Outline of the JSME (Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers) Rules on Design and Construction for Nuclear Power Plants

The JSME (Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers) published the rules on design and construction for nuclear power plants in 2001. The basic concept of this rule originates in the ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code Section III, however, some articles in the JSME rules are modified from the ASME rules depending on the Japanese own investigations and thoughts. This paper presents the outline of the JSME rules and discussed the comparison between the JSME rules and the ASME rules. In Japan, rules for the design and construction for nuclear power plants had been used in the Japanese regulatory standards known as Notification 501 of MITI (Ministry of international Trade and Industry) for over 30 years. And the JSME code is also based on the Notification 501. Recently the Japanese regulatory authority had announced new policy to adapt non-government voluntary rules for the design and construction taking advantage of reflecting new technology and the code revision quickly. And, in November 2003, the new JSME rules are endorsed by the Japanese regulatory authorities as alternate rules of the Notification 501.