Replacement of Legs on Two Code Vessels.
We got a call to help a long-time customer with some repairs stemming from recent inspections on two storage tanks. The Inspection Recommendations included weld repairs to a few areas inside the tanks as well as support (leg) replacement.
The customer was in a bind, as they only had a couple of weeks before they needed to have the plant up and running again after the scheduled outage. This work was unplanned, so time was of the essence.
We worked with plant Engineering and Maintenance folks as well as their Corporate Reliability Program Manager to help the plant make good decisions on the repair.
After Ward’s Engineering Department got involved and started asking questions, we learned that these were built as ASME Code vessels almost 75 years ago, making these the oldest vessels Ward FSG has ever worked on! Engineering was able to locate all the necessary paperwork so we could handle this project according to Code.
The areas of weld repair were fairly straightforward. However, the leg replacement project was rather complex and required some out-of-the-box thinking, along with testing for lead paint.
We were able to utilize I-beam legs to replace the original channel legs.
Our work included adding doubler pads for the new legs, installation of the new legs on the vessels, installing new concrete anchors, and grouting into place.
A nice turn-key project with some extra complexity and a satisfied customer.
