ASME Design and Analysis for Pressure Vessels and Piping Systems

Design and Analysis to ASME B&PV and Power & Process Codes

Providing Design & Analysis on Pressure Vessels, Heat Exchangers to ASME B&PV Codes – as well as Power Piping Systems (B31.1) and Process Piping & Equipment (B31.3) – Ensuring Compliance to ASME Code.

O’Donnell Consulting brings rare, code-level authority to pressure vessel and piping analysis. Dr. William O’Donnell was a principal contributor to the ASME fatigue design procedures now embedded in Section VIII Division 2 and Section III — the same standards our clients depend on for code compliance.

For over 30 years, we have provided design and analysis to ASME B&PV Code Sections III and VIII, Power Piping (B31.1), and Process Piping (B31.3) for clients in manufacturing, energy, petrochemical, and nuclear industries — delivering code-defensible results on everything from new vessel design through fitness-for-service evaluations on aging equipment.

Design and Analysis to ASME B&PV Code

ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel (B&PV) Code Section VIII governs the design, analysis, fabrication, inspection, and testing of pressure vessels, including heat exchangers, reactors, filters, and specialty vessels. Design and analysis to Section VIII Division 1, 2, and 3 includes calculating required wall thickness, evaluating nozzles and supports, and checking stresses from internal pressure, external loads, and thermal gradients – ensuring structural integrity.

When standard handbook formulas are insufficient, Division 2 Design by Analysis — typically performed using finite element analysis (FEA) — provides a more rigorous path to code compliance. This approach is used to evaluate complex geometries, optimize wall thickness while maintaining structural integrity, and explicitly demonstrate protection against the failure modes Division 2 requires: Plastic Collapse, Local Failure, Buckling, Fatigue, and Ratcheting. It is also the route required when Division 1 or Division 2 Part 4 formulas cannot adequately characterize the stress state in a component.

Fatigue is one of the most frequent causes of pressure vessel failure — and one where O’Donnell Consulting has unmatched depth. Dr. William O’Donnell was a principal contributor to the ASME fatigue design procedures embedded in Section VIII Division 2 and Section III. Our fatigue evaluations apply those procedures to cyclic vessels, heat exchangers, PSA vessels, and high-energy components where failure carries serious consequences.

For high-stress and high-pressure applications, our FEA-based Design by Analysis work includes primary, secondary, and peak stress evaluation; local stress concentrations at nozzles, fillets, and support attachments; thermal and transient analysis for startup and shutdown cycles; vibration and fatigue assessment for cyclic operations; fracture and crack-growth evaluation for high-risk components; and fitness-for-service and remaining life assessment to API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 for aging or damaged vessels.

Analysis to ASME B31.1 Power Piping and B31.3 Process Piping

ASME B31.1 governs piping systems in electric power generating stations, district heating, and industrial power plants. ASME B31.3 covers process piping in chemical, petroleum, pharmaceutical, and similar facilities. While the two codes differ in scope and allowable stress basis, both require that piping systems be designed and analyzed to withstand the full range of loads they will encounter in service — internal pressure, deadweight, thermal expansion and contraction, seismic and wind loads, and occasional events such as relief valve discharge or water hammer.

Piping flexibility and finite element analysis are used to qualify routing, support locations, and expansion loops — verifying that code-allowable stress limits are met, that nozzle loads on connected pumps, compressors, turbines, and vessels remain within equipment allowables, and that the system has adequate margin against vibration-induced fatigue. Getting these loads right matters not just for code compliance but for the long-term reliability of the rotating and static equipment that the piping connects to.

Our B31.1 and B31.3 work spans high-energy power piping, steam and hot oil lines, chemical process lines, skid-mounted systems, valves and specialty fittings, and piping components analyzed to ASME B16 and related standards. We also perform displacement-controlled stress evaluations at restraints and equipment connections — an area where standard hand calculations often fall short and where FEA provides the precision needed to resolve compliance questions with confidence.

Summary – ASME Code Compliance Services

O’Donnell Consulting provides ASME code compliance services across the full equipment lifecycle — from new design and independent code reviews through fitness-for-service assessments and root-cause failure analysis.

For new and existing equipment, we perform detailed stress analysis and FEA, review calculations and drawings for conformity to B&PV Section VIII, B31.1, and B31.3 and prepare technically defensible reports that satisfy regulatory and client requirements. Independent code compliance assessments are also performed when a second opinion is needed on designs, modifications, or contractor submittals.
For aging or modified equipment, fitness-for-service evaluations per API 579/ASME FFS-1 provide the engineering basis for run, repair, or replace decisions — incorporating remaining life assessment, fracture mechanics, and fatigue reassessment when operating conditions or cycle counts have changed.

When failures occur, root-cause failure analysis combining fracture evaluation, metallurgical investigation, and stress analysis identifies what went wrong, reduces the risk of recurrence, and provides a clear path back to code-compliant service.