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Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code
“Mechanic and Steam Pump” | Lewis W. Hine (1921)
The heating and cooling requirements of K-12 schools, college and university educational, medical research and healthcare delivery campuses are a large market for boiler pressure vessel manufacturers, installers, maintenance personnel and inspectors. The demand for building new, and upgrading existing boilers — either single building boilers, regional boilers or central district energy boilers — presents a large market for professional engineering firms also. A large research university, for example, will have dozens, if not well over 100 boilers that heat and cool square footage in all climates throughout the year. The same boilers provide heating and cooling for data centers, laundry operations, kitchen steam tables in hospitals and dormitories.
The safety rules for these large, complex and frankly, fearsome systems, have been developed by many generations of mechanical engineering professionals in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC). From the BPVC scope statement:
“…The International Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code establishes rules of safety — relating only to pressure integrity — governing the design, fabrication, and inspection of boilers and pressure vessels, and nuclear power plant components during construction. The objective of the rules is to provide a margin for deterioration in service. Advancements in design and material and the evidence of experience are constantly being added…”
Many state and local governments incorporate the BPVC by reference into public safety regulations and have established boiler safety agencies. Boiler explosions are fairly common, as a simple internet search on the term “school boiler explosion” will reveal. We linked one such incident at the bottom of this page.
University of Michigan Central Heating Plant
The 2023 Edition of the BPVC is the current edition; though the document is divided into many sections that change quickly.
ASME Codes & Standards Electronic Tools
ASME Proposals Available For Public Review
ASME Section IV: Rules for the Construction of Heating Boilers (2019)
Public consultation on changes to the BPVC standard for power boilers closes February 7th.
This is a fairly stable domain at the moment. We direct you elsewhere to emergent topics:
Ghost kitchens gaining steam on college campuses
College: the Next Big Frontier for Ghost Kitchens
Illinois Admin. Code tit. 77, § 890.1220 – Hot Water Supply and Distribution
Design Considerations for Hot Water Plumbing
FREE ACCESS: 2019 ASME Boiler and Pressure Code (Section VI)
Two characteristics of the ASME standards development process are noteworthy:
- Only the proposed changes to the BPVC are published. The context surrounding a given change may be lost or not seen unless access to previous version is available. Knowledgeable experts who contribute to the development of the BPVC usually have a previous version, however. Newcomers to the process may not.
- The BPVC has several breakout committees; owing to its longer history in the US standards system and the gathering pace of complexity in this technology.
We unpack the ASME bibliography primarily during our Mechanical, Plumbing and Energy colloquia; and also during our coverage of large central laundry and food preparation (Kitchens 100) colloquia. See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting, open to everyone.
Issue: [12-33] [15-4] [15-161] [16-77] [18-4] [19-157]
Category: District Energy, Energy, Mechanical, Kitchens, Hot Water
Contact: Eric Albert, Richard Robben, Larry Spielvogel
More:
Standards Michigan BPVC Archive
Big Ten & Friends Energy Conference 2023
Standards Michigan Workspace (Requires access credentials from bella@standardsmichigan.com).
School Boiler Maintenance Programs: How Safe Are The Children?
Boiler Explodes at Indiana High School
Engineers at @virginia_tech are boosting heat transfer by prompting bubbles to jump from a heated plate during boiling, potentially increasing power plant efficiency with microstructures: https://t.co/W1gLvhn15q pic.twitter.com/45PNRAEmpB
— ASME.org (@ASMEdotorg) January 30, 2024
Natural Gas Transmission & Distribution
Natural gas systems are deeply integrated into educational settlements: providing fuel to district energy plants, hospital backup power systems, hot water systems to residence halls and kitchens to name a few. The AGA catalog is fairly stable; reflected in the relative reliability of the US natural gas distribution network. Still, the door is open for discovering and promulgating best practice; driven largely by harmonization with other standards and inevitable “administrivia”. The current edition is dated 2024 and harmonizes with NFPA 54.
Poster showing benefits of gas lighting and heating (Italy, 1902)
Why did WTI Crude oil price crash?
1) Because America’s main WTI oil storage is in Cushing in Oklahoma state. Cushing was at 77% capacity on April 17th. Storage would be full by May 1st week. Cushing is landlockded and 800 km from sea. So storing oil on a ship is not possible. pic.twitter.com/Ye2h8XI3jB
— Kiran Kumar S (@KiranKS) April 22, 2020
Most school districts, colleges, universities and university-affiliated health care systems depend upon a safe and reliable supply of natural gas. Owing to safety principles that have evolved over 100-odd years you hardly notice them. When they fail you see serious drama and destruction.
One of the first names in standards setting for the natural gas industry in the United States is the American Gas Association (AGA) which represents companies delivering natural gas safely, reliably, and in an environmentally responsible way. From the AGA vision statement:
“….(AGA) is committed to leveraging and utilizing America’s abundant, domestic, affordable and clean natural gas to help meet the nation’s energy and environmental needs….”
We do not advocate in natural gas standards at the moment but AGA standards do cross our radar because they assure energy security to the emergent #SmartCampus. We find AGA standards referenced in natural gas service contracts (for large district energy plants, for example) or in construction contracts for new buildings. As with all other energy technological developments we keep pace with, improvements are continual even though those improvements are known to only a small cadre of front line engineers and technicians.
AGA has released seventeen redlines containing proposed changes to one of its parent documents for natural gas delivery” GPTC Z380.1 Guide for Gas Transmission, Distribution, and Gathering Piping Systems. The redlines are listed in the link below:
American Gas Association Standards Public Review Home Page
Public consultation on the 2027 National Fuel Gas Code closes June 4, 2024.
You may obtain an electronic copy from: https://www.aga.org/research/policy/ansi-public-reviews/. Comments should be emailed to Betsy Tansey GPTC@aga.org, Secretary, ASC GPTC Z380. Any questions you may have concerning public reviews please contact Betsy Tansey (btansey@aga.org) as well.
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University of Michigan Central Heating Plant
We meet online every day at 11 AM Eastern time to march through technical specifics of all technical consensus products open for public comment. Feel free to click in. Also, we meet with mechanical engineering experts from both the academic and business side of the global education community once per month. See our CALENDAR for our next Mechanical Engineering monthly teleconference; open to everyone.
Issue: [19-27]
Category: Energy, Mechanical, Risk Management
Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Richard Robben, Larry Spielvogel
Interconnected Electric Power Production Sources “Microgrids”
“Landscape with a Farm House and Windmill” (1680) / Jacob Isaaksz van Ruisdael
We have always taken a forward-looking approach to the National Electrical Code (NEC) because there is sufficient supply of NEC instructors and inspectors and not enough subject matter experts driving user-interest ideas into it. Today we approach the parts of the 2023 NEC that cover wiring safety for microgrid systems; a relatively new term of art that appropriates safety and sustainability concepts that have existed in electrotechnology energy systems for decades.
Turn to Part II of Article 705 Interconnected Electric Power Production Sources:
Free Access 2023 National Electrical Code
You will notice that microgrid wiring safety is a relatively small part of the much larger Article 705 Content. There were relatively minor changes to the 2017 NEC in Section 705.50 — but a great deal of new content regarding Microgrid Interconnection Devices, load side connections, backfeeding practice and disconnecting means — as can be seen in the transcripts of Code-Making Panel 4 action last cycle:
Code‐Making Panel 4 Public Input Report (692 Pages)
Code-Making Panel 4 Public Comment Report (352 Pages)
Keep in mind that the NEC says nothing (or nearly very little, in its purpose stated in Section 90.2) about microgrid economics or the life cycle cost of any other electrical installation. It is the claim about economic advantages of microgrids that drive education facility asset management and energy conservation units to conceive, finance, install, operate and — most of all — tell the world about them.
In previous posts we have done our level best to reduce the expectations of business and finance leaders of dramatic net energy savings with microgrids — especially on campuses with district energy systems. Microgrids do, however, provide a power security advantage during major regional contingencies — but that advantage involves a different set of numbers.
Note also that there is no user-interest from the education facility industry — the largest non-residential building construction market in the the United States — on Panel 4. This is not the fault of the NFPA, as we explain in our ABOUT.
The 2023 NEC was released late last year.
The 2026 revision cycle is in full swing with public comment on the First Draft receivable until August 24, 2024. Let’s start formulating our ideas using the 2023 CMP-4 transcripts. The link below contains a record of work on the 2023 NEC:
We collaborate with the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facility Committee which meets online 4 times per month in European and American time zones. Since a great deal of the technical basis for the NEC originates with the IEEE we will also collaborate with other IEEE professional societies.
Mike Anthony’s father-in-law and son maintaining the electrical interactive system installed in the windmill that provides electricity to drive a pump that keeps the canal water at an appropriate level on the family farm near Leeuwarden, The Netherlands.
Issue: [19-151]
Category: Electrical, Energy
Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Jim Harvey, Kane Howard, Jose Meijer
Exploration of the Theory of Electric Shock Drowning
Exploration of the Theory of Electric Shock Drowning
Jesse Kotsch – Brandon Prussak – Michael Morse – James Kohl
Abstract: Drowning due to electric shock is theorized to occur when a current that is greater than the “let go” current passes through a body of water and conducts with the human body. Drowning would occur when the skeletal muscles contract and the victim can no longer swim. It is theorized that the likelihood of receiving a deadly shock in a freshwater environment (such as a lake) is higher than the likelihood in a saltwater environment (such as a marina). It is possible that due to the high conductivity of salt water, the current shunts around the individual, while in freshwater, where the conductivity of the water is lower than that of the human; a majority of the current will travel through the individual. The purpose of this research is to either validate or disprove these claims. To address this, we used Finite Element analysis in order to simulate a human swimming in a large body of water in which electric current has leaked from a 120V source. The conductivity of the water was varied from .005 S/m (pure water) up to 4.8 S/m (salt water) and the current density through a cross sectional area of the human was measured. With this research, we hope to educate swimmers on the best action to take if caught in such a situation.
CLICK HERE to order complete paper.
Swimming Pool Dimensions and Construction
University of Michigan | Washtenaw County
A standard Olympic-sized swimming pool is defined by the following dimensions:
- Length: 50 meters
- Width: 25 meters
- Depth: A minimum of 2 meters
- Lanes: 10 lanes, each 2.5 meters wide
The total area of the pool is therefore 1,250 square meters, and it holds approximately 2,500 cubic meters (or 2.5 million liters) of water.
The organization that sets the standards for Olympic-sized pools is the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) — now World Aquatics — the governing body for swimming, diving, water polo, synchronized swimming, and open water swimming. FINA establishes the regulations for the dimensions and equipment of competition pools used in international events, including the Olympic Games.
The top ten universities that have produced Olympic champion:
- University of Southern California (USC)
- Stanford University
- University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley)
- University of Florida
- University of Texas at Austin
- University of Michigan – Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time.
- Indiana University
- Auburn University
- University of Georgia
- University of Arizona
News:
Swimming like a poem …pic.twitter.com/zT2YUVEzoP
— Figen (@TheFigen_) September 21, 2024
Swim Swam: 2024 Pool “Slow” and not setting records
Paris Olympics swimmers noticing pool is ‘slow’
Make architecture powerful again pic.twitter.com/vQCrbT0TLE
— Pepijn Leonard Demortier (@PepijnDemortier) November 24, 2024
Rewind: District Energy
University of California Merced
Lucas Hyman is the co-author of “Sustainable On Site CHP Systems: Design, Construction and Operations” published by McGraw-Hill 2010 ISBN 978-0-07-160317-1, Co-Editor Martin Meckler is a graduate of the University of Michigan. Mike Anthony contributed Chapter 23 — Government Mission Critical – A combined FMECA and time value of money study on Critical Operations Power Systems.
Goss Engineering was one of the engineers for the University of California Merced; the first university campus with an energy infrastructure begun from “scratch”. Here, Lucas offers his insight into the subtle energy economic trade-offs between centralized and de-centralized systems.
LEARN MORE:
Backgrounder from 2007 ASHRAE conference presentation by Goss Engineering: Designing Sustainable CHP Systems
MIL-STD
Today at the usual hour we take will take a broad view of the technical standards catalog of all military branches as they apply to the educational settings of each of the US military branches. Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.
“Overgrown military establishments are under any form of government inauspicious to liberty, and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty.” Farewell Address, September 19, 1796.
United States defense standards are used to help achieve standardization objectives by the U.S. Department of Defense. Standardization is beneficial in achieving interoperability, ensuring products meet certain requirements, commonality, reliability, total cost of ownership, compatibility with logistics systems, and similar defense-related objectives. Defense standards are also used by other non-defense government organizations, technical organizations, and industry.
Military technical standards and public sector technical standards differ primarily in their purposes, scope, and requirements. Military standards — such as MIL-STD and MIL-SPEC — are designed to ensure high reliability, durability, and performance under extreme conditions, as they often pertain to defense systems, weaponry, and other critical applications. These standards prioritize security, robustness, and interoperability in challenging environments, and typically involve stringent testing and certification processes.
In contrast, public sector technical standards, like those developed by the International Organization for Standardization or the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, are geared towards broader civilian applications. They focus on safety, quality, efficiency, and compatibility for a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, technology, and services. These standards aim to facilitate trade, ensure consumer safety, and promote innovation and best practices. While public sector standards also emphasize reliability and performance, they are generally less rigid than military standards, reflecting a broader range of use cases and operational conditions.
United States Defense Logistics Agency
New update alert! The 2022 update to the Trademark Assignment Dataset is now available online. Find 1.29 million trademark assignments, involving 2.28 million unique trademark properties issued by the USPTO between March 1952 and January 2023: https://t.co/njrDAbSpwB pic.twitter.com/GkAXrHoQ9T
— USPTO (@uspto) July 13, 2023
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