What is the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code?

The ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC) is a comprehensive set of standards published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. It establishes rules for the design, fabrication, inspection, testing, and certification of boilers and pressure vessels to ensure safety. In the United States and many other jurisdictions, vessels over certain sizes and pressures must comply with this formal code.

What we know

• The ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code provides rules for the design, fabrication, inspection, testing, and certification of boilers and pressure vessels. [2]
• The BPVC is developed and updated through a consensus process managed by ASME committees with volunteer technical experts. [2]
• In the United States, vessels over a certain size and pressure must be built to the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. [3]
• ASME operates a conformity assessment system where accredited organizations can apply Code Symbol Stamps to equipment meeting BPVC requirements. [2]

Where to go next

• how it workedHow does a pressure vessel operate?
• the bigger pictureWhat is the American Society of Mechanical Engineers?
• compared withWhat is the European equivalent of the BPVC?
• what caused itWhy was the American Society of Mechanical Engineers founded?
• a case in pointWhat is a boiler?
• an unexpected connectionHow did steam boiler failures shape modern engineering?Numerous catastrophic steam boiler pressure vessel failures directly drove the founding of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1880 to set safety codes.

Sources

• [1]ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (Wikidata Q4654284) · CC0 1.0
• [2]ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Pressure vessel · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Boiler · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]American Society of Mechanical Engineers · CC BY-SA 4.0

Your path

1. What was the Bauhaus Dessau building complex?
2. /What is the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code?