API 570 study plan
API 570 · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Causes of Deterioration and Failure in Piping Systems
Classify at least 15 deterioration mechanisms from API 571 by susceptible alloy, process environment, and the piping component where they initiate.
Distinguish CUI, chloride SCC, HTHA, erosion-corrosion, and galvanic corrosion by the inspection method that detects each most reliably.
Map each mechanism to the API 570 inspection response it triggers (CML placement, location emphasis, interval shortening).
Solve 25 scenario items that describe a failure and ask which mechanism explains it.
Your checkpoint
One-page damage-mechanism matrix (mechanism to susceptible material to typical location to detection method) covering 15 mechanisms, self-quizzed to 90% accuracy.
Causes of Deterioration and Failure in Piping Systems & Inspection, Rating, Repair, Alteration, and Rerating of In-Service Piping
Compute long-term and short-term corrosion rates from two or more sets of survey thickness readings.
Calculate remaining life and minimum required thickness for straight pipe and formed components using the ASME B31.3 formulas cited by API 570.
Set inspection intervals and maximum intervals from remaining life and the applicable remaining-life fractions.
Apply shorter-interval logic where mechanisms such as CUI, injection points, or soil-to-air interfaces govern.
Your checkpoint
Ten fully worked corrosion-rate, remaining-life, and interval problems with answers and the clause reference supporting each step.
Inspection, Rating, Repair, Alteration, and Rerating of In-Service Piping
Differentiate repair, alteration, and rerating using API 570 definitions and worked examples.
Apply welded-repair requirements: authorization, WPS/PQR qualification, preheat and PWHT, and hardness verification.
Evaluate acceptability of temporary repairs and clamped or boxed enclosures, including time limits and documentation.
Assign inspection hold points and required NDE for a described repair scenario.
Your checkpoint
Repair-versus-alteration-versus-rerating decision checklist applied to 12 written scenarios, each with a verdict and the documentation it requires.
Inspection Practices, Methods, and Referenced Code Requirements
Match NDE methods (VT, RT, UT, MT, PT, WFMT, ACFM, shear-wave UT) to the discontinuities they detect and the acceptance criteria they invoke.
Select CML grid density and placement for a given piping circuit based on mechanism, geometry, and expected corrosion pattern.
Apply API 570 inspection requirements for buried, insulated, and high-temperature piping systems.
Extract the referenced-code requirements from ASME B31.3 and B16.5 that govern in-service inspection decisions.
Your checkpoint
NDE selection table plus a completed CML layout for one example circuit with a written justification for each location.
Inspection, Rating, Repair, Alteration, and Rerating of In-Service Piping & Inspection Practices, Methods, and Referenced Code Requirements
Determine rerating outcomes: reduced MAWP, changed service, and pressure-temperature ratings of flanges and components.
Apply requirements for hot taps, line blanks, valve replacement, and bolted joint assembly and integrity.
Delineate owner/user, inspector, and repair-organization responsibilities for repair and alteration acceptance.
Apply weld acceptance criteria from the referenced fabrication code to given discontinuity indications.
Your checkpoint
Twenty flashcards of numeric and acceptance criteria plus 15 practice problems solved and cross-checked against clause references.
Scope, Definitions, and Organization of API 570
State the scope and exclusions of API 570 and describe how it interfaces with API 510, API 653, and ASME B31.3.
Define key terms including authorized inspector, CML, inspection, repair, alteration, rerating, and MAWP.
Describe the roles of the owner/user, inspector, repair organization, and jurisdictional authority.
Explain the qualification and certification requirements for an API 570 inspector.
Your checkpoint
Definitions sheet for 35 key terms, self-tested to 90% unaided recall.
Records, Reports, and Repair/Replacement Documentation
Draft an inspection report containing every element API 570 requires.
Record CML thickness data and remaining life in a format traceable to the inspection plan.
Assemble a repair/alteration package with the required attachments: WPS/PQR, NDE results, and rerating calculations.
Determine record retention periods and record-keeping obligations for inspection and repair documentation.
Your checkpoint
One complete mock inspection report and one repair package for a sample circuit, checked line by line against a requirements checklist.
Inspection, Rating, Repair, Alteration, and Rerating of In-Service Piping & Inspection Practices, Methods, and Referenced Code Requirements
Complete a full-length timed mock exam covering all five domains and tabulate every miss by domain and error type.
Re-work every missed question in the repair, alteration, rerating, and inspection-practice areas back to the governing clause.
Rehearse thickness, corrosion-rate, remaining-life, and interval calculations until ten consecutive items are correct without notes.
Build a one-page last-look sheet listing interval-setting rules and repair/alteration/rerating triggers.
Your checkpoint
Mock exam score report with a domain breakdown, a written remediation log, and the completed last-look sheet.
Milestones
Week 2: Score 80% or better on a closed-book set of 20 corrosion-rate and remaining-life problems.
Week 4: Score 75% or better on a 40-question timed quiz covering Domains 2, 3, and 4.
Week 6: Recall 35 Domain 1 definitions with at least 90% accuracy on a self-administered quiz.
Week 7: Mock inspection report and repair package satisfy 100% of the checklist of required elements.
Week 8: Score 80% or better overall on the full-length mock exam with no domain below 70%.