MINIMUM SAFETY REQUIREMENTS OR HIGHPRESSURE CYLINDER TESTING STATIONS

GIA 002/19

7TH Floor,Ceejay House,Dr.Annie Besant R oad,Worli,Mumbai-400018,INDIA. Tel: +91 22 40323960/3195 Fax +91 22 40323191 E mail:[email protected] Internet: http://www.gasassociaton.in

GIA/002/19

MINIMUM SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR HIGH PRESSURE CYLINDER TESTING STATIONS ______

REVIEWED BY: GIA Technical Committee

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7TH Floor,Ceejay House,Dr.Annie Besant R oad,Worli,Mumbai-400018,INDIA. Tel: +91 22 40323960/3195 Fax +91 22 40323191 E mail:[email protected] Internet:http://www.gasassociaton.in

Table of Content

Sr.No Content Page No

0 Introduction 4

1 Scope and purpose 4

2 Background to periodic Inspection and testing 4

3 List Of Documents,rules and related standard 5

4 Test Station and Minimum safety Requirement 5

i) General Requirement 5

ii) Personnel Requirement 5-6

iii) Equipment requirement 6

iv) Accuracy requirement 7

v) Calibration requirement 7

vi) PPES requirement 7

vii) Quality Management System requirement 7

viii) Display Boards /banners 7

5 Testing of Cylinders 8

1 Condition of Cylinder for test 8

2 Inspection of Cylinder before carrying out Hydrostatic 8 stretch test. 3 Hydrostatic stretch test. 9

4 Record of test 9

6 Conversion of cylinders 10

7 Condemning the Cylinder 10

Brief summary of requirement 11 8 9 Conclusion 11

Introduction

Manufacturing, (Filling of gas in cylinders), Use of and possession of Gas Cylinders are regulated by Gas Cylinder Rules, amended from time to time.

The periodic inspection and testing of a gas cylinder is to be carried out periodically OR as and when required depending on condition of cylinder. It is an essential statutory requirement, to test the cylinders with in the defined interval of time. It is basically a health Monitoring tool for Cylinders.

The Cylinder is safe for use, if it passes the periodic test criteria, as mentioned in IS-5844-2014 (Hydrostatic stretch testing of Compressed Gas Cylinders )and also have no defects as mentioned in Annex C of IS standard 8451-2009, ( Periodic inspection and testing of high pressure gas Cylinders)

If the Cylinders fails, any of the test, it should be condemned by test shop following condemning of cylinders procedure. Periodicity or Interval of test is defined in IS standard IS 8868.

1 Scope and Purpose

This document is a reference guide on the Minimum safety requirement for High pressure Cylinder testing station. It is intended specifically for Non Toxic, Nonflammable, high pressure seamless gas Cylinders.

Additional requirements, for safety, which may apply for Toxic and Flammable gas cylinders are not covered in this document.

Two method of Hydraulic Testing of Cylinders Exist, as described in IS 5844-2014 a)Jacketed Method-Where the Cylinder is jacketed by water and expansion is calculated. b)Non Jacketed Method-Where the cylinder is open to atmosphere and expansion is calculated.

By Jacketed method, Expansion can be further measured by two different method,

1) Expansion test by Water jacket, levelling Burette method.

2) Expansion test by water jacket, fixed Burette method.

Effect of temperature on the test is minimized by jacketed method.

Test Procedure is not a part of this Document.

2 Background to periodic inspection and testing

The periodic inspection and testing of gas cylinders has been a statutory requirement in our country. Requalification should be treated seriously due to the potential risk to the end users and public. The requirements to test and inspect gas cylinders have evolved as national requirements, with the test periods and the test frequencies being set by Indian standard. There are many approved Periodic Hydraulic test Shop across the country and all need to be fully equipped to carry out the periodic testing of High Pressure gas Cylinder accurately & safely.

This documents emphasis upon Basic Minimum safety requirement for carrying out Hydraulic test of High pressure nonflammable nontoxic gas Cylinders.

3 List of Documents Rules and related standard.

i) Gas Cylinder rules as amended from time to time.

ii) IS 5844 Stretch Testing of Compressed Gas Cylinders – Recommendations. iii) IS 4379 Identification of Content of Industrial Gas Cylinders.

iv) IS 8451 Periodic Inspection and Testing Of High Pressure Gas Cylinders.

v) IS 8868 Periodical inspection interval of gas cylinders in use?

4 Test Stations and Minimum Safety requirements i)General Requirement: Cylinder Test stations shall have valid approval to test High Pressure gas Cylinders. Test stations should not undertake, any type of High Pressure gas Cylinders, periodic testing, for which it is not approved. The Personnel, involved in Test shop should have adequate knowledge and experience of various gases and gas mixtures their properties and handling and disposal system and associated Hazard. The procedure should be safe and should insure that the failed cylinder are condemned with laid down procedure and does not return to normal circulation. The Cylinder test station should have a defined Organisation structure with defined roles and responsibilities, to comply with rules and regulations.

Facility required .( Work-Place )

Cylinder Test station should have sufficient area to carry out Hydraulic testing of cylinders and related activities like inspection, Cleaning, valving, de-valving, weighing drying, etc.. In any case the area of the test shop should not be less than 3X3 m area, with 2m High fencing. It should have Provision for water. Water should be free from dirt, dust or particles. Test station should have a Provision for degasing for maximum 5 cylinder at a time. There shall be adequate lighting, ventilation and the work areas shall be clean dry & free of debris.

ii)Personnel Requirement:

Manager:- The Manager is responsible for the safe working of the test station. He should be qualified and fully conversant with Gases and its Properties, Cylinder specification, valve specifications, codes, and regulation applying to the gas cylinders for which the test station is approved. He should be aware of dangers associated with gas cylinders and its periodic testing. His qualification should include purpose of inspection, test methods, equipment, test requirements, recording of test results, and he shall have appropriate technical qualification in Mechanical or Chemical Engineering.

Supervisor:- Supervisor is the person under whose direct supervision, the test are carried out. The Supervisor shall possess the following qualifications, (i) Have at least two years' experience in the examination of gas cylinder; (ii) Should be able to read write English, and minimum 21 years of age. (iii) Should be conversant with the rules, codes, specifications or regulations applying to the gas cylinders, for which the test station is approved. (iv)Conversant with pressure, units of measure, Color codes and dangers associated with Gas Cylinders. Operator:- Operator is the person who is actually carrying out the periodic test. Operator, conducting inspections and tests shall have qualifications and experience suitable for

The work associated with Cylinder periodic testing. Operator should be vigilant. Operator should be able to read write the level, pressure, temperature and record the reading .Operator shall be trained to understand the purpose and method of inspection, dangers associated with gas cylinders, dangers associated with periodic testing and related activities. He should be able to read and write English.

iii) EQUIPMENTS

Type of equipment:- Operations associated with Periodic Hydrostatic test need specific equipment. Every approved test shop should have proper equipment’s to carry out the test accurately and safely. The operations associated with Periodic testing includes ,venting , ,devalving , valving cleaning, inspection, weighing ,testing drying and painting, Condemning etc. of cylinder as required under these rules and shall contain-

(i) Latest amended master copies of Gas cylinder rules,IS-5844,IS-8866,IS- 8451,IS 4379,IS-3224,and all related standard and specification with master copies stamped and maintained with latest ammendments.SOP”s for Physical inspection and test.SOP for Venting, valving Devalving, Drying. (ii) Hydrostatic test apparatus comprising pressurizing equipment or pump. Pump can be Electrically/Pneumatically Driven. Pressure gauges- at least two numbers having 6” dial. One pressure gauge is used as test gauge and other as master gauge .Volumetric measuring equipment /burette in accordance with IS: 5844-hydrostatic stretch testing of compressed gas cylinders. (iii) Non-destructive testing facilities for detection of stress corrosion cracks or fatigue cracks developed during the service. Like ultrasonic flaw detection with. Gauging measurement etc. (iv) Master Pressure Gauge of 15cm minimum diameter covering the appropriate pressure range Or Dead-weight pressure gauge tester of appropriate pressure range. (v) Extra-low voltage/12V DC. Lamps to inspect the Cylinder Internal surface clearly for any rusting, lamination deposition etc.. (vi) Miscellaneous tool and gauges for measurement. Straight edge, template, vernier caliper, Go NO GO gauges. (vii) Weighing scale and equipment, preferably with Platform at Ground Level. The weighing scale should be checked every day with set of standard test weight .Weighing scale and weights should be stamped by Authority. (viii) Adequate cylinder handling equipment like Trolley with chain. (ix) Cylinder inverter or Cylinder tilting arrangement for water draining from the cylinder. (x) Facilities like HVD or Air Blower for internal drying cylinders. (xi) Thermometer. (xii) Marking and stamping equipment like Number punch, punch holder, hammer. (xiii) Device for capturing photograph of the cylinder identification details. (xiv) Cylinders Painting equipment’s like booth fitted with exhaust fan of suitable capacity and draft. (xv) Cylinder Condemning equipment –Gas Cutting set, defacing tools-like Hammer, chiesel, hand grinders etc..

IV) Accuracy. Equipment’s used for test shop should be accurate and should be able to measure or perform accurately. Different equipment used in Hydro Test Shop shall have the accuracy as follows: -

(i) Hydrostatic test apparatus should be capable of measuring a permanent change in volume of the cylinder under test of the order of 1/20,000 of its total capacity. For example if 3 Ltrs cylinder is to be

tested, in a test shop, the test shop should have Burette graduated to read 3000/20000=0.15 ml Volume. (ii) Weighing scale equipment should not have error, more than +0.1 per cent. (iii) Pressure gauges used to denote test pressure, while test, i.e. working pressure gauges should not have more than 1% inaccuracy. (iv) Master pressure gauge, with max 0.25% inaccuracy.

V) Calibration. All Pressure gauges, weights, weighing scale used for Carrying out hydrostatic test and inspection should be Calibrated Periodically. The frequency of calibration for these equipment should not exceed the period mentioned below- Calibration record should be maintained. History card should be prepared. (i) Working pressure gauge – Within every month. (ii) Master pressure gauge- within every six months. (iii) Weighing equipment-checked by test weight daily when in service. (iv) Test weights – with in every two years.

VI) PPE’S Following PPE’s must be worn in working areas of Cylinder test shop. Hand Gloves Helmet Safety shoes Safety Goggle

VII) Quality management system. Cylinder testing station should be duly certified by accreditation body, for the The quality management system. The quality management system should be updated to Latest ISO standard.

VIII) Display, boards/banners Test shop should display the following at prominent location, MSDS for various gases. SOP for Inspection of Cylinder prior to test. SOP for venting. SOP for valving, De-valving, SOP for carrying out actual test. SOP for Condemning the Cylinder. NO SMOKING BOARD. NO Unauthorized Entry.

5) Testing of cylinders

1. Condition of cylinders for test.-It is utmost important that Cylinder received for carrying out periodic test is totally empty and does not contain any Gas. Even if, No gas is coming out of the valve outlet, Confirmatory test for valve blockage if any should be carried out before treating or labelling the cylinders as EMPTY.

i) For confirming that the Cylinder is empty, The valve shall be opened and if no gas escapes and the valve port is not visibly blocked, then a low pressure Nitrogen or other inert gas should be charged through valve. Remove Nitrogen supply source. Discharge of gas, from Cylinder indicates that the cylinder is empty. When no gas discharges from cylinder, it means that the Valve is "obstructed”. In such case, the valves shall be removed in such a manner that the gas escapes without danger to the operator. It should be loosened till first bubble appears and let the gas vented out slowly.

(ii) Before Venting off the gas content in cylinder, its name, properties should be known. Content gas can be confirmed from Color code, labels or from the owner of the cylinder .Its properties can be checked from MSDS.All contents shall be released in a safe manner. Dangers associated with the nature of the gas in the cylinder should be considered before venting. IS 4379 describes colour code for Identification of the content of gas Cylinders.

Note:- Cylinder valve in which the spindle cannot be opened or operated and suspected to have gas is to drill a 1/16 th in (1.6 mm) diameter hole with a hand drill through the valve body to the gas passage below the spindle seating. Fine-tooth hacksaw may be used alternately. A continuous jet of water must be directed on to the cutting tools and the operator must wear personal protective equipment’s (PPE). Drilling or sawing must be stopped immediately upon the first sign of escaping gas. Unscrewing the valve slightly, manually till the first sign of escaping of gas appears.(Soap bubble)

2. Inspection of cylinders before carrying out hydrostatic stretch test Before carrying out the test or inspection, it is necessary that Cylinder is empty of its content. Due care should be taken As mentioned in 6.1.(ii),to vent out the Gas content. If the cylinder is fitted with RPV, Adaptors should be used to empty out the Cylinder. De-valving should be done with due care and with precautions. Positive Checks mentioned above should be carried out, to ensure that there is no pressure inside the cylinder. DE-valving is a hazardous activity if not carried out with due precautions.

Inspection of cylinder before carrying out the hydrostatic test is essential. For carrying out the inspection, the Cylinder should be thoroughly cleaned. Cleaning can be done by brushing, sand blasting or suitable solvent cleaning. While Cleaning, care should be taken to not to damage the surface of Cylinder, Valve, threading. Inspection should be carried out for surface defects like, bulge, dent, cut or gauge, crack, arc or torch burn, weld marks, inserts, Permanent marking or stamping. Any suspicious cylinder not meeting acceptance criteria for any of the above defect should be rejected. Acceptance Criteria is described in IS 8451. After the inspection cylinder should be weighed and If the Cylinder tare weight is 5% less than the Original tare weight, the Cylinder should be condemned.

3. Hydrostatic stretch test. (i) The cylinders shall be subjected to hydrostatic stretch test and the test pressure should be retained for at least 30 seconds, in accordance with IS: 5844. (ii) Due to application of pressure the cylinder gets permanently stretched. The permanent stretch suffered by the cylinder due to application of test pressure shall not exceed 10% of the total stretch Suffered during the test. Any Deformation or bulge, should be treated as case of failure in the test and Cylinder should be rejected. Any drop in pressure during retention of pressure for 30 sec .should be treated as case of failure.

(iii) After completing the test, the cylinder shall be thoroughly dried internally. Air blower or Heat vacuum drier can be used for drying. Proper drying is necessary to avoid internal rusting apart from its effect on quality of gas. In case HVD is used, temperature should be controlled properly. Internal surface should be inspected after the test and before valving.Coorect Torque should be used for valve tightening. If the valves outlets are externally threaded, dummy nut or adaptors should be used so that valve threads are not damaged while tightening. Cylinder should be stamped on the neck and with marks and figures indicating the person by whom the test has been carried out and the date of test.Code mark of the test station should be registered with authority. Proper hand tools like hammer, Punch, should be used. PPE must be worn. (iv) Any cylinder which fails to pass periodic examination or test for any reason like surface defect, weight loss, permanent expansion any other defect is found to be unsafe for use and which cannot be repaired in accordance with rule shall be reported to the owner of the cylinder and shall be destroyed by the cylinder test shop as provided under rule 36.

4. Records of test Preparing Cylinder test records and preserving it with safe storage is important. Following mentioned information must be maintained as a record for cylinder. (a) Name of the manufacturer and the owner of the cylinder. (b) The specification to which the cylinder is manufactured. (c) Rotation Number/cylinder serial number. (d) Date of original hydrostatic/hydrostatic stretch test. (e) Test reports and certificates furnished by the manufacturer, if available. (f) Test pressure. (g) Maximum working pressure. (h) Water capacity. (i) Original Tare weight. (j)Actual weight at the time of test. (k) % Weight loss. (l)Total expansion (m)Permanent expansion (n)%Permanent Expansion. (o) Condition of cylinder shell. (p) Name of gas.(Service) (q) Type of valve fitted, and (r) Remarks, if any. Note: (1) The above information and details shall form the history of the cylinders and shall be maintained with changes if any from time to time. (2) The test station should follow all rules and regulation laid down from time to time.

6) Conversion of Cylinder:- Conversion of gas cylinder from one service to other should be done with prior permission or request from owner of the cylinder.CCOE approval is to be obtained by the owner of the cylinder for such conversion wherever it is required. Proper Colour coding and approved Valve for the service should be used.Cylinder should be Converted only after granting the permission, replacement of valve and colour coding.

7) Condemning of cylinder.- (1) Any cylinder in a state, no longer fit for service and for which the repair is not allowed is termed as condemned Cylinder.

Cylinder may not be suitable to use because of any reason like having any surface defect,(mentioned earlier) or suspicious marks, or weight loss beyond acceptable criteria or fails elongation test.such cylinders shall not be filled with any compressed gas and shall be destroyed by cylinder test shop. Cylinder should be flattened or a cut into pieces in such a manner that the pieces cannot be joined together by welding or otherwise to form a cylinder under intimation to the owner of the cylinder as specified in IS: 8198. (2) All permanent markings on the cylinder shall be defaced before it is destroyed. (3) Records of such cylinders shall be closed and maintained for a period of two years and reports of the details of closed history sheets or records shall be sent to the Authority, Quarterly, in writing, on the 1 St of January, April, July and October every year. (4) A cylinder, which has been used for any other purpose than storage, transportation and use of compressed gas shall be condemned and not suitable for use as a cylinder. (5) A cylinder due for condemnation as per sub-rules (1) to (4) of GCR shall be destroyed by the cylinder testing station.

8) Brief Summary of requirement

S.No Operation Safety Requirement 01 Unloading Loading. Wear all PPE . Use Trollies. Use levelled platform. 02 Checking for Pressure. Wear all PPE. Use pressure gauges of Suitable range. Gauges cleaned for oxygen service to be used. Tools of proper size to be used. Adaptor to be used for Cylinders having RPV. 03 Venting of Content. Wear all PPE. Refer MSDS of gases. Vent to safe Location. Ensure that Cylinder is empty positively. 04 Inspection Wear all PPE. Tools and equipment’s of proper size to be used. Area should be well illuminated. 05 De-valving Wear all PPE. Ensure that Cylinder is empty. Use soap solution and check leak while devalving. Tools and equipment’s of proper size to be used. Cylinders having RPV to be handled with Caution. 05 Hydro testing Wear all PPE. Test Pressure to be applied cautiously. Connecting hoses & equipment’s of rated pressure to be used. Tools and equipment’s of proper size to be used. 06 Drying Wear all PPE . Proper Cylinder tilting, inverting equipment to be used. Air Blowers,HVD-with temperature controller to be used. Inspect to ensure drying.

07 Valving Wear all PPE. Tools and equipment’s of proper size to be used. Torque wrench should be used. External Threaded valves to be protected. 08 Stamping Wear all PPE Tools and equipment’s of proper size to be used.

9) Conclusion

The recommendations given in this document outlines the various critical safety requirements

pertaining to the high pressure cylinder testing stations which would be beneficial to the gas industry as

it would result in safer high pressure cylinder testing operations once implemented.