Risk-based evaluation of pitting corrosion in process facilities

Pitting is one of the most challenging forms of corrosion to study and model due to complex pit behavior. Pitting can occur in different engineering alloys and can lead to catastrophic consequences. Pits are usually latent or difficult-to-detect and resulting degradation often causes in-service failure of process equipment. Therefore, the ability to predict pit behavior is key to design and maintenance of assets. In particular, pitting corrosion is a significant challenge in marine environments and offshore operations due to remoteness of operations and hidden damage under insulations. Thus, the ability to assess risk and estimate remaining life of assets affected by pitting corrosion is necessary for timely maintenance and safe operation of assets. This thesis proposes a methodology to assess and dynamically update the risk of pressurized components affected by pitting corrosion. To take into consideration the time-dependent growth of pits, the application of non-homogenous Markov process is proposed to model the maximum pit depth. The integration of the developed maximum pit model into a pressureresistance model is proposed to predict the failure probability of affected components. An economic consequence analysis model is developed to estimate both business and accidental losses due to failure of the affected component. Then, risk is estimated by integrating models developed for probability of failure and associated consequences. The application of Bayesian analysis is proposed to update estimated risk as new inspection data gets available and also as economic condition of the process evolves. This work also proposes a risk management strategy including corrosion prevention, control and monitoring measures to make effective decision related to pitting corrosion. The application of the proposed methods is demonstrated using different case studies

Broad blocking of MDR efux pumps by acetylshikonin and acetoxyisovalerylshikonin to generate hypersensitive phenotype of malignant carcinoma cells

Cytotoxic activities of acetylshikonin and acetoxyisovalerylshikonin alone and in combination with chemotherapeutic agents against parental and drug resistant cell lines were determined using the MTT assay. Effects of Shikonin derivatives on BCRP, MDR1 and MRP transcript and protein levels were relatively measured. Finally, accumulation and efflux kinetics were conducted. The results revealed cell- A nd concentration-dependency of the cell cytotoxicity. Acetylshikonin and acetoxyisovalerylshikonin transiently made the mRNA ocean turbulent, but FACS analyses using fluorescent-labeled antibodies showed no significant change in the MDR-protein levels. Functional kinetics revealed significant block of MDR1, BCRP and MRP transporter in the presence of shikonin derivatives. Maximum accumulation fold changes was quantified to be 4.4 and consequently, acetoxyisovalerylshikonin pretreated EPG85.257RDB cells was chemosensitized to daunorubicin tension 3.1-fold. Although, the MDR blockage was reported to follow time- A nd cell-dependent patterns, MDR1, BCRP and MRP2 responses to the shikonins are concentration-independent. These data suggest uncompetitive transporter blockage behavior of these agents. The results indicated that shikonin derivatives stimulate uptake and reduce efflux of chemotherapeutic agents in the malignant cancer cells, suggesting that chemotherapy in combination with shikonin compounds may be beneficial to cancer cells that overexpress multidrug resistance transporters. © 2018 The Author(s)

Failure Investigation of Hydrogen Blistering on Low-strength Carbon Steel

The current study assesses the root causes of hydrogen blisters on low strength carbon steel equipment. For this purpose, some experiments including hardness test, non-destructive test (NDT), metallography, and fractograpghy are conducted. The microstructure of two blisters is assessed by means of optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The microstructural studies show that the steel plate has some inclusions and banded ferrite/pearlite structure. The energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) results indicate that these inclusions mainly contain Mn, S, Al, Ca, and Si. The results show that the inclusions and planar imperfections found in the NDT have been the nucleation locations for blisters in the plate. Remediation action plans are recommended to prevent further occurrence and growth of hydrogen blisters