Fluid Catalytic Cracking Units (FCCU)

Life Extension & Turnaround Support
Stress Engineering Services has been helping clients solve FCCU problems for decades, working on scores of jobs for dozens of clients around the globe. Our focus is on helping clients assess equipment before and during turnaround to assure the best possible reliable and safe operation, and remaining life of their FCCU.

Materials / Metallurgy
All questions of service life in the FCCU involve materials. we have a permanent, full-time staff of metallurgists and materials engineers (most of them have extensive experience working directly for operating oil and chemical companies) located strategically in our laboratories, all skilled at diagnosing the health of materials in refinery applications.

We can quickly organize a team of metallurgists and technicians to conduct the field FMR and, when needed, ship samples back to one of our laboratories when more sophisticated equipment or analysis is required. This approach enables us to quickly assess degradation mechanisms such as sensitization, sigma formation and carburization.

Expert API 579 FFS Assessment at All Levels
We perform BPV Code and FFS evaluations from start to finish. We have performed every phase of assessment, from field verification of drawings through code calculations, MDMT calculations and detailed finite element analysis. Our engineers have been in the business of designing, redesigning, repairing, and condemning FCCU reactors, regenerators, plenums, overhead vapor lines and other components.  We also offer extensive expertise in all aspects of FCCU unit mechanical integrity and high temperature creep testing and analysis. Our staff integrates all the above information into one turnkey solution and path forward for the client.

Structural Management Programs
If reactor or regenerator replacement is planned, we can provide structural engineering services needed to assess the impact of removal and replacement of components. Using advanced structural simulation tools, it is possible to predict the load redistribution in the super structure when the connections to the vessel are severed, enabling you to develop a strict protocol for safe removal.