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ASME - History

February 12, 2021

As piping engineers we all use ASME B31 but how the did the Code come about?

The pre-requisite for starting on any industrial project within any discipline is the safety element. In Piping including pressure piping, The ASME B31 is the code that governs rules and regulation for design and construction of piping systems.

As piping engineers we all use ASME B31 but how the did the Code come about?

The concept of an American Society of Mechanical Engineers took shape in the winter of 1879-1880.At that time there were two engineering societies in existence in the United States. The American Society of Civil Engineers had been founded in 1852 and on January 1, 1880, its total membership was 601. The American Institute of Mining Engineers had been organized in 1871 and, on the same date, it numbered 1,031 members.

In 1879 the casual meetings of engineers broadened out into the larger purpose of a Society through which engineers could contribute their experience for record and their creative work in design, and secure a discussion of their problems and achievements.

The preliminary conference of February 16, 1880, decided that there was to be an American Society of Mechanical Engineers. It appointed committees to draft by-laws to organize the new body.

Steam powered the technology of the late 19th century. Despite their power, boilers and pressure vessels were temperamental, requiring constant attention and maintenance. Although there were numerous boiler explosions throughout the 19th century, there were no legal codes for boilers in any state in the Union. Undoubtedly one of the most important incidents that proved the need for developing boiler laws was the Grover Shoe Factory Disaster in Brockton, Massachusetts on March 10, 1905. Having established the Boiler Testing Code in 1884, ASME formed a Boiler Code Committee in 1911 that led to the Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC) being published in 1915. The BPVC was later incorporated into laws in most US states and territories and Canadian provinces ( https://www.asme.org/about-asme/engineering-history)

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