ASME CODES AND STANDARDS - uml.edu

1 I N T R O D U C T I O N T O. asme . CODES AND. STANDARDS .. AIR HEATERS ATMOSPHERIC WATER COOLING EQUIPMENT AUTOMATICALLY FIRED BOILERS BACKWATER VALVES. A B B R E V I AT I O N S A C C R E D I TAT I O N A I R C O O L E D H E AT E X C H A N G E R S A I R C Y L I N D E R S A N D A D A P T E R S. Introduction CODES and STANDARDS From the very founding of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers ( asme International) in 1880, discussions were held on STANDARDS for shop drawing symbols, pulleys, and line shafting, Dear Engineering Student: machine screws, key seats, and drawing boards. With the ever-increasing industrialization, lack of The video you have just seen, An Introduction to interchangeability also became a problem. CODES and STANDARDS , gave you a quick tour of the Engineers realized the need for standardization asme involvement in CODES and STANDARDS .

2 * It the need to arrive at universal agreements on ranged from the early impetus, given by the Sultana how, for example, a consumer could buy a bolt in and Baltimore Hydrant disasters, to the present sys- California for a nut acquired in New Jersey, or tem of standard writing, conformity assessment and how a worn boiler connection could be easily participation in ISO 9000. replaced by a new one that would fit into place securely and safely. In 1883, a committee on stan- This booklet expands on these issues so that you will dards and gauges was created. During the annual become fully aware of the role CODES and STANDARDS meeting of the Society in the same year, a paper will play in your future professional life as a was presented on the need to adopt a set of rules mechanical engineer.

3 For conducting boiler tests which would be gener- ally accepted among engineers as a standard code Sincerely, of practice. The paper emphasized the prevailing Task Group on Introduction to asme CODES and lack of uniformity in that every engineer who per- STANDARDS forms a boiler test makes a rule for himself, which may be varied from time to time to suit the conve- Gerard G. Lowen, Chairman Halit M. Kosar nience or interests of the party for whom the test is Stuart Brown Richard A. Merz made. This resulted in the formation of a com- Domenic A. Canonico Mark Pagano mittee to study the subject of a uniform test code. John H. Fernandes Sam Zamrik Such a test code was published in 1884 and Philip M. Gerhart became asme 's first standard. Shortly thereafter, the Society decided that pipes and pipe threads should be standardized and that the STANDARDS committee should be composed of men represen- tative of pipe manufacturers and pipe users, with *For those who have not viewed the video please contact asme perhaps one representative of sprinkling systems CODES , STANDARDS and Conformity Assessment.

4 And certainly one of the manufacturers of taps and Telephone: 1-212-591-8500; Email: dies. Such an approach to balance came to typify the makeup of future asme STANDARDS commit- tees.. CRANES DEAERATORS DEFINITIONS AND VALUES DENSITY DETERMINATION DERRICKS DIAL INDICATORS. CLEANOUTS COAL PULVERIZERS COMPRESSORS CONSUMABLE TOOLS CONVEYORS COORDINATE MEASURING MACHINES. CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS CHARTS CHEMICAL PLANT AND PETROLEUM REFINERY PIPING CHUCKS AND CHUCK JAWS. B I O P R O C E S S I N G E Q U I P M E N T B O I L E R S B O LT S B U I L D I N G S E R V I C E S P I P I N G C A S T I N G S A N D F O R G I N G S. Another serious problem facing engineers of that years since the Code was introduced it speaks for era was exploding boilers. Heating water to pro- itself.

5 Duce steam and converting that steam into energy to power machinery revolutionized production in the It is because of CODES and STANDARDS that chains nineteenth century. To build up pressure, steam and sprockets fit one another, plumbing fixtures must be contained in some type of vessel and, are interchangeable, elevators do not fall, nuts and uncontrolled, pressurized steam can burst even one bolts have uniform dimensions, power generation made of steel. For want of reliably tested materials, equipment and industry in general operate safely secure fittings, and proper valves, boilers of every and economically. description on land and at sea were exploding with terrifying regularity. They would continue to do so into the twentieth century. With the boiler test code What is a standard?

6 As a beginning, the establishment of universally accepted construction STANDARDS would take many A standard can be defined as a set of technical def- years. Such STANDARDS are today found in the asme initions and guidelines- how to instructions for Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. designers and manufacturers. STANDARDS , which can run from a few paragraphs to hundreds of This Code, first published in 1915, is continually pages, are written by experts. revised and updated to keep pace with new materi- als, new designs, and new applications in fossil and STANDARDS are considered voluntary because they nuclear plants. It has been adopted as law in most serve as guidelines, not having the force of law. states of the USA as well as in Canada. Since the asme publishes its STANDARDS ; accredits users of development of this Code, boiler disasters have STANDARDS to ensure that they are capable of man- been reduced to almost none.

7 After all, how many ufacturing products that meet those STANDARDS ; and of you fall asleep at night worrying that your home provides stamps that accredited manufacturers heater may explode? place on their products, indicating that a product was manufactured according to a standard. asme cannot, however, force any manufacturer, inspector, or installer to follow asme STANDARDS . Figure 1 Their use is voluntary. NUMBER OF EXPLOSIONS. 400 Why then are STANDARDS effective? Perhaps the 350 1991 Annual Report of the American Society for 300. 250. Testing and Materials (ASTM) said it best. 200 STANDARDS are a vehicle of communication for 150. producers and users. They serve as a common lan- 100. 50 guage, defining quality and establishing safety 0. Figure 1 1890.

8 1880 shows a plot 1900 1910 1920 of 1930boiler explosions 1940 1950 versus 1960 1970 1980 1990. YEAR.. ELEVATORS ESCALATORS EXHAUSTERS FANS FASTENERS FEEDWATER HEATERS FINE PARTICULATE MATTER. FITTINGS FLANGES FLOOR DRAINS FLUE GAS DESULFURIZATION FLUID FLOW IN PIPES FUEL GAS PIPING. D I A P H R A G M S E A L S D I E S D I E S E L A N D B U R N E R F U E L S D I G I TA L S Y S T E M S D I M E N S I O N A L M E T R O L O G Y. D I M E N S I O N I N G A N D T O L E R A N C I N G D I M E N S I O N S D R A F T I N G D R A I N S D U M B WA I T E R S E J E C T O R S. criteria. Costs are lower if procedures are stan- Standard on Geometric Dimensioning and dardized; training is also simplified. And con- Tolerancing, a manufacturer or fabricator is able to sumers accept products more readily when they can produce a part without misunderstanding.

9 This be judged on intrinsic merit. contributes to the efficiency of modern manufactur- ing by allowing different components of a product to be built in different parts of the world. What is a code? asme , the American Society of Testing and A code is a standard that has been adopted by one Materials (ASTM), and the Society of Automotive or more governmental bodies and has the force of Engineers (SAE) are just some of the 200 plus vol- law, or when it has been incorporated into a busi- unteer organizations in the United States that ness contract. adhere to procedures accredited by the American National STANDARDS Institute (ANSI) for the devel- opment of STANDARDS . These procedures must What is the involvement of asme reflect openness, transparency, balance of interest, in CODES and STANDARDS today?

10 And due process. Since the beginning of industrialization, asme and many other STANDARDS developing organizations Committee meetings must be open to the public, have worked to fulfill the growing need for stan- and procedures are used to govern deliberations dards in today's world. Through a voluntary, con- and voting. Committees must represent a balance sensus process asme STANDARDS are developed to of interested parties, and all comments on technical protect the health and welfare of the public. In documents during the final approval process must addition to developing these STANDARDS asme pro- be considered. Any individual may appeal any vides conformity assessment processes which help action or inaction of a committee relating to mem- to ensure that manufacturers live up to the relevant bership, or a code or standard promulgated by the specifications and that certain personnel are prop- committee.