API 653 PRACTICE QUESTIONS Flashcards
API publications necessarily address problems of_________
a general nature.
Any manufacturer marking equipment or materials in conformance with the marking requirements of an API standard, e.g., a tank name plate, is _________ responsible for complying with all the applicable requirements of that standard.
solely
API_________ that products, e.g., materials used to make and the tanks themselves, do in fact conform to the applicable standard.
does not represent, warrant, or guarantee
Each edition, revision, or addenda to API 653 becomes effective_____ after the date of issuance for equipment that is certified as being rerated, reconstructed, relocated, repaired, modified (altered), inspected, and tested per API 653.
6 months
API standard 653 covers steel tanks built to:
API standard 650 and its predecessor 12C
What API standard always governs for tanks that have been placed in service?
API Standard 653
API standard 653 employs the principles of:
API Standard 650
API standard 653 may be applied to:
Any steel tank constructed in accordance with a tank specification
When design and construction details are not given and are not available in the standard to which the tank was originally constructed, then details that will provide a level of integrity equal to the level provided by the current edition of:
API Standard 650 must be used
For evaluating in-service degradation of pressure containing components (tanks), API 653 recognizes:
Fitness-for service concepts (RP579)
Who has the ultimate responsibility for complying with the provisions of API 653?
Owner/operator
If any provision of API standard 653 presets a direct or implied conflict with any statutory regulation, the regulation will govern. In the event that API standard 653 provisions are more stringent than statutory regulations:
API Standard 653 will govern
Any work on a tank that changes its physical dimensions or configuration is called:
an alteration
An inspector finds evidence from a taxing authority that an Above Ground Storage tank was built to API standard and placed in service March 1937. If the date of the construction of a tank is not known, what Standard shall be considered to be the “as-built Standard”?
The current applicable standard would be the 1936 version of API 12C
The inspection agency of the jurisdiction in which the above ground storage tank is operated is:
The authorized Inspection agency
An organization assigned the responsibility by the owner/operator to design and/or dismantle a tank and rebuild it at a different location is called:
A reconstruction organization.
When an independent organization or individual acts as an authorized inspection agency, who or what provides the controls necessary for use to inspect aboveground storage tanks?
The owner or operator’s inspection program.
An employee of an authorized inspection agency certified as an AST Inspector per API 653 Appendix D, is known as an Authorized:
Inspector.
The are on a tank bottom where settlement begins is know as the _____ point.
Break over point.
The total metal loss divided by the period of time over which the metal loss occurred is know as:
Corrosion rate
The portion of the bottom sketch plate or annular plate within 3 inches of the inside edge of the shell measured radially inward is called:
Critical zone
The work necessary to reassemble a tank that has been dismantled and relocated to a new site is referred to as:
Reconstruction
Any work necessary to maintain or restore a tank to a condition suitable for safe operation is_______.
Repairs
A person acceptable to the owner/operator that is knowledgeable and experienced in the engineering disciplines associated with evaluating mechanical and material characteristics that affect the integrity and reliability of above ground storage tanks is know as:
A storage tank engineer.
A methodology where by flaws contained within a structure are assessed in order to determine the adequacy of the flawed structure for continued service without imminent failure is called:
fitness for service assessment
An aboveground storage tank is to be inspected. The owner/operator has no records of any kind about its original building standard. What must the inspector use as the as-built standard?
The current applicable standard
The current edition of the standard ( such as API Std or UL Std) that applies if a tank is build today is known as:
Current applicable standard
Complete or partial (more than one-half of the weld thickness) removal and replacement of more than ______ of vertical weld joining shell plates or radial weld joining the annular plate ring is a major alteration/or repair
12 inches
A condition that exists when it cannot be demonstrated that the material of a component satisfies the definition of recognized toughness is know as:
Unknown toughness
Define “breakover point” as applied in API 653.
It is the area on a tank bottom where the settlement begins.
When the results of a tank inspection show that a change has occurred from the original physical condition of that tank:
An evaluation shall be made to determine its suitability for continued use
Tank roof plates which corrode to an average thickness of less than ______ inch in any 100 square inch area shall be repaired or replaced.
0.09
What part of the roof support system should be given particular attention due to the difficulty of finding the corrosion.
Pipe columns
Guidance for the evaluation of existing floating roofs shall be based on the criteria of API standard 650, Appendix C for external floating roofs. However, upgrading to meet this standard is.
Not mandatory
The roof support structure (if any), and the roof-to-shell junction shall be evaluated for the effects of a design partial vacuum. The criteria outlined in ________ shall be used
API 650
All requirements of API standard 650, Appendix M, shall be considered before changing the service of a tank to operation at temperatures above:
200 degrees F
What three anticipated loadings listed below should be considered in addition to the fluid static head loading on an AST
wind loads, seismic loads, and external roof live loads
What form of corrosion does not normally represent a significant threat to the overall structural integrity of a tank shell unless it is present in a severe an numerous form?
Pitting
In solving for the allowable liquid level, “H”, for the continued use of a tank, the corrosion allowance shall be
subtracted from the actual thickness as determined by inspection.
The variable design point method shall be used for tanks with diameters greater than:
200 feet.
which of the below conditions can cause shell distortions of an AST.
Foundation settlement
If an existing tank’s wind girder is degraded because of corrosion of its structural elements or its attachments welds, it may render the tank’s________ inadequate for design conditions.
Shell
Tank bottom inspection strategies shall provide suitable data which when is used with the procedures in API 653 will determine the tank’s bottom integrity necessary to:
prevent leakage of fluids that may cause environmental damage.
A selection basis for cathodic protection systems for the underside of tank bottoms is covered by:
API RP 651
A release prevention barrier (RPB) has the function of:
preventing the escape of released material and containing or channeling released material to where it can be detected
Unless a stress analysis is performed, the minimum bottom plate thickness in the critical zone of the tank bottom shall be the smaller of ____ the original bottom plate thickness ( not including the original corrosion allowance) or ___ percent of tmin of the lower shell course but not less than .01
1/2, 50
The thickness of the projection of the bottom plate beyond the shell as measured at the toe of the outside bottom-to-shell fillet weld shall not be less than _____ inch
.10
The projection of the bottom plate beyond the outside toe of the shell-to-bottom weld shall be at least ___ inch
.375 = 5/8
How often would you inspect a tanks’s concrete foundation
Monthly during routine in-service inspection.
Temperature cracks (hairline cracks of uniform width) in concrete tank foundations
provides access points for water seepage that could result in corrosion of reinforcing steel
When the minimum specified yield strength of the shell of a tank operating in excess of 200F is not known, what specified yield strength is assumed for evaluating the tank?
30,000
Section 5 of API Std 653 provides a procedure to assess the risk of failure due to brittle fracture of tan age. The procedure applies to:
both welded and riveted tanks.
In all reported incidents of tank failure due to brittle fracture, failure occurred shortly after erection:
during hydrostatic testing, on the first filling in cold weather, after a change to lower temperature service, or after a repair/alteration.
The risk of brittle fracture failure in continued service after a tank has demonstrated the ability to withstand the combined effects of maximum liquid level ( highest stresses) and lowest operating temperature without failing is
Minimal
In the event of a change to a more sever service (such as operating at a lower temperature or handling product at a higher specific gravity) it is necessary to:
consider the need for a hydrostatic test to demonstrate fitness for the new more sever service
If a tank shell thickness is no greater than _______, the risk of failure due to brittle fracture is minimal, provided that an evaluation for suitability of service per Section 4 of API Std 653 has been performed.
.50 inch
The purpose of in-service inspections of AST’s is to assure
continued tank integrity
What type of inspection may be done by owner/operator personnel and/or authorized inspectors?
Routine in-service inspection
The external condition of storage tanks shall be monitored by close visual inspection from the ground on a routine basis. This inspection can be done by owner/operator personnel, and can be done by other than an Authorized Inspector. The interval of such inspections shall not exceed:
1 month
All tanks shall be given a visual external inspection by an Authorized Inspector, at least every:
5 years or at RCA/4N years, whichever is less
External ultrasonic thickness measurements of the shell, when used and when the corrosion rate is not known, are taken at intervals not to exceed:
5 years
Who assures the competency of the personnel performing cathodic protection surveys?
owner/operator
A candidate tank is:
A tank of which corrosion rates are not known
Two reason for an internal inspection of an aboveground storage tank are to ensure that the:
bottom is not severely corroded and to gather data on the minimum bottom & shell thickness
Who assures the quality of completeness of NDE results obtained during a formal internal inspection?
The API authorized Inspector
If an internal inspection is required solely for the purpose of determining the condition and integrity of the tank bottom, the internal inspection:
may be accomplished with the tank in=service using robotic UT measurements
The initial internal inspection interval for an aboveground storage tank shall not exceed____ years ( excluding leak protection, corrosion mitigation or containment safeguards
10
A tank’s bottom is inspected. What thickness must the bottom plate be at the next inspection? The tank bottom/foundation design has no means for detection and containment of a bottom leak
.10 inches
What is the maximum subsequent internal inspection interval for an AST where the Corrosion Rate Procedure is used & there is no release prevention Barrier (RPB)
20
What is the maximum subsequent inspection interval an AST using corrosion rate procedure where a tank has proper “RPB”
30
Which of the following is a “likelihood” factor when doing RBI on an AST?
Operating temperature
Which of the following is a “consequence” factor when doing RBI on an AST?
dike containment capabilities
As an alternate to the set maximum intervals of internal inspection given in paragraph 6.4.2 of API 653, an owner-operator may establish the subsequent internal inspection interval using:
risk-based inspection (RBI) procedures
name the three types of records the owner/operator is required to keep for AST’s
construction records
inspection history
and repair/alteration history
which of the following items would NOT be included in an inspector’s report following an external or internal inspection of an AST?
corrosion rate of the tanks roof
Some repairs to a tank may be made after it has returned to service. Which of the items listed below is considered critical and must be made prior to returning the tank to service?
Bottom or shell repairs
A 30 feet diameter AST with single lap welded seams has a lower shell course shell plate replaced. What joint factor would you use for the evaluation of the tank shell vertical seams.
.35”
Personnel performing _________ shall meet the qualifications identified in paragraph 12.1.1.2 of API 653, but need not be certified in accordance with Appendix D of API 653
Nondestructive examinations
All new materials used for repair, alterations or reconstruction shall conform to:
current applicable tank standards
Each original individual plate used for reconstructed tanks for which adequate identification does not exist shall be:
subjected to chemical analysis and mechanical tests as required in ASTM A6 & A370
Flange material on an existing tank shall meet the minimum requirements of the material specifications in the:
as-built standard of construction.
Fasteners shall meet the material specifications of the:
current applicable tank standard
If existing plates are to be used to reconstructed tank shall meet the welding requirements of the:
excessive corrosion and pitting
New weld join details on a reconstructed tank shall meet the welding requirements of the:
current applicable standard.
The thickness to because for reach shell course when checking the tank design for reconstruction shall be based on measurements taken within ________ prior to relocation.
180 days
Shell penetrations on reconstructed tanks shall be designed, detailed, welded and examined to meet the requirements of the:
current applicable standard
Existing penetrations on reconstructed tanks shall be evaluated for compliance with the:
as-built standard
Roof designs for reconstructed tanks shall meet the:
as-built standard
The shell penetrations (additions or replacements) shall be designed, detailed, welded and examined to meet the requirements of _______.
API Standard 650 equivalence
All repair work on an AST must be authorized by the ______ before commencement of work.
authorized inspector or an engineer experienced in AST design.
The authorized inspector may give prior general authorization for limited or routine repairs as long as the authorized inspector is sure that the repairs _________ or that they don not require an engineering evaluation.
will not require use of new materials
The minimum thickness of a replacement plate shall be ______ in accordance with the as-built standard
calculated
the thickness of a replacement shell plate shall not be less than the greatest nominal thickness of any plate in the same course adjoining the replacement plate except where the adjoining plate is:
a thickened insert plate
The minimum dimension for a replacement shell plate is ____ or 12 times the thickness of the replacement plate, whichever is greater.
12 inches
replacement shell plate may be circular, oblong, square with rounded corners or rectangular with rounded corners except when:
an entire shell plate is replaced.
Shell replacement patch plates shall be welded with butt joints with complete penetration and complete fusion, except as:
permitted for lapped patch shell repairs.
Joints in lap-welded shell tanks:
may be repaired according to the as-built standard of construction.
Lapped patch shell repairs are:
an acceptable form of repairs for butt-welded, lap-welded, and riveted tank shells only when specified by the owner.
lapped patch shell repairs shall not be used on any shell course thickness (original construction_ that exceeds______ inch
.500
Lapped patch shell repairs shall not be used to replace
doorsheets or shell plates
lapped patch plates shall not have a thickness less than:
.1875 inches
if a lapped patch plate is installed on a tank, what corner(s) may e exempt from being rounded to a minimum radius?
The joint at the shell to bottom intersection.
A lapped repair plate is installed across a butt-welded vertical seam. The seam is ground flush and checked by ultrasonics. The inspector must specify the minimum overlap of the patch plate. What minimum distance is selected?
6 inches beyond the shell seam.
lapped repair plates positioned on a tank shell interior shall be located such that the toe-to-toe weld clearances are a minimum of _____ to the shell-to bottom weld.
6 inches
The maximum vertical and horizontal dimension of a lapped patch repair plate is:
48 inches by 72 inches respectively
the minimum lapped patch shell repair plate dimension is:
4 inches
An owner-user wants to put a NPS 8 shell opening (nozzle) in an AST shell. Which of the below would not be acceptable to API 653?
within a lapped patch shell repair
Prior to application of a lapped patch shell repair, the areas to be welded shall be _______ for plate defects and remaining thicknesses
UT’d
An inspector finds a 36 inch by 48 inch lapped repair patch that had been installed on a shell that has a thin area near the patch center. The owner-user asks that a lapped repair plate be installed on the old lap patch. This installation:
is not permitted according to API 653.
what is the minimum hole diameter caused by the removal of an existing shell opening that may be repaired by a lapped repair plate?
2 inches
what joint efficiency is used to calculate the required thickness of a lapped repair plate installed over a shell opening caused by the removal of an existing nozzle?
.7
What maximum joint efficiency may be used for a lapped patch repair plate with a full filled perimeter weld that is used to repair a thin area of a tank shell?
.35
The area of metal on the tank shell that has thinned and been repaired by using a lapped patch:
shall not be considered as effective in carrying the calculated service or hydrotest loads.
Lapped patch repair plates may be used to repair small shell leaks. The repair plate must be designed to withstand hydrostatic pressure load between the repair plate and the shell. The joint efficiency used for this calculation is:
.35
If a lapped patch repair plate is used to repair a small shell leak on an AST, what are the maximum and minimum thicknesses of the repair plate?
1/2” and 3/16”
Which of the conditions listed below would be unacceptable as an application of a lapped patch repair plate to repair a small shell leak?
if exposure of the fillet welds to the product will produce crevice corrosion then this repair method shall not be used
when repairing a defective shell weld, cracks, lack of fusion, and rejectable slag and porosity
shall be removed completely by gouging and/or grinding and properly welded
while inspecting a tank an inspector finds a NP 12 nozzle that has no reinforcement pad. What should he do?
A reinforcement plate may be added when deemed appropriate
A new nozzle is to be installed in an existing Atmospheric storage tank. The nozzle is an integral reinforced design. The insert plate thickness is 1-1/2 inch. The tank shell is 3/4 inch thick at the point of installation. How far back would you taper the plate of the integral reinforced nozzle?
3”
Penetrations larger than _______ shall be installed with the used of an insert plate if the shell plate thickness is greater than 1/2 inch and the shell plate material does not meet the current design metal temperature criteria.
2 inches NPS
