Some time ago now but this video is well worth a watch. We designed the entire cyclone system for normal operating temperatures in excess of 750°C, which included setting the support nozzle / cyclone hanger angles to minimise differential thermal movements throughout the system to less than a millimetre and designing the vessel head as necessary to limit 'sag' due to cyclone weight and vessel operating pressure.
We're really proud to have played a key part on these projects and it's great to see the culmination of two years of hard work in this video. Enjoy.
FCL have a thorough knowledge of industry standards relating to pressurised equipment and have earned a reputation as one of the leading consultancies in the UK specialising in this area. One of the key disciplines in which the firm excels is in the application of finite element analysis methods to verify the design of components and/or to underwrite the integrity of operating plant.
Richard Green, FCL’s Managing Director, has over 30 years’ experience in the analysis, assessment and design of pressurised equipment, gained principally in the process, petrochemical and nuclear power industries.
Before joining FCL in 1995, Richard worked for both WS Atkins and Bechtel as a structural integrity specialist. His knowledge of the pressure vessel & heat exchanger design codes and his experience in applying linear and non-linear finite element stress, fracture mechanics and fatigue life assessment methods to the design and assessment of pressurised equipment across a wide range of industries could prove invaluable to your project.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like more details of how FCL could be of assistance to your organisation. Either go to the Get in Touch page on our website or call us on 01992 585450. Alternatively, if you prefer, you can contact Richard directly by e-mail at rsg@finglowconsultants.co.uk or via his direct line telephone number - 01992 585452.
Good news today regarding funding for the small modular reactor (SMR) programme. We recently completed some preliminary work on this project and thanks to this decision are now looking forward to further invoivement over the coming years.
Delighted to hear this morning that we have been accepted as a member of the Sizewell C Consortium
Sizewell C will create thousands of jobs in Britain’s nuclear supply chain and we are keen to be one of those employers when the project gets given the go-ahead. Read more about the project here
Many people in the pressurised equipment industry will know the FINGLOW name from the respected pressure vessel design software that has proved to be one of the most popular tools for the pressure vessel and heat exchanger designer over the past 40 years.
Fewer people will know about the capabilities of Finglow Consultants Ltd (FCL), who offer a comprehensive range of engineering consultancy services to those involved in design, analysis, assessment and safe operation of pressurised equipment.
FCL’s lead piping stress engineer, Ross Hartwig, is well versed in the requirements of the ASME B31.3 process piping design code and has extensive experience in using CAESAR II piping flexibility analysis software for both static and dynamic loading scenarios. He is also an advanced user of ANSYS finite element analysis software and has specific experience in the use of non-linear limit load analysis methods to predict collapse and buckling failure modes in marine structures.
Ross’ areas of expertise also cover the design and assessment of subsea flanges, particularly where the risk of hydrogen induced stress cracking (HISC) requires consideration, and the application of rules in DNVGL-RP-F112 are essential to avoid the onset of premature HISC damage.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like more details of how FCL could be of assistance to your organisation. Either go to the Get in Touch page on our website or call us on 01992 585450. Alternatively, if you prefer, you can contact Ross directly by e-mail at rgbh@finglowconsultants.co.uk or via his direct line telephone number - 01992 585451.
We'd like to take this opportunity to thank Clive Major and George Hering at Ibis Marketing Ltd, and Roger Bamberough here at FCL, for their combined efforts in developing our new website. We're delighted with the finished product and much appreciate the tenacity and patience that has been required of all of you to get us to this point.
We're really pleased to have played a key part on this project by substantiating the entire pressure boundary of FET's new LR class rescue submersible. If you have a few moments we'd recommend that you grab a coffee and take in the video. It's a fascinating watch !
Congratulations to Michael Travers, our new Mechanical Engineering Intern, on successfully completing a comprehensive online training course covering the design of pressure vessels to the requirements of ASME Section VIII Division 1.
Michael joined us in September 2020 having gained a BEng with First Class Honours in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Hertfordshire.
Although COVID-19 restrictions have meant that he has been obliged to work remotely throughout his time with us, we are looking forward to welcoming Michael to the office when we fully re-open later this year.
Buckling is one of the most important failure modes to consider in pressure vessel design as it can lead to a sudden and catastrophic collapse. The animation below shows the first buckling mode obtained from a linear elastic buckling analysis of a ring-stiffened cylindrical shell subject to external pressure. Overall collapse of the structure is predicted principally because of the short shell bay length and slender stiffeners used.
The bifurcation buckling load is determined by constructing a linear elastic stiffness matrix and geometric stiffness matrix. Although this type of analysis almost always provides an overestimate of the real-world buckling load, a reasonable prediction of the actual buckling load can be obtained using a design factor depending on the requirements of the chosen design code. The linear elastic buckling analysis method offers a fast, low cost solution, as the smallest eigenvalue returned can offer a quick indication as to whether the structure will be stable under the required service conditions. It can also be used to highlight the regions of a structure in which stability issues could occur, as well as drawing attention to meshing irregularities that can themselves produce unexpected behaviour. Linear elastic buckling analysis does have inherent limitations, however. Due to being geometrically linear, the method can be a poor predictor of the importance of geometric imperfections. It also cannot take material nonlinearity into account, although this isn’t necessarily an issue if the applied loading doesn’t result in any appreciable yielding.
In situations where linear elastic buckling analysis is deemed unsuitable, non-linear buckling analysis can be used. In this type of analysis the load is applied in a series of steps and, as the load is increased, the shape and, in turn, the stiffness of the structure changes, resulting in a solution that accounts for geometry and material nonlinearity. Although such analyses are much more time consuming and expensive to run, with careful attention to material property definition and use of actual geometry, very accurate predictions of buckling load can be achieved.
A fantastic project to work on - we continue to be extremely proud of our substantial involvement on this one !
An excellent opportunity to have a look around inside LR5. This was the first rescue submarine project that we worked on back in 2004 when we developed and substantiated the design of the new command module, battery pods and dry transfer skirt as part of a major refit project
Finglow Consultants Limited have recently taken on a new long term lease of the office premises at Beane Bridge House in Hertford. Our address and contact details therefore remain as follows:
Beane Bridge House
34 Chambers Street
Hertford
Hertfordshire
SG14 1PL
Tel: 01992 585450
Fax: 01992 585460
E-mail: fcl@finglowconsultants.co.uk
Earlier this year, CEI of Blue Springs, Missouri, USA acquired Finglow Limited and Finglow Research Limited, owners and distributors of the ‘Finglow Software’ products. Although CEI continue to use the ‘Finglow’ name under a license agreement, Finglow Consultants Limited and CEI are entirely separate entities with no formal links or associations