Regarding the reference to pipe flanges in pressure vessel design
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When designing pressure vessels, pipe flanges generally refer to the HG/T20592–HG/T20635 standards. The question is: For pressure vessels designed in accordance with the Fixed Volume Code and GB/T150, can pipe flanges refer to standards such as JB, GB, SH, etc.? Especially foreign standards such as ASME? Of course, only its relevant dimensions are cited. It would be best to have official documents or other compelling evidence.
Provisions regarding pipe flanges in TSG 21-2016 \"Regulations on Safety Technical Inspection of Fixed Pressure Vessels\": 3.2.5 Pipe flanges for pressure vessels (1) The design of steel pressure vessel pipe flanges, gaskets, and fasteners shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the industry standards HG/T20592–HG/T20635-2009 \"Steel Pipe Flanges, Gaskets, and Fasteners\" series； (2) For pressure vessels containing liquefied petroleum gas, media with extremely high or high toxicity, as well as highly permeable media with moderate toxicity, their pipe flanges shall, in accordance with the provisions of the industry standards HG/T20592–HG/T20635 series, use at least high-neck butt weld flanges, metal wound gaskets with reinforcing rings, and specially graded high-strength bolts ； When such a pipe flange sealing structure cannot be used, the designer shall determine the flange connection structure based on the properties of the medium, pressure, and temperature.
In other words, the flange should be selected based on the properties of the medium
All of this is known; it’s not a structural issue – it mainly relates to the citation of standards.
Regarding GB/T150, NB/T47021~47023–2012 flanges are also available.
The last edit to this post was made by wanlirn on 2019-10-26 at 16:58. As far as I know, the GB/T150 standard system is generally used, while standards such as HG/T20592 and SH3046 are applicable in China alongside SH/T 3074-2018； In principle, flanges of the JB81 and GB9119 types cannot be used in the container industry, let alone for inspection and supervision. Our company once used standards from the JB81 category when applying for certification updates, but the expert panel did not accept it ； As for all **standard flanges per ASME, it is not permissible to use those not recognized by AI; despite multiple discussions with AI and the client, this is not acceptable – there is no room for compromise
According to the fixed-volume regulations, HG/T20592 should be the only standard that can be used; however, in our actual design work, we also adopted SH/T3046 or ASME flanges based on the project specifics and the client’s requirements. These choices were all approved by the inspection authorities. There are no theoretical issues here; it’s just a management problem. It’s inevitable in situations where multiple departments all want to be in charge. If the inspection team really needs to raise issues, they just do the calculations and issue a modification order.
Item (2) in Clause 3.2.5 of the tolerance regulations is mandatory, while Item (1) is for reference only. GB/T150 does not specify what standards should be used for pipe flanges.
According to the relevant regulations, it is stated that the design of pipe flanges follows HG/T…. When designing containers and standard flanges are used, it is possible to choose flanges in accordance with the standards set by SH, JB, GB, or NB, as needed.
This post was last edited by SDHZZXM on 2019-10-28 09:37. For pressure vessels designed in accordance with the Fixed Capacity Regulations and GB/T150, a customer requested that the drawings indicate that the pipe flanges should follow ASME standards. However, the supervision department demanded that standard or regulatory references be provided.
Can ASME standards be cited?