Pressure Vessel Proof Tests and BS 5500

A recent BSSM meeting organised by the Pressure Systems Technical Group discussed proof testing of pressure vessels, with particular reference to nozzles etc which fall outside the normal design route and require stress analysis testing. The references in BS 5500 to brittle lacquer, strain gauges and competent persons were of particular concern, as were the interpretation of pressure/strain plots. The BS 5500 design route is based on a shakedown approach. The paper attempts to describe shakedown and relate it to pressure/strain observations during proof testing. In this way the reader should be more able to make judgments.