Concepts

Settings

Setting up Structural Minimum Thickness Lookup Tables

A structural minimum thickness lookup table provides values that APM compares with the result of a minimum value calculation to determine the pipe’s minimum wall thickness. The most conservative value is selected; that is, APM applies the greater of the calculated or structural minimum thickness values as the asset minimum wall thickness.

Previously, APM users needed to manually update the structural minimum thickness every time they used the calculations. Now, a user-defined lookup table is available to provide the structural thickness value. For example, you can enter in the table the values in the current API-574 standard or enter values you have defined for your organization. The table is used to automatically update the structural thickness value. This saves time in data entry and eliminates data input errors.

You can set up one or more structural minimum thickness lookup tables and associate them with asset types and material types. The table includes the unit of measure, maximum temperature, and ranges of pipe diameter values with their minimum thicknesses.

Note: Support for structural minimum thickness is available for preview. You must first enable feature 102 to use the functionality in APM. In the Enterprise window, select the Features view and the Enabled Features tab. Click Browse, select “Support structural minimum thickness when calculating an asset’s minimum thickness” and click OK. If APM is running as a smart client, click Refresh Enabled Features on the server. Then restart the client to use the functionality.

After setting up the lookup table, enable support for structural minimum thickness on the appropriate asset types. Assets of these types display the result of structural minimum thickness evaluations on their calculation dialogs, Degradation Info tabs, and degradation indicators. For example:

Other possible statuses are “Not applicable”, “Not applied”, “No applicable structural minimum thickness”, and “No minimum value found”.

This topic explains how to set up a structural minimum thickness lookup table using the Minimum Thickness Settings window, which also provides access to asset types, material types, and calculations. Before setting up the table itself, define the maximum temperature values to be referenced on tables.

To Set up Structural Minimum Thickness Temperatures

1.	In the Site window, click the Administration menu, Asset Management Settings, and then Minimum Thickness Settings:

The Minimum Thickness Settings window appears:

The Asset Types tab displays all asset types that support minimum value calculations. You can also select the “Asset types that do not support minimum value calculations” configuration to add calculations and enable structural minimum thickness. For more information, see **Setting up Asset Types.

Tip: You can also find structural minimum thickness settings in the Assets view, Settings tab, Oil and Gas Specifications tab. Select the Oil and Gas Specifications node in the tree. Select the Minimum Thickness tab.

2.	Select the Temperatures tab.

3.	For each temperature you wish to add, click New. The Structure Minimal Thickness Temperature dialog appears:

Tip: Temperatures can be marked as inactive to prevent them from being available for selection. When you are ready to release an inactive temperature, select it in the table and click Mark as Active. In the Structural Minimum Thickness Temperature dialog, the Status tab allows you to change the active status and view the most recent active status change.

4.	Enter the maximum temperature and the unit of measure (Celsius or Fahrenheit).

5.	Provide a description.

6.	If you wish to change the graphic that represents the temperature in tables and charts, click Change Icon, select a new icon, and click OK.

7.	Click OK. The temperature is added to the table.

To Set up a Structural Minimum Thickness Lookup Table

1.	In the Minimum Thickness Settings window, select the Structural Minimum Thickness tab:

Tip: Structural minimum thickness tables can be marked as inactive to prevent them from being available for selection. When you are ready to release an inactive table, select it in the tab and click Mark as Active. In the Structural Minimum Thickness Properties dialog, the Status tab allows you to change the active status and view the most recent active status change.

2.	Click New. The Structural Minimum Thickness Properties window appears:

3.	Provide a descriptive name for the lookup table.

4.	In the Unit of measure list, select either “inch” or “millimeter”. These are the only two values supported.

5.	Select the maximum temperature from the list.

6.	If you wish to change the graphic that represents the table in tables and charts, click Change Icon, select a new icon, and click OK.

7.	In the “Asset types” table, select the asset types that this lookup table can be used with.

8.	In the “Material types” table, select the material types that this lookup table can be used with.

Tip: If you need to add a new material, select the Material Types tab in the Minimum Thickness Settings window and click New. For more information, see Setting up Material Types and Classifications.

9.	Select the Diameter Values tab.

10.	For each range of diameter values, click New. The Structural Minimum Thickness Diameter Value dialog appears:

11.	Enter the pipe diameter value.

12.	Enter the minimum thickness value.

13.	If you wish to change the graphic that represents the diameter value in tables and charts, click Change Icon, select a new icon, and click OK.

14.	Select the previous value. The current and previous diameters create a range to which the minimum thickness applies.

15.	Click OK. The dialog closes and the diameter values are listed in the table. For example:

16.	When you have finished entering diameter values, click OK. The structural minimum thickness table is added to the tab.

The Material Types tab displays the material types supported by the enterprise.

The Calculations tab displays the minimum thickness calculations supported by the enterprise. For information about creating them, see Creating a Degradation Minimum Value Calculation.