
ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code

The ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC) is an American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) standard that regulates the design and construction of boilers and pressure vessels. The document is written and maintained by volunteers chosen for their technical expertise . The ASME works as an accreditation body and entitles independent third parties (such as verification, testing and certification agencies) to inspect and ensure compliance to the BPVC.
History.
The BPVC was created in response to public outcry after several serious explosions in the state of Massachusetts. A fire-tube boiler exploded at the Grover Shoe Factory in Brockton, Massachusetts, on March 20, 1905, which resulted in the deaths of 58 people and injured 150. Then on December 6, 1906, a boiler in the factory of the P.J. Harney Shoe Company exploded in Lynn, Massachusetts. As a result, the state of Massachusetts enacted the first legal code based on ASME's rules for the construction of steam boilers in 1907.
ASME convened the Board of Boiler Rules before it became the ASME Boiler Code Committee which was formed in 1911. This committee put in the form work for the first edition of the ASME Boiler Code - Rules for the Construction of Stationary Boilers and for the Allowable Working Pressures, which was issued in 1914 and published in 1915.
The first edition of the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, known as the 1914 edition, was a single 114-page volume. It developed over time into the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel code, which today has over 92,000 copies in use, in over 100 countries around the world. the document consisted of 16,000 pages in 28 volumes.
After the first edition of the Code, the verifications required by the Code were performed by independent inspectors, which resulted in a wide range of interpretations. Hence in February 1919, the National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors was formed.
Code Sections.
LIST OF SECTIONS
The following is the structure of the 2019 Edition of the BPV Code:
ADDENDA
Addenda, which include additions and revisions to the individual Sections of the Code, are issued accordingly for a particular edition of the code up until the next edition. 
Addenda is no longer in use since Code Edition 2013. It has been replaced by two years edition period.
INTERPRETATIONS
ASME's interpretations to submitted technical queries relevant to a particular Section of the Code are issued accordingly. Interpretations are also available through the internet.
CODES CASES
Code Cases provide rules that permit the use of materials and alternative methods of construction that are not covered by existing BPVC rules. For those Cases that have been adopted will appear in the appropriate Code Cases book: ""Boilers and Pressure Vessels" and "Nuclear Components.""
Codes Cases are usually intended to be incorporated in the Code in a later edition. When it is used, the Code Case specifies mandatory requirements which must be met as it would be with the Code. There are some jurisdictions that do not automatically accept Code Cases.
ASME BPVC Section II - Materials.
The section of the ASME BPVC consists of 4 parts.
Part A - Ferrous Material Specifications 
This Part is a supplementary book referenced by other sections of the Code. It provides material specifications for ferrous materials which are suitable for use in the construction of pressure vessels.
The specifications contained in this Part specify the mechanical properties, heat treatment, heat and product chemical composition and analysis, test specimens, and methodologies of testing. The designation of the specifications start with 'SA' and a number which is taken from the ASTM 'A' specifications.
Part B - Nonferrous Material Specifications
This Part is a supplementary book referenced by other sections of the Code. It provides material specifications for nonferrous materials which are suitable for use in the construction of pressure vessels.
The specifications contained in this Part specify the mechanical properties, heat treatment, heat and product chemical composition and analysis, test specimens, and methodologies of testing. The designation of the specifications start with 'SB' and a number which is taken from the ASTM 'B' specifications.
Part C - Specifications for Welding Rods, Electrodes, and Filler Metals
This Part is a supplementary book referenced by other sections of the Code. It provides mechanical properties, heat treatment, heat and product chemical composition and analysis, test specimens, and methodologies of testing for welding rods, filler metals and electrodes used in the construction of pressure vessels.
The specifications contained in this Part are designated with 'SFA' and a number which is taken from the American Welding Society (AWS) specifications.
Part D - Properties (Customary/Metric)
This Part is a supplementary book referenced by other sections of the Code. It provides tables for the design stress values, tensile and yield stress values as well as tables for material properties (Modulus of Elasticity, Coefficient of heat transfer "et al.")
ASME BPVC Section III - Rules for Construction of Nuclear Facility Components.
Section III of the ASME Code Address the rules for construction of nuclear facility components and supports. The components and supports covered by section III are intended to be installed in a nuclear power system that serves the purpose of producing and controlling the output of thermal energy from nuclear fuel and those associated systems essential to safety of nuclear power system. Section III provides requirements for new construction of nuclear power system considering mechanical and thermal stresses due to cyclic operation. Deterioration, which may occur in service as result of radiation effects, corrosion, or instability of the material, is typically not addressed.
ASME BPVC Section V - Nondestructive Examination.
The section of the ASME BPVC contains the requirements for nondestructive examinations which are referred and required by other sections of the Code.
The section also covers the suppliers examination responsibilities, requirements of the authorized inspectors (AI) as well as the requirements for the qualification of personnel, inspection and examinations.
ASME BPVC Section VIII - Rules for Construction of Pressure Vessels.
The section of the ASME BPVC consists of 3 divisions.
ASME Section VIII Division 1.
division covers the mandatory requirements, specific prohibitions and nonmandatory guidance for materials, design, fabrication, inspection and testing, markings and reports, overpressure protection and certification of pressure vessels having an internal or external pressure which exceeds 15 psi (100 kPa).
pressure vessel can be either fired or unfired. The pressure may be from external sources, or by the application of heating from an indirect or direct source, or any combination thereof.
The Division is not numbered in the traditional method (Part 1, Part 2 etc.) but is structured with Subsections and Parts which consist of letters followed by a number. The structure is as follows:
Division 2 - Alternative Rules.
This division covers the mandatory requirements, specific prohibitions and nonmandatory guidance for materials, design, fabrication, inspection and testing, markings and reports, overpressure protection and certification of pressure vessels having an internal or external pressure which exceeds 3000 psi (20700 kPa) but less than 10,000 psi.
The pressure vessel can be either fired or unfired. The pressure may be from external sources, or by the application of heating from an indirect or direct source as a result of a process, or any combination of the two.
The rules contained in this section can be used as an alternative to the minimum requirements specified in Division 1. Generally the Division 2 rules are more onerous than in Division 1 with respect to materials, design and nondestructive examinations but higher design stress intensity values are allowed. Division 2 has also provisions for the use of finite element analysis to determine expected stress in pressure equipment, in addition to the traditional approach of "design by formula" (Part 5: "Design by Analysis requirements").
Division 3 - Alternative Rules for Construction of High Pressure Vessels.
This division covers the mandatory requirements, specific prohibitions and nonmandatory guidance for materials, design, fabrication, inspection and testing, markings and reports, overpressure protection and certification of pressure vessels having an internal or external pressure which exceeds 10,000 psi (70,000 kPa).
The pressure vessel can be either fired or unfired. The pressure may be from external sources, by the application of heating from an indirect or direct source, process reaction or any combination thereof.