CDMS Engineering multi-disciplinary engineering team offer a suite of maintenance services for a broad range of industries. From start to completion, whether it’s an inspection, a repair and replacement assessment or trouble shooting, your job will be handled in the most professional manner by CDMS.
Maintenance Inspections
CDMS are able to perform structural inspections for process plants (for oil and gas, minerals) and other industrial structures such as large storage sheds.
There are cases where such structures experience corrosion or are damaged (for example due to vehicle impact) after being in service a number of years. The consulting engineers at CDMS are able to inspect and assess the damage, to provide accurate conclusions based on engineering analysis and experience. Other examples include lifting equipment that has experienced corrosion.
Analysis of damage found from inspections can be done to AS 3990, AS 4100, or other standards as required by the client.
Repair & Replacement Assessments
CDMS utilizes its multi-disciplinary engineering team to assess the condition of a variety of different in-service structures and mechanical equipment for their safety and suitability for continued long term service.
During routine inspections, serious flaws or defects can be detected in equipment and components. Such damage is typically the result of corrosion, abrasion, and erosion, where often such defects can be found after internal inspections are performed during a scheduled plant shutdown.
After a quantitative engineering assessment it may be deemed that particular equipment can no longer continue to operate safely, making it necessary to repair or replace damaged components. This can prove to be very beneficial to an operator, saving them significant future downtime costs, without sacrificing the overall plant integrity.
CDMS works closely with the operator to replace all the compromised structural and mechanical equipment, by providing all the necessary design calculations and detailed design drawings. We will also supervise the site installation and repairs as well as confirm all replacement equipment is in compliance with the appropriate equipment standards or specified technical design standards.
Maintenance Trouble Shooting
From time to time both onshore and offshore process plants encounter maintenance related issues, where the techniques for finding and fixing process plant problems are referred to as ‘Trouble Shooting’. Drawing from 30 years’ of oil and gas plus minerals plant design experience, CDMS are able to provide comprehensive trouble shooting analysis of complex multi-discipline engineering problems, in order to arrive at the most cost effective solution.
Consulting engineers at CDMS aim to provide an emphasis on problem solving techniques, utilizing their vast experience and lessons learned from working of various real life examples. CDMS has developed a methodical approach to trouble shooting over the years, involving data gathering, validation and utilization procedures being combined with failure identification and root cause analysis. These analytical procedures are used to recognize how different components of a process facility interact with each other, and the significance of these interactions. The technique of root cause analysis have been used by CDMS engineers to pinpoint and correct faults in LNG chemical process plants, bulk material transfer systems, petroleum refining equipment, turbines, motors, piping, kilns, heat exchangers, pressure vessels, tank leakage, and environmentally friendly operations.
Some examples of previous trouble shooting work that CDMS has done include the re-rating of critical pressure vessel equipment for both the Woodside Pluto and Karratha LNG process plants A combination of analytical methods and FEA was used to perform the re-rate to comply with current pressure vessel design standards.
Failure identification and pipe stress analysis simulations have been performed by CDMS to show that cracking in an offshore pressure vessel was due to stresses exerted by the surrounding pipe work. We showed the client that it was not only necessary to replace the damaged pressure vessel, but that they should also redesign and replace some of their existing pipework, which would prevent the cracking from re-occurring in the future.
A root-cause-analysis was undertaken by CDMS of potential fatigue cracking through thermal cycling inside a carbon reactivation kiln. A series of static and thermal stress analysis using FEA was performed to determine the stresses in the kiln. It was clear from the results that the thermal stresses alone were not sufficient to cause crack nucleation. After further data gathering and investigation by CDMS, it was found there was evidence of inter-granular corrosion leading to stress corrosion cracking, indicating severe damage to the alloy caused by the process conditions.
Temporary Structures
CDMS recognises the importance of safety during the construction phase, because of this CDMS has worked with clients during this time to ensure that the structure is structurally adequate during construction. Works relating to this include the safe jacking of an existing tank to replace its rusted floor where CDMS ensured that the connections to the jacking points were structurally safe and that during high winds the tank was still stable and not able to overturn. Other works include the temporary propping of a 90 metre diameter thickener during the construction phase.
Deconstruction
CDMS has in-house capabilities for the deconstruction of decommissioned plant. Deconstruction can be seen as a significant risk and requires a trained engineer to perform checks on the structures which often have no drawings available due to their age and at times can suffer from extreme corrosion. We can provide safe lift methodologies, full design reports, recommended limitations on maximum lifted pieces and designs for various spreader bars and welded lifting lugs (if appropriate) for your particular job. In the past CDMS has provided deconstruction designs on items such as bulk storage tanks, in-situ frames, and the removal of mechanical plant and the deconstruction of Bulk Material Unloading crane in Kwinana. CDMS specialises in safe lifting practices to save clients time and money.
Please send through your enquiry today via email to info@cdmsengineering.com and we will call you to discuss your project.
