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.
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 1–5.
Use of New ASME SECTION VIII DIV.2 EDITION 2007
Re: Use of New ASME SECTION VIII DIV.2 EDITION 2007
