scope:

Most equipment in process plants and energy production is fabricated by welding. Welding is also extensively used to repair, modify and overlay plant equipment during shutdowns. The statistics of failure show weldments to be one of the most vulnerable areas. Risk Based Inspections (RBI) methodology in the area of asset integrity and risk management focuses on prioritizing and optimizing inspection strategies and should look at the vulnerability of welded joints taking into account mechanical behavior, and damage mechanisms including corrosion and stress-corrosion degradation. This WRC Bulletin provides a survey of the interaction between potentially active damage mechanisms and welded joints and describes the RBI approach to rank the criticality of such an interaction for the purpose of inspection and risk management