ASME Part VIII Pressure Vessels - Part 1 Design, Manufacturing, Inspection, Testing, and Certification Requirements

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) publishes and maintains an international boiler and pressure vessel code that sets acceptable safety limits. Part eight of the code is dedicated to pressure vessels (ASME Chapter VIII). This section contains detailed requirements for the design, manufacture, testing, inspection and certification of both ignited and non-ignited pressure vessels. Specifically, it refers to pressure vessels operating at internal or external pressures exceeding 15 psig.

ASME Chapter VIII is divided into the following three sections, each covering different ship characteristics:

• Part 1 deals with design, manufacture, inspection, testing and certification requirements.
• Part 2 provides requirements for materials, design and non-destructive testing standards.
• Part 3 provides guidelines for pressure vessels operating at internal or external pressures above 10.000 psi.

All of these subsections refer, in themselves, to many other standards.

Part 1 contains appendices, some mandatory and some non-mandatory, largely detailing additional design criteria, non-destructive testing techniques, and inspection acceptance standards for pressure vessels. It also covers the rules that apply to the use of the U, UM and UV identifiers and the single ASME certification mark.

The ASME standards referenced in this section are:

• 1 standards from the B5 series on screw threads
• 16 standards from the B13 series on pipe flanges and fittings
• 18 standards from the B9 series on hex bolts
• B36.10M: Welded and seamless forged steel pipe
• B36.19M: Stainless steel tube
• NQA-1: Quality assurance program requirements for nuclear facilities
• PCC-1: Guidelines for flange connection assembly with pressure limit bolts
• PCC-2: Repair of pressure equipment and pipes
• PTC 25: Pressure relief devices
• QAI-1: Qualifications for authorized inspection

In addition, ASME Section VIII outlines mandatory requirements, special prohibitions, and non-mandatory guidance for materials, certification, and pressure relief.

Among the numerous tests, measurements, analyses, and evaluations our organization provides for businesses in various sectors, we also offer testing services under ASME Part VIII Pressure Vessels, Part 1, with our trained and expert staff and advanced technological equipment .