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MFLPlant Asset IntegrityOnline / Self-Paced

API 653 & 570 Storage Tank & Piping Integrity Assessment

Complete plant reliability training on storage tank atmospheric shell/floor degradation (API 650/653), process piping deadlegs (API 570), Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) floor scanner operation, and remaining life math.

NDT Exchange Global Open Academy 36 Hours (Self-Paced) API 653 / API 570 / ASME B31.3
Total Tuition & Exam Fee
100% FREE
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💡 Plain-English Summary (In Layman's Terms)

Beginner Friendly
No prior physics or engineering degree required — here is what this technique actually does in the real world.

Giant oil storage tanks and chemical refinery piping loops are constantly under attack from corrosive acids inside and wet soil moisture outside. If a tank floor rusts through, millions of gallons of hazardous fuel can spill into the environment. In this course, you'll learn how specialized motorized magnetic floor crawlers sweep across tank bottoms to find rust pockets, and how engineers calculate the exact remaining years a tank can safely operate.

What You Will Understand in Plain Terms:
✓Mega Tank Anatomy: How gigantic storage tanks (often wider than a football field) are constructed and welded.
✓Magnetic Leakage Crawlers: How high-powered magnets leak magnetic fields when they roll over rust holes, triggering sensors.
✓Remaining Life Math: The simple formulas plant engineers use to predict the exact date a pipe wall will get too thin.
✓CUI Hidden Rust: How water trapped under pipeline thermal insulation silently rots steel from the outside in.
Common Defects You'll Learn to Spot (Everyday Terms):
🔍 Bottom-Side Soil Pitting (Rust eating the underside from soil moisture)🔍 Shell Course Thinning (Acid/chemical wall wear)🔍 Annular Ring Fatigue (Cracks at the bottom-to-shell corner joint)🔍 CUI / Deadlegs (Water trapped under pipe insulation)
Launch 3D Storage Tank CAD Designer

Course Syllabus & Training Modules

Structured curriculum designed according to ASNT SNT-TC-1A & ISO 9712 requirements with layman explanations.
1

API 650/653 Storage Tank Mechanical Layout

💬 In simple terms: How giant storage tanks are built: shell rings, bottom plates, and roofs

Atmospheric welded storage tank design, shell courses, annular rings, and fixed/floating roofs.

Shell course rings: Why bottom rings are thick heavy steel while top rings are thin (liquid pressure math)
Tank bottom plates: Annular rings (the critical foundation border) vs. overlapping floor sketch plates
Floating vs. fixed roofs: Giant pontoon roofs that float on fuel to prevent explosive vapors
Hydrotesting: Filling new tanks with water to test foundation settlement before filling with fuel
2

Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) Tank Floor Scanning

💬 In simple terms: Motorized magnet sweepers: rolling over steel to detect bottom-side rust holes

High-speed screening for top-side chemical corrosion and bottom-side soil moisture attack.

Neodymium magnets: Flooding steel floor plates with intense magnetic saturation flux
Flux leakage: Why sound steel keeps magnets trapped, but rust pits force magnetic lines to jump into the air
Hall effect sensors: Microchips on the bottom of the scanner detecting jumping magnetic lines
Ultrasonic prove-up: Following behind the magnetic scanner with a small UT gauge to measure exact remaining thickness
3

API 653 Minimum Thickness (t-min) & Remaining Life

💬 In simple terms: The plant engineer's math: calculating safe fill heights and remaining years of life

Calculating safe fill heights (H-max) and corrosion rate velocity.

Minimum thickness formula (t-min): The absolute minimum steel thickness needed so pressure doesn't burst the shell
Corrosion rates: Measuring how many fractions of an inch the steel loses every year
Remaining life calculation: Dividing remaining extra steel by corrosion rate to find safe operating years
Inspection intervals: Setting mandatory 5, 10, or 20-year shutdown calendars based on the half-life rule
4

API 570 Process Piping Circuits & Corrosion Under Insulation (CUI)

💬 In simple terms: Refinery piping loops: hidden rust beneath insulation and stagnant pipe deadlegs

Piping circuit classification, injection points, deadlegs, and CUI inspection strategies.

Piping circuits: Grouping refinery pipes by danger level (toxic flammable gases vs. non-hazardous water)
Corrosion Under Insulation (CUI): Rainwater soaking fiberglass insulation and rusting pipe surfaces out of sight
Injection points & deadlegs: Stagnant pipe branches where acids accumulate and erode pipe elbows
Condition Monitoring Locations (CML): Permanent stamped test points monitored periodically with ultrasonic gauges

Course Instructor

Dr. Marcus Sterling, PhD, Level III

Certified NDT Level III inspector with over 15 years of field inspection and industrial training experience.

Hosting Academy

NDT Exchange Global Open Academy

Worldwide (Digital Learning)
admissions@ndtexchange.com
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