Towards a new era for FRP reliability
By Geoff Clarkson, P.Eng., UTComp founder and CTO
The ASME/API Fitness-For-Service Joint Committee (FFSJC) project team is developing a new part for API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 for evaluating Fitness For Service of FRP assets.
Once approved, Part 16 — “Assessment of Fiber Reinforced Polymer Equipment” — will provide FRP asset owners with something they’ve never had before: an agreed-upon set of engineering tools to reliably assess in-service FRP equipment quickly, safely and non-destructively.
This marks a major step forward in aligning composite materials with established mechanical integrity standards for pressurized and non-metallic assets.
WRC Bulletin 601
The publication of WRC Bulletin 601 in May 2023 laid the foundation for work on a new consensus standard.
WRC Bulletin 601, now in its fourth edition, provides a technically valid, quantitative and repeatable process for evaluating fitness-for-service of FRP composite equipment.
Following its publication, I was invited to lead the FFSJC project team tasked with developing Part 16.
Knowledge base for FRP asset evaluation
To support the initiative, I delivered a live online seminar in April 2024 on key FRP topics for members of the API 579 Code Committee.
The session included:
- Fundamentals of FRP design
- Common damage mechanisms in service
- Detection and non-destructive evaluation (NDE)
- Repair, mitigation, and monitoring strategies
- A preview of the proposed contents for the new FRP section in API 579
Following the session, a number of important questions were raised, prompting us to expand and clarify some of the material presented.
As a result, we’ve organized this updated content into a four-part educational series for engineers, inspectors, asset managers, and FFS professionals working with or responsible for FRP equipment. The goal is to provide a clear, standards-based framework for understanding and evaluating FRP assets throughout their lifecycle.
What this series covers:
Each article / video covers a key area of FRP system performance and its implications for Fitness For Service (FFS) assessment under API 579:
- FRP Design Fundamentals
Core principles of FRP materials, fabrication methods, viscoelastic behavior, and design codes. - FRP Damage Mechanisms
An overview of how FRP degrades in service—chemically, mechanically, and environmentally. - Detecting Damage: Non-Destructive Evaluation
Techniques and tools, including advanced NDE methods, for assessing FRP condition in the field. - Remediation, Mitigation & Monitoring
Best practices for repairing and extending the life of FRP equipment, plus a summary of the proposed API 579 FRP section.
End goal: a consensus standard for FRP asset evaluation
This is an important moment in the history of the FRP composites industry.
API and ASME have developed hundreds of consensus standards and codes for the safe and reliable performance of industrial equipment. The work now under way on API 579-1/ASME FFS-1, Part 16 will eliminate the current gap in standardized codes to evaluate FFS of in-service FRP equipment.
Stay tuned for future posts and additional resources about the development of the new part, which will be posted on our API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 update page.
I also invite you to:
- Connect with me on LinkedIn for articles and resources on FRP reliability
- Follow the UTComp LinkedIn company page and YouTube channel
- Subscribe to UTComp’s FRP Reliability Brief email newsletter