Can we talk about the old boiler code for pressure vessel wall thickness?

I was reading a 1978 ASME manual from my grandpa's shop and saw they used a 0.25 safety factor on some old riveted tanks. I always thought the standard was way tighter, even back then. Has anyone else run into specs that seem crazy thin by today's rules?

2 comments

2 Comments

matthew_wilson2211d ago

My grandpa's 1920s shop drawings show some wild stuff. The old codes were based on way different failure data and materials. It really shows how much we've learned from past mistakes.

wyatt_ross2711d ago

Yeah my buddy found his great uncle's bridge plans from like 1915, the beam sizes were shockingly small. They were basically just guessing back then before we had proper testing. Makes you appreciate modern engineering a lot more.