Specifications for unfired fusion welded pressure vessels

This major work specifies requirements for the design, manufacture, inspection, testing and verification of compliance for unfired fusion welded pressure vessels manufactured from carbon, ferritic alloy and austenitic steels, aluminium, copper and nickel used in a wide range of process and energy industry applications.

The term 'pressure vessel' as used in this specification includes branches up to the point of connection to the connecting piping by bolting, screwing or welding, and supports, brackets or other attachments directly welded to the pressure containing shell. The term 'unfired' excludes vessels that are subject to direct generated heat or flame impingement from a fired process. It does not exclude vessels subject to electrical heating or heated process streams.

This new 2003 edition includes all the corrigendum and amendments made during the last three years to PD 5500:2000. It is therefore technically equivalent to the 2000 edition but the major benefit is that all the previous editing marks and page adjustments are now incorporated in the body text, resulting in this new unmarked publication.

PD 5500:2003 also includes annexes and enquiry cases that provide guidance on its use in domestic and international markets. PD 5500:2003 supersedes PD 5500:2000 which is now withdrawn.

Now even easier to read and use!

Three major editorial changes have been made to make PD 5500:2003 even easier to read and use. Firstly, the text is now presented in a single column which means that as well as making it easier to read, equations will no longer be split between lines. Secondly, Annex G has been amended to give table, figure and equation numbering a consistent format with the rest of the main text, and finally the aluminium, nickel and copper supplement pages have been numbered differently.

PD 5500 and compliance to the Pressure Equipment Directive

This new edition allows vessel owners and operators to continue to support equipment and systems previously designed and manufactured to BS 5500 or PD 5500 in the context of repair, maintenance and replacement. It also allows previous users of BS 5500 or PD 5500, who do not export into the European Union, to continue to utilise their experience along with existing designs and process procedures developed from the comprehensive and well developed pressure vessel standard.

PD 5500 can provide a basis for vessel design and manufacture when the European Union's Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) is applicable but where the European Standard BS EN 13445 cannot provide an appropriate solution for the vessel's design conditions.

Although PD 5500 does not carry the 'deemed to comply' status that is conferred through the use of BS EN 13445, this difference can be accommodated by the manufacturer identifying how the PED's essential safety requirements have been met, utilizing the guidance given in an annex to PD 5500.

The three-year subscription to PD 5500:2003 includes the usual provisions of all amendments and enquiry cases, and comes with a FREE binder. ALSO INCLUDED is a one-off guide to the editorial changes that have been made, with particular reference to Annex G.