A General Comparison of the Design Margins and Design Rules for ASME Section VIII, Divisions 1 and 2

Beginning with the 2017 Edition of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, vessels designed according to the rules of Section VIII, Division 2 shall be designated as either Class 1 or Class 2. One of the key differences between Class 1 and Class 2 is the applicable Design Margin of 3.0 and 2.4 against the Ultimate Tensile Strength of the material, respectively. Vessels designed in accordance to Section VIII, Division 1 have a Design Margin of 3.5 against the Ultimate Tensile Strength of the material. Code Case 2695 allows the vessel designer to utilize the design rules of Section VIII, Division 2 for a Section VIII, Division 1 vessel while maintaining the tensile strength Design Margin of 3.5. However, Design Margins against the Ultimate Tensile Strength of the material are not the only applicable margins that must be considered. This paper reviews the procedure for deriving the allowable stresses of materials under tensile loading based on the required Design Margins for each Division and Class with some historical background provided. Discussion and comparisons of some of the relevant differences between the design rules of Section VIII, Division 1 and 2 and how the differing Design Margins affect the component design is presented. Carbon Steel with joint efficiencies of 1.0 are used for simplicity.