ASME BPV Code

The time of industrialisation
With the beginning of industrialisation, but only 200 to 300 years after the invention of the first rudimentary steam engine, the application of new materials and with increased requirements took place. Technologies using steam became increasingly popular. However, the insufficient knowledge about the material properties and the connection of such materials as well as the handling of such technologies resulted in an increasing number of accidents. An official set of rules for the design and manufacture of pressurised components did not exist at that time.  Government supervision was inadequate.

Consequently, towards the end of the 19th century, manufacturers and operators of such stationary pressure systems increasingly gathered in Europe as well as in North America.

Thus, in 1871, the forerunner of today's well-known German TÜV (Technischer Überwachungsverein) was founded. This Dampfkessel-Überwachungs- und Revisions-Verein (DÜV) was privately organised and later took over state inspections. Before that, as early as 1856, mechanical engineers met to exchange experiences. The association still exists today and is known by the abbreviation V.D.I. (Association of German Engineers).
A similar situation arose in North America when, in 1884, boiler manufacturers and operators joined together to form a professional association called "ASME" (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) and organised discussion groups on the state of the art.

The first American set of rules, the "Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC)".
On 20 March 1905, an old steam boiler exploded during maintenance work in a shoe factory in Brockton, Massachusetts. As a result of this catastrophic event, 58 workers lost their lives and 150 were injured. As a measure, a committee "Board of boiler rules" was founded and in 1908 the legal regulation "The boiler law" was published. The professional association ASME first published a standard for the calculation, manufacture and inspection of steam boilers in 1915, the "Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC)" known today. Not long after publication, this code was already incorporated into official regulations in North America and Canada.
In addition to the BPVC, other standards exist today, such as "Performance Test Codes (PTC)" or "Nuclear Quality Assurance-1 (NQA-1)".

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The first American federal authority, the "National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors".
Power magazine (Vol.53, No.7) reports on the first general meeting held in 1921 of the National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors (NB), which was established in 1919 to inspect pressurised equipment. Members of the professional association ASME also took part in this meeting.
At that time, the unsatisfactory situation of mutual recognition of individual states concerning the manufacture and testing of pressure equipment was discussed. The situation was similar to that in Europe before the introduction of the European Pressure Equipment Directive.
In the end, the following basic provisions were laid down in this meeting:

1. recognition of stamped boilers or pressure vessels.
"Unless otherwise exempted, any steam boiler or other pressure vessel built after July 1st, 1921, may be used within the jurisdiction of any member of this Board which has been distinctly stamped with the ASME symbol."
2. preparation of a "Data Report" by the manufacturer
"The manufacturer of each steam boiler, stamped as herein provided, shall file with this Board a detailed data report in duplicate, on forms furnished by the Secretary-Treasurer, accompanied by a filing fee of two dollars."
3. inspector training and recognition
"No person shall inspect any steam boiler, or any pressure vessel, during construction and upon completion, and witness the stamping of it with a fac simile approved by the Board, unless he has a certificate of competency as well as a commission authorizing him to do so as hereinafter provided."