What’s New in ASME Section VIII, Division 3 2025 Edition?

Abstract This paper gives an overview of the major revisions approved for the upcoming 2025 edition of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC) Section VIII Division 3, Alternative Rules for Construction of High-Pressure Vessels, and potential changes being considered by the Subgroup on High Pressure Vessels (SG-HPV) for future editions. This will include an overview of significant actions which will be included in the upcoming edition, including updates to the rules for User’s Design Specifications (UDS’s). Many changes include clarifications in the rules for welded construction and qualification. A Code Case was approved to allow for high strength thick welds to be acceptable with properties below that of the base material, provided the lower properties were considered in the analytical design of the vessel. This will also include the use of modern surface examination techniques including eddy current, in lieu of traditional approaches of magnetic particle and dye penetrant. Code Cases were developed for alternative ultrasonic weld acceptance criteria. Changes were made regarding clarifying the upper limit on hydrostatic testing. The rules for testing of combination units and jacketed vessels were also aligned with the rules in ASME Section VIII, Division 2. Some new materials were also either added into the Code or added via a Code Case. Several corrections were also made in the relief device rules, largely due to incorrect references.