ASME B31.12 Project Team on H₂ Piping and Pipelines Meets in Tampa
John Koehr, ASME


As a follow-on to January's article by Lou Hayden, "New ASME Code for Hydrogen Pipelines," the ASME B31.12 Project Team on Hydrogen Piping and Pipelines met January 31st -February 1st in Tampa, FL. The project team is comprised of volunteer subject matter experts from industry, government, and other standard development organizations. Draft sections of the new B31.12 Code are under development and were reviewed during the meeting. The project team is considering piping systems operating at pressures up to 15,000 psi and pipelines operating at pressures up to 3,000 psi. The B31.12 Code will be divided into four parts:

1. A common section containing requirements and data referenced by the relevant code sections below,
   
   
2. Part A: Industrial piping systems,
   
   
3. Part B: Pipeline and distribution systems and
   
   
4. Part C: Commercial and residential systems.

The complete draft B31.12 Code is expected to be forwarded to the B31 Standards Committee for review by September 2006, with a B31 Standards Committee ballot expected by the end of 2006.

In other activities, the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC) Project Team on Hydrogen Tanks will be developing new rules for stationary, transportable, and portable tanks in hydrogen service at pressures up to 15,000 psi. The scope includes metallic and composite materials as well as pressure vessels for metal hydride storage. The project team met on February 15, 2006 in Portland, OR. A status report from the meeting is available.

For more information on ASME hydrogen codes and standards development, contact Gerry Eisenberg at 800-843-2763 or 973-882-1167.