Journal of

Pressure Vessel
Technology

Technical Briefs
standard, the decision was made to perform a clean sheet rewrite.
By doing so, it was felt that not only could the standard be modernized with regard to the latest technical advances in pressure
vessel construction but it could be structured in a way to make it
more user friendly for both users and the committees that maintain
it.

Modernization of Pressure Vessel

Design Codes ASME Section
VIII, Division 2, 2007 Edition
T. P. Pastor
P.E.
HSB Global Standards,
Hartford, CT

Development Process

D. A. Osage
P.E.
The Equity Engineering Group, Inc.,
Shaker Heights, OH 44122

The technology for pressure equipment design continues to advance each and every day. The ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel
Code has been keeping pace with these advances over the last 92
years. As far back as the 1960s, it was recognized that the special
requirements for design of pressure vessels operating at pressures
over 2000 psi (13.7 MPa) called for special rules, and ASME
issued Sec. VIII, Division 2 of Alternative Rules for Pressure Vessels. Since that time, the understanding of failure mechanisms and
advances in material science, nondestructive testing, and
computer-aided design has progressed to the stage where a new
approach was needed not only in the content of design codes but
in the way they are presented and organized. This paper introduces the newly issued ASME Sec. VIII, Division 2 of 2007 edition
and explores the technical concepts included and the new format
designed for ease of use. Included are results of test exercises
sponsored by ASME giving actual applications of the new Code
for design of vessels. This paper demonstrates ASMEs commitment to provide manufacturers and users of pressure equipment
with the most up-to-date technology in easy to use standards that
service the international market. DOI: 10.1115/1.2794737

Introduction
In 1998, the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Committee authorized a project to rewrite Sec. VIII, Division 2 of Pressure
Vessel Code. This decision was made shortly after the design margin on ultimate tensile strength was lowered from 4.0 to 3.5 in
Secs. I and VIII, Division 1 VIII-1. ASME saw the need to
update Sec. VIII, Division 2 VIII-2 to be more competitive with
other international standards, and in lieu of revising the existing
Contributed by the Pressure Vessel and Piping Division of ASME for publication
in the JOURNAL OF PRESSURE VESSEL TECHNOLOGY. Manuscript received July 26, 2007;
final manuscript received September 14, 2007. Review conducted by G. E. Otto
Widera.

754 / Vol. 129, NOVEMBER 2007

Traditionally, the development of new standards by ASME is

carried out by volunteers who populate the different committees
responsible for any given standard. The last major standard developed in this way was Sec. VIII, Division 3, which took nearly
15 years to complete. Recognizing that the user community may
not have the patience to wait 15 or more years for this needed
update to Sec. VIII, Division 2, ASME decided to use an outside
organization to develop the first draft of the new standard. The
project was awarded to the Pressure Vessel Research Council
PVRC, who in turn formed the Task Group on Continued Modernization of Codes to oversee the development of the new ASME
Sec. VIII, Division 2 code. PVRC has utilized professionals with
both engineering and technical writing expertise to develop new
technology and the initial drafts of the new VIII-2.
A Steering Committee made up of ASME Sec. VIII members
was formed to provide technical oversight and direction to the
development team with the goal of facilitating the eventual balloting and approval process. ASME also hired a Project Manager
PM to manage all of the activities required to bring this new
standard to publication. Some of the PMs responsibilities included the following:

coordinating balloting process to Subcommittees and Boiler

and Pressure Vessel BPV Standards Committee
addressing accreditation issues relative to a possible overlap
of the old and new VIII-2
managing validation of all equations, and overseeing development of an example manual
coordinating beta testing of the standard
arranging presentation forums during the ballot process, and
working with ASME publication to prepare the first edition
of the new standard

The project began with the development of a detailed table of

contents containing every paragraph heading that would appear in
the new standard, and identifying the source for the content that
would be placed in this paragraph. In preparing such a detailed
table of contents, the lead authors were able to quickly identify
areas where major development effort was required to produce
updated rules. A list of some of the new technology produced for
the VIII-2 rewrite includes the following:

toughness requirements
material procurement table
design by rule for the creep range
conical transition reinforcement requirements
opening reinforcement rules

Copyright 2007 by ASME

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local strain criteria for design by analysis using elasticplastic analysis

limit load and plastic collapse analysis for multiple loading
conditions
fatigue design for welded joints based on structural stress
method, and
UT in lieu of RT for examination

Organization of New Code

Overview. The organization of the new VIII-2 is very different
from the current standard, utilizing a flat modular structure to
facilitate future revisions and additions. The standard is made up
of nine parts.

Part
Part
Part
Part
Part
Part
Part
Part
Part

1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:

General Requirements
Responsibilities and Duties
Material Requirements
Design-by-Rule Requirements
Design-by-Analysis Requirements
Fabrication Requirements
Inspection and Examination Requirements
Pressure Testing Requirements
Pressure Vessel Overpressure Protection

In addition to these nine parts, normative and informative annexes are utilized within each part, eliminating the use of mandatory and nonmandatory appendixes that are traditionally placed in
the back of the standard.
Part 1: General Requirements. Part 1 addresses the scope of
the standard with respect to the types of pressure vessels covered,
as well as the definition of the geometric boundary for the
stamped item. In addition, this part covers units of measurement,
reference standards, technical inquiries, and global definitions.
Similar to other ASME BPV standards, US Customary, Systme
Internationale SI, or local customary units may be used to demonstrate compliance with the standard. Guidance for the use of US
Customary and SI units is also provided.
Part 2: Responsibilities and Duties. Part 2 consolidates responsibilities and duties of the user, Manufacturer, and Authorized
inspector. The most significant change in this area has to do with
Registered Professional Engineer RPE certification of the Manufacturers Design Report MDR and the Users Design Specification UDS. An alternative to RPE certification is provided, which
will facilitate the use of the new VIII-2 outside of North America.
This alternative will require that the engineer certifying either the
UDS or MDR has the requisite technical and legal stature, and
jurisdictional authority to certify such a document.
One other significant change concerns maintenance of records.
The Manufacturer needs to supply to the user the complete technical file containing all pertinent documentation related to the
construction of the vessel, as well as retain these records for a
minimum period of 3 years after the vessel is stamped. Some of
the records that must be retained by the Manufacturer are the
following:

users design specification

manufacturers design report
manufacturers data report, and
manufacturers construction records, including welding procedure specifications, procedure qualification records,
records of all heat treatments, results of all production test
plates, NDE procedures, results of all NDE examinations,
etc.

Part 3: Material Requirements. Part 3 contains several significant enhancements relative to the existing VIII-2.

The allowable stress basis is set to the minimum of UTS/2.4

at room temperature, and YS/1.5 at both the room tempera-

Journal of Pressure Vessel Technology

ture and design temperature, for design temperatures below

the creep range. This aligns the new VIII-2 with current
European pressure vessel standards.
Allowable stresses are provided for design in the creep
range using the allowable stress criteria of Sec. VIII, Division 1.
The toughness rules were updated and the minimum Charpy
V-Notch impact test requirement was set to 27 J 20 ft lb.
In addition, impact test exemption curves for carbon and
low alloy steel are now provided with and without the influence of PWHT. Finally, the option to establish the design
MDMT using fracture mechanics methodology has been
added.
A master stress-strain curve has been developed, which utilizes MSYS, MSUTS, and elastic modulus functions to introduce temperature dependence. This stress-strain curve is
used when applying the design-by-analysis rules of Part 5,
as well as when performing buckling calculations when it is
necessary to determine the tangent modulus.
Two sets of design fatigue curves are provided:
1. smooth bar design fatigue curves using the same design
methodology as presented in Appendix 5 of the current
VIII-2, and
2. welded joint design fatigue curves utilizing the new master S/N curve and the structural stress method for determining the equivalent structural stress.

Part 4: Design-By-Rule Requirements. The VIII-2 rewrite

will contain both design-by-rule and design-by-analysis options.
Numerous enhancements were made to the design-by-rule procedures in Part 4, several of which are highlighted below.

A new format was introduced to present the design rules in

a manner to enhance readability and facilitate computer
implementation of the required calculations.
Weld joint efficiencies are introduced in the VIII-2 rewrite
permitting for the first time less than 100% volumetric examination for main vessel welds.
Design by rule for the creep range is provided.
Introduction of explicit design rules for combined loadings
i.e., pressure, weight, wind, and earthquake, as well as
adoption of the ASCE 7-2002 Load Combination Methodology.
New design rules for cylindrical shells, spherical shells and
heads, ellipsoidal heads, and torispherical heads.
External pressure rules based on Code Case 2286 and utilizing the tangent modulus derived from the master stressstrain curve given in Part 3.
New opening reinforcement rules based on pressure-area
stress calculation.
New rules for conical transition subject to internal/external
pressure.
Inclusion of design rules for layered vessels.
Inclusion of design rules for stayed construction, jacketed
vessels, noncircular vessels, and vessel supports.
Inclusion of bellows and tube sheet design rules based on
Part UHX from VIII-1.

Part 5: Design-By-Analysis Requirements. Part 5, the designby-analysis section, was reorganized based on the mode of failure
as follows:

protection
protection
protection
protection

against
against
against
against

plastic collapse
local failure
collapse from buckling, and
failure due to cyclic loading

Another significant change is that the minimum wall thickness can

be established using design-by-analysis rules in lieu of the designby-rule requirements in Part 4. This is a significant departure from
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the philosophy that exists in the current VIII-2.

Some other enhancements to Part 5 are shown below.

Continued use of stress classification and the Hopper diagram.

Introduction of structural stress concepts that provide a new
fundamental method to compute membrane and bending
stresses using finite element analysis FEA that is mesh
insensitive. This structural stress method is also used when
performing a fatigue analysis of welded joints.
New procedure for elastic-plastic design using FEA and the
master stress-strain curve.
New requirements for design based on local failure strain
using the master stress-strain curve, replacing the existing
limits on triaxiality.
Explicit design-by-analysis procedures for evaluating collapse from buckling including knock-down factor for shell
imperfections.
New method for fatigue assessment based on structural
stress concepts for assessment of welded joints.
Normative annexes covering recommendations for linearization of stress results from FEA used in stress classification,
design of perforated plates based on elastic stress analysis,
and rules for experimental stress analysis are provided.

Part 6: Fabrication Requirements. Part 6 contains a consolidation of fabrication requirements from the original VIII-2 Part
AM and Part AF, as well as some fabrication rules from VIII-1.
Similar PWHT requirements are planned for the initial release;
however, new time-temperature-thickness criterion for PWHT is
under development.
Part 7: Examination Requirements. Rules for examination of
welded joints have been completely rewritten in Part 7. The concept of defining examination groups for pressure vessels, based
on the practice used in several European standards, has been utilized. Also with the introduction of weld joint efficiencies in the
new VIII-2, the option for partial radiography is now available.
However, unlike the spot RT rules of VIII-1 where 1% of a weld
joint is examined, when permitted in Part 7, the partial radiography rules will require between 10% and 25% of the weld to be
examined.
Other significant features of Part 7 include the following:

Provision for UT in lieu of RT; requirements are given regarding when manual versus automated UT shall be performed.
More extensive visual examination requirements.
For vessels for which the fatigue analysis is mandatory, all
surfaces of pressure boundary components internal and external shall be examined by MT or PT following a hydrostatic pressure test; this requirement is taken from Sec. VIII,
Division 3, KE-400.
Part 7 also contains a normative annex outlining Inspector
and Manufacturer duties for inspection and examination.

Part 8: Pressure Testing Requirements. The hydrostatic test

pressure in Part 8 is now set in accordance with Eq. 1; this is
now in alignment with the PED.

PT = max 1.43 MAWP,1.25 MAWP

ST
S

The ratio ST / S in Eq. 1 is the lowest ratio for the pressureboundary materials, excluding bolting materials, of which the vessel is constructed.
The pneumatic pressure test option is retained. However, when
used, the vessel must be monitored by acoustic emission examination during the test. Finally, the Manufacturer must maintain
complete records of the final pressure test.
Part 9: Overpressure Protection. Basic rules for overpressure
756 / Vol. 129, NOVEMBER 2007

protection in Part 9 are virtually identical to that currently published in VIII-1. For this reason, most rules for overpressure protection in the new VIII-2 will reference VIII-1. Rules not covered
in VIII-1, such as Overpressure Protection by Design Code Case
2211, will be presented in Part 9. An annex covering best practices for the installation and operation of pressure relief devices,
which is based on the latest revision to Appendix M of VIII-1, is
also provided.

Additional Development Steps

Overview. As stated earlier, in many respects, the development
of this new Sec. VIII, Division 2 broke new ground for ASME,
from subcontracting the writing of the first draft to an outside
organization, to publishing the document in single column and
formatting it to satisfy ISO guidelines. But, there were two other
activities undertaken during this project to assure the highest quality for the first edition: These were validation of all design rules
and beta testing of the document.
Design Validation. The new VIII-2 contains hundreds of equations and polynomial expressions for curve fits used in the design
rules. Even where rules were taken from Sec. VIII, Division 1, in
most cases, they were rewritten to facilitate computerization of the
rules. The net result was that to quality check each equation, figure, and polynomial factor was a major undertaking such that if
committee volunteers were asked to perform this work, it would
have delayed publication of the document. Instead, an independent organization experienced in writing pressure vessel design
software was contracted to quality assurance QA check all design rules in the new VIII-2. They performed this work by programing all of the design rules in MATHCAD, and running numerous examples. Wherever possible, existing examples from the old
VIII-2 and VIII-1 were used for the validation work. In all, over a
thousand pages of calculations were performed, and the process
did identify some errors, mostly in the equations used to model
design curves. This validation work will also serve as the starting
point for an examples manual to be developed for a future publication.
Beta Testing. The Division 2 project team set forth a number of
goals with the undertaking of this project, and everyone involved
was interested in receiving feedback from users of Sec. VIII, Division 2. Normally, this feedback would be received once the
standard is published and used for production vessels; however, a
test run prior to publication was required. To accomplish this,
ASME authorized a project to beta test the standard during the last
stages of approval. Invitations to participate in a beta test of the
new standard were sent to several existing Division 2 Certificate
Holders. These Manufacturers were asked to select a recently
completed Division 2 vessel, and re-execute the project on paper
using the new standard. A large number of companies responded
to the invitation with a description of a vessel to be used in the
evaluation.
The Subcommittee VIII Technical Steering Committee reviewed the different proposals and made their selections to assure
that a diverse group of vessels were represented. The beta testers
were asked to provide feedback in the following areas:

overall ease of use of the standard

change in wall thickness for main vessel components
change in vessel weight reported as a percentage change
change in welding, PWHT, and NDE costs
change in production schedule reported as a percentage
change in overall vessel cost reported as a percentage
perform a fatigue analysis utilizing new structural stress
method
general observations, including reporting any problems with
understanding the requirements of the code, missing or incorrect references, etc.
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Table 1 Summary of beta test results: steam superheater.

Comments: 1 The new code provides a systematic approach
to design with easy access to information. 2 The use of tables
and figures instead of graphs leads to better and precise results. 3 The new format adopted is user friendly as it takes
less time to find reference pages. 4 The design method for
openings and reinforcement provides a substantial decrease in
hub thickness. 5 New code includes and accepts techniques
such as TOFD, phased array, which is a welcome change and
will lead to definite improvements in quality and testing.
Item

Shell

Heads

Material
SA-387 Gr11 Cl 2 SA-387 Gr11 Cl 2
Design temperature C
410
410
Allowable stress-old MPa
151.38
151.38
Allowable stress-new MPa
151.38
151.38
Required thickness-old mm
34.38
38.43
Required thickness-new mm
34.59
33
Change in vessel weight as a %
2
Reduction in production time
N/A
as a %
Reduction in overall vessel cost
2.5
as a %

Beta Test Results. Overall, the beta test of this new standard
was a resounding success and provided validation of many of the
goals set forth when this project was initiated. In general, the
results are as follows.

All of the beta testers reported the standard was easy to use,
and that the design rules were clear and concise.
Several beta testers reported that they prefer the new format
of the document whereby the nomenclature, figures, and
tables are all placed at the end of each part and that all of the
weld joint figures are assembled in one place.
The beta test generated numerous questions on the standard,
but no significant errors in the standard were identified during the test.
As expected, significant cost savings were reported due to
the increase in allowable stress for many carbon and low
alloy steels. Of equal importance, most of the testers also
reported a reduced amount of reinforcement required for
openings, resulting in a reduction in forged nozzle thickness.
A summary of the beta test results is provided in Tables 15.

Table 2 Summary of beta test results: 53 ft diameter sphere.

Comments: 1 Overall, the new Sec. VIII, Div. 2 code was found
to be well organized and logical in its layout. The equations are
located near the text where they are referenced and this reduces the time spent looking for the applicable equation. 2
Having the NDE requirements summarized in a table is very
helpful as are the diagrams and sketches of the welds. 3 The
opening reinforcement design method is logical and intuitive.

Table 3 Summary of beta test results: hydroprocessing reactor. Comments: 1 The beta test has confirmed the quality of
the new code. 2 The revised design margins and related increased allowable stresses for some materials will result in significant savings in both time and cost.
Item

Shell

Material
Design temperature C
Allowable stress-old MPa
Allowable stress-new MPa
Required thickness-old mm
Required thickness-new mm
Change in vessel weight as a %
Reduction in production time
Reduction in overall vessel cost
as a %

SA-336 F22V
454
169
199
290
244

Shell

The majority of the goals outlined in 1999 for the rewrite of

Sec. VIII, Division 2 have been satisfied in the draft approved by
the ASME BPV Standards Committee in February 2007. A completely new and more user-friendly organizational structure to the
book coupled with adoption of the latest technology available for
construction of pressure vessels will hopefully result in a standard
that will serve the refining and petrochemical for decades to come.
Ongoing activities related to the project include beta testing by
existing VIII-2 Certificate Holders, addressing accreditation issues, and preparation of a separate Examples Manual.

Table 4 Summary of beta test results: hydrotreating reactor.

Comments: 1 New VIII-2 Code shows the requirements in detail for each item; therefore, confusion with Code interpretations will be reduced. 2 Examination requirements for the material are more severe. The cost and delivery impact for the
material will be increased when purchasing the materials.
Item

Shell

SA-738 Gr B
120
195
244
42.74
33

Heads

Material

SA-542 Type D Cl SA-542 Type D Cl

4a
4a
Design temperature C
454
454
Allowable stress-old MPa
168
168
Allowable stress-new MPa
199.8
199.8
Required thickness-old mm
167
95
Required thickness-new mm
141
81
Change in vessel weight as a %
14
Reduction in production time
4
as a %
Reduction in overall vessel cost
8
as a %
Table 5 Summary of beta test results: hydroprocessing
reactor
Shell

Heads

Forging
Material

Material
Design temperature C
Allowable stress-old MPa
Allowable stress-new MPa
Required thickness-old mm
Required thickness-new mm
Change in vessel weight kg
Reduction in production time
as a %
Reduction in overall vessel cost
as a %

SA-542 Tp D Cl 4a
454
169
199
145
125
13.8
2 weeks
12

Summary

Item
Item

Heads

SA-387 Gr11 Cl 2
120
148.9
148.9
N/A
N/A
51,000
8
12.2

Journal of Pressure Vessel Technology

SA-336M F22V

Design temperature C
Allowable stress-old MPa
Allowable stress-new MPa
Required thickness-old mm
Required thickness-new mm
Change in vessel weight as a %
Reduction in production time
as a %
Reduction in overall vessel cost
as a %

454
168
199.8
304
254

SA-542M Gr D Cl
4a
454
168
199.8
152
128
17
1
N/A

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The new Sec. VIII, Division 2 2007 edition will be published

on July 1, 2007, and will become mandatory January 1, 2008. A
code case has been approved Code Case 2575 that will allow for
an 18 month transition period during which VIII-2 Certificate
Holders will be able to construct to either the old VIII-2 2004
edition through 2006 addenda or the new VIII-2.

P the required hydrotest pressure

S the allowable stress at the design temperature
ST the allowable stress at the hydrotest
temperature
UTS the ultimate tensile strength
YS is the yield strength

Nomenclature
MAWP the maximum allowable working pressure

758 / Vol. 129, NOVEMBER 2007

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