"Shane,
I want to throw out some food for thought. I have been told by A.I's in the past that U-1 (e) (1) (a) means the connection prep. Not the actual weld. "the welding end connection" for the first circumferential joint for welded connections...... also if a slip-on or socket weld connection is used, they are not considered part of the boundry. What are your thoughts on that? "
Jim
Jim,
I have been told the same thing and it makes a little more sense to me now.
However, it still remains a little unclear to me (from a code perspective) who has jurisdiction of the first weld off a pressure vessel.
If all welds on a pressure vessel must comply with ASME VIII and all welds on a piping system must comply with B31.1 or B31.3 - who "owns" the tie-in weld between the two.
B31.1 is quite clear that the "termination point" which is the first weld falls within the scope of B31.1 but that is applicable to Boiler External Piping.
B31.3 is quite clear connections for external piping from pressure vessels do not fall within the scope of B31.3.
ASME VIII has the welding end connection (but not the actual weld) within its scope.
Obviously there is no difference in how it is welded - with an ASME IX WPS and ASME IX qualified welder but what about acceptance criteria ? What if all three codes have different acceptance criteria ?
Cheers,
Shane