Boilers and Pressure Vessels Eurocodes 2

[shvet2008]

Hi, forum

Could anyone help me with eurocodes for boilers, pressure vessels and pipes. Some kind of general rules for boilers/vessels operation, inspection and maintance for example ASME BPVC I and VIII, API 510, ASME B31 etc. I need information about vessels/boilers pressure test, inspections, maintance methods and periods etc. I have found only EN 13445 but this code is only for calculations.

And else does there exist any codes in Europe with general rules dedicated to explosion prevention in refineries and chemical industry?

 

[XL83NL]

European codes and regulations are quite similar to those of e.g. USA/CA, but there are differences. One of the most important ones is that Europe doesnt have design codes regulated by Law, like the US or the Canadian states do.

In stead, Europe has Directives, which aim to allow free market movement of items by CE-marking. This CE-mark is applied once all Essential Safety Requirements (ESR's) of the applicable Directive are followed. Assuring you meet those ESR's is (typically) done by applying design codes/standards (like ASME codes), and ideally harmonized standards. The latter namely has a presumption of conformity with respect to the directive, when the design code is applied.
Example: design of a pressure vessel for the European market. Design using ASME VIII is OK, and happens all the time, but doesnt have any direct presumption of conformity with the PED 2014/68/EU directive. Using EN 13445 as the design code has direct presumption of conformity with the PED 2014/68/EU directive.

Here's a list of EN standards for pressurized equipment
- EN 13480 for piping (unlike the B31 codes, this code doesnt distinguish between services, like power plants, etc.)
- EN 13445 for unfired pressure vessels
- EN 12952 for water tube boilers
- EN 12953 for shell boilers
- EN 14276 - Pressure equipment for refrigerating systems and heat pumps
- EN 13458 - Cryogenic vessels – Static vacuum insulated vessels

These are all harmonized standards. Ideal for the design of equipment when covered by a directive.
There's a whole longer list for 'pressure equipment codes';
NEN 3650 for pipelines in the Netherlands
EN 14161 for pipeline transportation systems

Explosion protection is governed by the ATEX directive, 2014/34/EU. This directive has it's own standard for complying with explosion prevention/protection.

For a list of all EU directives, see

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_Union_directives

 

[Hoxton]

Good response. Please note that creation of aN EN requires the creation of this standard within the Member States national standards. Thus here in UK we have BS EN 13480 for piping as issued by British Standards Institute (BSI)

Any national standards conflicting with the respective EN have to be withdrawn.

 

[pradipgoswami]

Hi shvet2008,

Attached is the snapshot of common European Boiler and Pressure Vessel codes for unfired pressure vessels.EN 13445 is default EU code unfired pressure vessels. My understanding is BS-PD 5500 is also equally popular. I've seen the oil and Gas majors, like Shell recognizes both. Not sure about the popularity German AD-2000, however back in late 80s AD Merkblatt was a popular design code for all other countries other than UK.

Irrespective the origins,EU codes are sometimes difficult to follow due to material complexities, and less flexibility than ASME codes and sometimes difficulty in getting the steel mills well versed with EN materials(my opinion).

Appreciate the opinion of the others also.

Thanks.

Pradip Goswami,P.Eng.IWE
Welding & Metallurgical Specialist
Ontario,Canada.
ca.linkedin.com/pub/pradip-goswami/5/985/299
All provided answer are personal opinions or personal judgements only. It's not connected with any employers by any means.

 

[shvet2008]

Thank a lot, guys