area, we may carry out seismic surveys to develop a picture of geological structures below the surface. This helps identify the likelihood of an area containing hydrocarbons. Seismic surveys are usually preceded by an assessment of environmental, social and human rights impacts, which are managed through the Project Delivery Process (PDP).

During 2014 Cairn successfully completed seismic surveys offshore the Republic of Ireland and Malta. As non-operator, we also participated in seismic operations offshore Western Sahara.  Application for seismic surveys is pending offshore the Gulf of Valencia.

4. Site survey

Before commencing any drilling activity, site surveys are carried out to gain more detailed information on the area where an exploration well may be drilled, and to confirm that the selected drilling location is safe and that any sensitive environments can be avoided.

The process normally involves taking geological samples from the seabed and carrying out shallow seismic surveys. These activities have low social and environmental impacts and therefore usually do not require a separate Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) or Social Impact Assessment (SIA).

Pre- and post-drilling surveys were completed for wells offshore Senegal and following drilling offshore Morocco.

5. Exploration drilling

Exploration wells are drilled to determine whether oil or gas is present. This phase can be accompanied by a step-change in activity and visibility to local people as offshore exploration can involve a drilling rig, supply vessels and helicopters for transporting personnel.

Exploration drilling is preceded by an assessment to understand potential health, safety, environmental, social, security and human rights impacts. These assessments identify appropriate steps to reduce impacts, manage risks and assist in operating responsibly. Limited community development programmes may also be put into place at this time depending on the nature of the programme.

In 2014 we continued our exploration drilling campaign offshore Morocco, and initiated and completed an exploration drilling campaign offshore Senegal. We were also involved, as non-operator, in exploration drilling in the UK and Norwegian North Sea. Drilling in the Cap Boujdour block, offshore Western Sahara, commenced in December 2014.

6. Appraisal drilling

If promising amounts of oil and gas are confirmed during the exploration phase, field appraisal is used to establish the size and characteristics of the discovery and to provide technical information to determine the optimum method for recovery of the oil and gas. The potential social and environmental impacts associated with appraisal drilling are comparable to exploration drilling, and similar assessments are carried out in advance.

Due to the delay in refurbishment of the Blackford Dolphin rig, the proposed Spanish Point appraisal well, offshore Republic of Ireland, could not be drilled in 2014 during the safe weather window and was therefore postponed. Plans are well advanced to drill this well, subject to the necessary approvals.  Preparation for anticipated appraisal drilling in Senegal is also underway.

7. Development

If appraisal wells show technically and commercially viable quantities of oil and gas, a development plan is prepared and submitted to the relevant authorities for approval. This includes a rigorous assessment of all the potential risks and a long-term assessment of environmental and social impacts covering a timeframe of between 10 and 30 years. The plan will also detail projected benefits to local communities, for example employment and supplier opportunities, as well as proposing how to manage potential impacts such as an influx of workers from outside the local community. At this stage good design is important to remove and mitigate risks to an acceptable level as well as managing construction and installation in a manner to likewise minimise impacts.

We are participating as non-operator in two development projects, the Kraken and Catcher fields, in the UK North Sea.

8. Production

A variety of options are available for the production of oil and gas. During this phase, which can last many decades, regular reviews are made of social and environmental performance to ensure that impacts identified in the assessments are mitigated. Changes in the risks associated with activities are assessed throughout the production period. Safe operations remain an ongoing requirement at this stage, which means personnel are competent and good HSE behaviours are in place and equipment is properly maintained and operated.

We currently have no operated production, but historically had significant production through our Indian business, Cairn India Limited (CIL), which we subsequently exited. Our involvement in exploration, and latterly production in India, brought social and economic development to a number of regions.

We anticipate production from our non-operated Catcher and Kraken fields from 2016/2017.

9. Decommissioning

This phase occurs when hydrocarbons can no longer be extracted safely or economically at the end of any field life-cycle. Decommissioning consists of closing operations in a manner that protects people and the environment and to avoid unacceptable legacy issues for local stakeholders and the Company. We are not engaged in any decommissioning activities at this time.

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Working Progress of Wind Turbines

A wind turbine works the opposite of a fan. Instead of using electricity to make wind, like a fan, wind turbines use wind to make electricity. The wind turns the blades, which spin a shaft, which connects to a generator and makes electricity. View the wind turbine animation to see how a wind turbine works or take a look inside.

Wind is a form of solar energy and is a result of the uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the irregularities of the earth's surface, and the rotation of the earth. Wind flow patterns and speeds vary greatly across the United States and are modified by bodies of water, vegetation, and differences in terrain. Humans use this wind flow, or motion energy, for many purposes: sailing, flying a kite, and even generating electricity.

The terms wind energy or wind power describe the process by which the wind is used to generate mechanical power or electricity. Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power. This mechanical power can be used for specific tasks (such as grinding grain or pumping water) or a generator can convert this mechanical power into electricity.

Types of Wind Turbines

Modern wind turbines fall into two basic groups: the horizontal-axis variety, as shown in the photo to the far right, and the vertical-axis design, like the eggbeater-style Darrieus model pictured to the immediate right, named after its French inventor. Horizontal-axis wind turbines typically either have two or three blades. These three-bladed wind turbines are operated "upwind," with the blades facing into the wind.

Wind turbines can be built on land or offshore in large bodies of water like oceans and lakes. Though the United States does not currently have any offshore wind turbines, the Department of Energy is funding efforts that will make this technology available in U.S. waters.

Sizes of Wind Turbines

Utility-scale turbines range in size from 100 kilowatts to as large as several megawatts. Larger wind turbines are more cost effective and are grouped together into wind farms, which provide bulk power to the electrical grid. In recent years, there has been an increase in large offshore wind installations in order to harness the huge potential that wind energy offers off the coasts of the U.S. 

Single small turbines, below 100 kilowatts, are used for homes, telecommunications dishes, or water pumping. Small turbines are sometimes used in connection with diesel generators, batteries, and photovoltaic systems. These systems are called hybrid wind systems and are typically used in remote, off-grid locations, where a connection to the utility grid is not available.

Learn more about what the Wind Program is doing to support the deployment of small and mid-sized turbines for homes, businesses, farms, and community wind projects.

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Oil Spill Assessment

 

Exponent scientists have more than 40 years of experience in assessing the impacts associated with oil spills, providing consulting services to most of the major international oil companies, as well as pipeline, oilfield engineering design and service companies. In addition, our scientists have supported U.S. and international governments in responding to and assessing spill impacts.

Our services include:

• Emergency environmental response - cleanup and monitoring chemistry 
  • Source characterization/fingerprinting 
  • Contamination assessment 
  • Background and baseline assessment 
• Monitoring and NRDA 
  • Exposure and bioavailability assessment 
  • Shoreline surveys and ecology studies - impact and recovery 
  • Restoration 
• Database development 
• Geospatial analyses 
• Training

Emergency Environmental Response – Cleanup Monitoring Chemistry

Rapid environmental response is critical to the effective oil spill management. Exponent scientists are on call for immediate response to oil spill incidents. Our response experience focuses on environmental monitoring, assistance to spill clean-up efforts, ephemeral sampling and hydrocarbon chemistry. In complex cases involving releases into urban estuaries or industrial settings a strong scientific approach is critical to reconstructing the release, assessing injury, establishing causation, and defining the baseline. Our scientists and engineers excel in the area of source characterization and petroleum fingerprinting, and our clients rely on our combined experience in petroleum fate in the environment to accurately assess impacts and allocate those impacts to various sources.

Monitoring and Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) 

One of Exponent’s core, signature business areas is that of NRDA. Exponent has been a pioneer and a trusted consultant on NRDA issues since the first regulations were developed. Our team has unparalleled experience and depth in supporting industry in the area of NRDAs under the Oil Pollution Act (OPA), and under state claims. The fate of spilled oil in the environment must be understood in order to predict the potential for exposure of ecological receptors. Exponent’s team of petroleum chemists and toxicologists have extensive experience with determining exposures associated with oil spills, as well as issues related to the persistence and bioavailability of oil in the environment, and the use of biomarkers as measures of exposure. Our clients rely on our combined experience in contaminant assessment and biological injury assessment, along with our knowledge of transport pathways to help assess injury and allocate those injuries to various sources.

Geospatial Analysis

Exponent scientists have evaluated the geospatial implications of different oil spill response strategies on shoreline impacts. Our work has focused on the development of a GIS from base shoreline maps obtained from aerial photographs. The analysis of possible shoreline impacts from oil spills relies, in part, on the type of shoreline being affected. Our team of aerial imagery and GIS specialists evaluated the shoreline typing, and have determined that the usability of aerial photographs to populate a GIS system, and hence to assess oil spill impact and persistence, is highly dependent on the timing and quality of the aerial images. This finding is especially important when it comes to the timing of tides and image acquisition where significant offsets and errors in shoreline typing can occur without such recognition. 

 

Database Development

Exponent has developed a customizable database and interface to store, summarize, and display environmental data from a wide variety of sites and investigations, and has been customized for oil spills. Analytical data, photographs, chromatograms, and scanned documents can be linked to individual data points. The database has a web-tool protected interface that is setup for individual users and includes customized data selection tools which allow simplified searches, selection and download of data sets based on end-user needs. The data output(s) from the database can be Access or Excel format spreadsheets that can be downloaded by the user for further data analysis and interpretation. Thus no knowledge of Access will is required of the end-users.

Training

Exponent scientists have conducted oil spill training programs and seminars for clients worldwide. The training includes all of the environmental issues and response strategies and methods that are part of the short and long term response efforts. Our primary focus is on environmental sampling, NRDA, environmental monitoring and chemical fingerprinting, but also includes shoreline assessment, toxicity assessment and other oil spill related issues.

Exponent Oil Spill Experience

• Amoco Cadiz 
• Argo Merchant
• Bayway Refinery (Arthur Kill)
• Cosco Busan 
• Deepwater Horizon
• Ever Reach
• Exxon Valdez
• Haven
• Ixtoc I
• Katina
• Kure
• Kuroshima
• Martinez Refinery (Suisun Bay)
• New Carissa
• Newton Lake
• North Cape
• Perth Amboy (Arthur Kill)
• Prestige
• ROPME Sea
• Tsesis 

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Aluminium is the most abundant metal in the earth’s crust.

The aluminium-containing bauxite ores gibbsite, böhmite and diaspore are the basic raw material for primary aluminium production.

Proven, economically viable reserves of bauxite are sufficient to supply at least another 100 years at current demand. While demand for bauxite is expected to grow as demand for high quality aluminium products increases, new reserves will be discovered or become economically viable.

Gibbsite is an aluminium hydroxide (Al(OH)₃), while böhmite and diaspore are both aluminium-oxide-hydroxides (AlO(OH)). The main difference between the latter two is that diaspore has a different crystalline structure to böhmite. Differences in ore composition and presence of iron, silicon and titanium impurities influence their subsequent processing.

90% of the world’s bauxite reserves are concentrated in tropical and sub tropical regions.

Large blanket deposits are found in West Africa, Australia, South America and India as flat layers lying near the surface, extending over an area that can cover many square kilometres. Layer thickness varies from less than a metre to 40 metres in exceptional cases, although 4 – 6 metres is average.

In the Caribbean, as well as in Southern Europe, bauxite is found in smaller pocket deposits, while interlayered deposits occur in the United States, Suriname, Brazil, Guyana, Russia, China, Hungary and the Mediterranean.

Bauxite is generally extracted by open cast mining, being almost always found near the surface, with processes that vary slightly depending on the location. Before mining can commence the land needs to be cleared of timber and vegetation. Alongside this process may be the collection of seeds and/or saplings, for inclusion in a seedbank, which will form the basis of post-mining revegetation of the site. Next the top soil is removed and is usually also stored for replacement during rehabilitation.

The layer under the top soil is known as the “overburden”. On some surface deposits there is no overburden, and on others, the bauxite may be covered by up to 20 metres of rock and clay. On average, overburden thickness is around 2 metres.

The bauxite layer beneath the overburden is broken up using methods such a blasting, drilling and ripping with very large bulldozers. Once the bauxite is loosened into manageable pieces it is generally loaded into trucks, railroad cars or conveyors and transported to crushing and washing plants or to stockpiles, before being shipped to alumina refineries, which are generally located close to bauxite mines.

Unlike the base metal ores, bauxite does not require complex processing because most of the bauxite mined is of an acceptable grade. Ore quality can be improved by relatively simple and inexpensive processes for removing clay, known as “beneficiation”, which include washing, wet screening and mechanical or manual sorting. Beneficiating ore also reduces the amount of material that needs to be transported and processed at the refinery. However, the benefits of beneficiating need to be weighed against the amount of energy and water used in the process and the management of the fine wastes produced.

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