Author: Dan Drabble
Dan is a mechanical and metallurgical engineer with particular expertise in the high-temperature damage mechanisms such as creep, creep-fatigue, HTHA, stress relaxation cracking and high-temperature corrosion. He holds a B.E.(Mechanical) and a Ph.D in the field of materials science, both from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. He has worked as an engineering consultant since 2011, joining Becht in 2022.
He has worked in primarily the petrochemical and refining industries, with significant experience in steam-methane reformers (SMRs). Dan led the remaining life assessment program for SMR catalyst tubes at his previous company for many years and has presented papers at several international conferences. He has also been involved in a number of large-scale syngas plant Risk-Based Inspection (RBI) implementation projects, development of Integrity Operating Windows (IOWs), and both field and laboratory metallurgical work.
Dan’s areas of interest and expertise are:
• SMR tube inspection and remaining life assessment.
• High-Temperature Hydrogen Attack (HTHA) and damage modelling.
• Condition and remaining life assessment of high-temperature components.
• Development of Integrity Operating Windows (IOWs).
• Failure analysis and root cause analysis.
• Risk-Based Inspection (RBI) programs in syngas plants.
• Fitness-for-service assessment.
• Materials analysis and testing.
• Materials selection.
• Data analysis.
• Software development.
• Statutory compliance for pressure equipment.