A Study of the ASME B&PV Code for Pipe Support and Restraint Design Rules From 1974 to 2013

The pipe support and restraint design rules are based on the linear elastic analysis outlined in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section III, Subsection NF. The subarticle NF-3300, primarily introduced by replicating the Allowable Stress Design (ASD) rules from the AISC Steel Construction Manual, differs from most of the ASME B&PV Code. Additionally, the Code must fulfill the Nuclear Regulatory Guide requirements, i.e. Regulatory Guide 1.124, which mandates the criteria for pipe support design in nuclear applications. The Code has been edited on multiple occasions to refine the rules for pipe support engineering since the inaugural publication of Subsection NF in the 1973 Winter Addenda. The changes in the design rules in the Code have been incorporated to meet the nuclear rules and regulations along with the general needs of the industry. A review of some of these modifications in the design rules provides a better insight on the subarticle since the institution of the first publication of Subsection NF. The changes in the design rules are essential to highlight since the first generation of commercial nuclear power plants constructed 40 years ago are approaching the end of their design life.