General Instructions

Performance Test Codes

AN A MERICAN NA TIONAL S T AND ARD

ASME PTC 1-2015

(Revision of ASME PTC 1-2011)

ASME PTC 1-2015

(Revision of ASME PTC 1-2011)

General Instructions

Performance Test Codes

AN AMERICAN NA TIONAL S T AND ARD

Two Park Avenue • New York, NY • 10016 USA

Date of Issuance: September 23, 2015

This Standard will be revised when the Society approves the issuance of a new edition.

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The American Society of Mechanical Engineers Two Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016-5990

Copyright © 2015 by

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS

All rights reserved Printed in U.S.A.

CONTENTS

Foreword iv

Committee Roster vi

Correspondence With the PTC Committee vii

Introduction viii

iii

FOREWORD

This Code on General Instructions was first printed in preliminary form in Mechanical Engineering in 1920 and was presented at a public hearing at the spring meeting of the Society held in Chicago, Illinois in 1921. It was approved and adopted as a standards practice of the Society in 1924.

During the years 1920 through 1970, the function of the Power Test Codes (as they were then known) continued to evolve and broaden. In recognition of these developments, the Code on General Instructions was revised twice. The revisions were approved by the Council on June 17, 1945 and May 7, 1970, respectively.

During the years 1970 through 1985, the scope of the Power Test Codes, now known as Performance Test Codes (PTCs), was further broadened as a result of

1. their designation as American National Standards by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

2. an increased awareness of the relationship between U.S. domestic standards and their international counterpart and a related need to reconcile substantially conflicting requirements between U.S. and international documents

3. clarification on the use of uncertainty in test codes

These developments resulted in several additional revisions to the Code on General Instructions that were approved by the Board on Performance Test Code (BPTC) on May 13, 1970 (with the October 1971 Addenda), October 29, 1979, June 18, 1986, and June 12, 1991.

The subsequent revision of the Code was initiated in mid-1998. A Project Team was appointed by the BPTC to develop this revision under the ASME Redesign Process. The revised document was approved by the BPTC on November 19, 1998.

The next revision was a major updating of PTC 1. The existing information contained in PTC 1 was divided into two separate documents. One is the code writer’s guide, the PTC 1 Template. The other, PTC 1, contains mandatory information for all code users. This revision was approved by the BPTC on December 9, 2003. It was also approved as an American National Standard by the ANSI Board on Standards Review on March 10, 2004.

The 2011 revision contained modifications to the 2004 version where by some new committees were added and others discontinued. The template was not updated at this time. The 2011 revision was approved by the PTC Standards Committee on May 24, 2011 and approved and adopted as a Standard practice of the Society by action of the Board on Standardization and Testing on August 8, 2011. It was also approved as an American National Standard, by the ANSI Board of Standards Review, on November 14, 2011.

The current revision of PTC 1 modifies para. 1-6.3.1 to add another permissible use of test uncertainty to prepare for and validate the acceptability of a test. This method strictly specifies each measurement’s systematic uncertainty along with its permissible variation (data fluctuation) or a total measurement uncertainty, including both systematic and random effects for each measured parameter and/or variable or each type of measured parameter or variable. A pretest and post-test uncertainty analysis is always required. It is limited to demonstrating the achieve- ment of uncertainty limits placed upon each individual measurement without having to calculate a total test uncertainty for the result. However, if the user of the Code wishes to exceed any of the specified uncertainty limits of any parameter or variable, a complete test uncertainty analysis is required to establish that the Code’s limit level of uncertainty for the test result has been met. This requires utilizing the systematic, random, and/or total measurement’s uncertainty limits of each parameter and variable in accordance with PTC 19.1. Once the Code Limit Uncertainty is determined for the result, exceeding the upper limit of any individual parameter’s or variable’s specified uncertainty is allowable only if it is demonstrated that the selection of all instrumentation used will result in an overall test uncertainty equal to or less than what it would have been had all parameter’s uncertainty requirements been met. This recognizes the industrial need for an acceptable method that allows flexibility in the determination of total test uncertainty while ensuring that the specified overall test uncertainty is achieved. Also, the template is no

iv

longer required by PTC 1, but it is recommended and is available on the PTC Web site (go.asme.org/PTCcommittee) for use as a reference.

This edition of the Code was approved as an American National Standard, by the ANSI Board of Standards Review, on September 9, 2015.

v

ASME PTC COMMITTEE

Performance Test Codes

(The following is the roster of the Committee at the time of approval of this Code.)

STANDARDS COMMITTEE OFFICERS

P. G. Albert, Chair

J. W. Milton, Vice Chair

F. J. Constantino, Secretary

P. G. Albert, Consultant

J. M. Burns, Burns Engineering

A. E. Butler, General Electric Co.

W. C. Campbell, True North Consulting, LLC.

STANDARDS COMMITTEE PERSONNEL

M. P. McHale, McHale & Associates, Inc.

S. P. Nuspl, Consultant

1. R. Priestley, Tech Leader

2. A. Scavuzzo, The Babcock & Wilcox Co.

F. J. Constantino, The American Society of Mechanical Engineers

M. J. Dooley, Alstom Power, Inc.

G. J. Gerber, Consultant

P. M. Gerhart, University of Evansville

R. E. Henry, Sargent & Lundy

D. R. Keyser, Survice Engineering Co.

T. K. Kirkpatrick, McHale & Associates, Inc.

1. J. Korellis, Electric Power Research Institute

2. C. Heil, Alternate, The Babcock & Wilcox Co.

J. A. Silvaggio, Jr., Siemens Demag Delaval Turbomachinery, Inc.

T. L. Toburen, T2E3, Inc.

G. E. Weber, OSIsoft

W. C. Wood, Duke Energy Co.

R. Jorgensen, Honorary Member

P. M. McHale, Honorary Member, McHale & Associates, Inc.

R. E. Sommerlad, Honorary Member

PTC 1 COMMITTEE — GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

M. P. McHale, Chair, McHale & Associates, Inc.

F. J. Constantino, Secretary, The American Society of Mechanical Engineers

P. G. Albert, Consultant

D. R. Keyser, Survice Engineering Co.

1. K. Kirkpatrick, McHale & Associates, Inc.

   
   

   vi

   
   

   CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE PTC COMMITTEE

   
   

   General. ASME Codes are developed and maintained with the intent to represent the consensus of concerned interests. As such, users of this Code may interact with the Committee by requesting interpretations, proposing revisions or a Case, and attending Committee meetings. Correspon- dence should be addressed to:

   Secretary, PTC Standards Committee

   The American Society of Mechanical Engineers Two Park Avenue

   New York, NY 10016-5990

   https://go.asme.org/Inquiry

   Proposing Revisions. Revisions are made periodically to the Code to incorporate changes that appear necessary or desirable, as demonstrated by the experience gained from the application of the Code. Approved revisions will be published periodically.

   The Committee welcomes proposals for revisions to this Code. Such proposals should be as specific as possible, citing the paragraph number(s), the proposed wording, and a detailed descrip- tion of the reasons for the proposal, including any pertinent documentation.

   Proposing a Case. Cases may be issued for the purpose of providing alternative rules when justified, to permit early implementation of an approved revision when the need is urgent, or to provide rules not covered by existing provisions. Cases are effective immediately upon ASME approval and shall be posted on the ASME Committee Web page.

   Requests for Cases shall provide a Statement of Need and Background Information. The request should identify the Code and the paragraph, figure, or table number(s), and be written as a Question and Reply in the same format as existing Cases. Requests for Cases should also indicate the applicable edition(s) of the Code to which the proposed Case applies.

   Interpretations. Upon request, the PTC Standards Committee will render an interpretation of any requirement of the Code. Interpretations can only be rendered in response to a written request sent to the Secretary of the PTC Standards Committee at go.asme.org/Inquiry.

   The request for an interpretation should be clear and unambiguous. It is further recommended that the inquirer submit his/her request in the following format:

   Subject: Cite the applicable paragraph number(s) and the topic of the inquiry.

   Edition: Cite the applicable edition of the Code for which the interpretation is being requested.

   Question: Phrase the question as a request for an interpretation of a specific requirement suitable for general understanding and use, not as a request for an approval of a proprietary design or situation. The inquirer may also include any plans or drawings that are necessary to explain the question; however, they should not contain proprietary names or information.

   Requests that are not in this format may be rewritten in the appropriate format by the Committee prior to being answered, which may inadvertently change the intent of the original request.

   ASME procedures provide for reconsideration of any interpretation when or if additional information that might affect an interpretation is available. Further, persons aggrieved by an interpretation may appeal to the cognizant ASME Committee or Subcommittee. ASME does not “approve,” “certify,” “rate,” or “endorse” any item, construction, proprietary device, or activity. Attending Committee Meetings. The PTC Standards Committee regularly holds meetings and/or telephone conferences that are open to the public. Persons wishing to attend any meeting and/or telephone conference should contact the Secretary of the PTC Standards Committee.

   Future Committee meeting dates and locations can be found on the Committee Page at go.asme.org/PTCcommittee.

   
   

   vii

   
   

   INTRODUCTION

   
   

   This document provides direction to users and code-writing committees of Performance Test Codes (PTCs). Code users shall consider it as part of each test.

   The objectives of PTC 1, General Instructions are as follows:

   1. to define the purpose and scope of ASME PTCs

   2. to list major industry applications where PTCs can be used

   3. to provide direction on the use of equipment PTCs concerning the planning, preparation, implementation, and reporting of test results

viii

ASME PTC 1-2015

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

Section 1

Purpose, Scope, and Organization

1. DEFINITION AND PURPOSE

   ASME Performance Test Codes (PTCs) provide uni- form rules and procedures for the planning, preparation, execution, and reporting of performance test results. Test results provide numerical characteristics to the per- formance of equipment, systems, and plants being tested. Throughout ASME PTC 1, when the term “equipment” is used with reference to the object of a performance test, it can refer to specific equipment, systems, or to entire plants.

   
   

2. STANDARDS COMMITTEES

   ASME PTCs are developed by technical committees that are governed, organized, and appointed by the Performance Test Codes Supervisory Committee under the auspices of the Board on Standardization and Testing. Each code-writing committee is organized to include representatives of several interest groups. The qualifications of each member of a code-writing commit- tee are subject to examination and approval by the Supervisory Committee. Members of the code-writing committees are highly qualified, technically competent professionals, generally members of ASME, who have expertise in the field or in an area of expertise needed by the committee, such as special instrumentation. They present their views on matters under consideration as members of a learned profession, not as representatives of employers or special interest groups.

   
   

3. SCOPE AND ORGANIZATION OF PTCs

   Most ASME PTCs are applicable to a specified type of equipment defined by the Code. There may be several subcategories of equipment covered by a single code. Types of equipment to which PTCs apply can be classi- fied into five broad categories.

   1. power production

   2. combustion and heat transfer

   3. fluid handling

   4. emission

   5. instruments, apparatus, and other supplemental documents

      The quantities that characterize performance are defined in each code for the equipment within its scope. Absolute performance characteristics determined by adherence to a PTC can be evaluated as compared to design or predicted characteristics, to previous test results, or they can be used to benchmark or ascertain performance at a particular time.

      Some PTCs are written as general documents for refer- ence in support of the equipment PTCs. These can be considered as technical reference material for the equip- ment codes. Three types of reference codes exist.

      The first type covers instrumentation used in the mea- surement of thermodynamic or process fluid parame- ters, such as pressure, temperature, flow, and shaft power. Such individual codes referring to process or thermodynamic quantities are known as Performance Test Code Instruments and Apparatus Supplements. They are supplementary to the information on manda- tory instrumentation requirements contained in the equipment codes. Instrumentation information in equip- ment test codes supersedes the information given in these supplements, but otherwise these supplements should be incorporated by reference in equipment test codes where deemed appropriate by the committee.

      The second type covers guidance and reference infor- mation. It currently consists of PTC 1, General Instructions, and PTC 2, Definitions and Values. PTC 2 contains standards for terms, units, values of constants, and technical nomenclature.

      The third type addresses how to analyze the uncer- tainties associated with measurement of all primary parameters to develop overall test uncertainty. It cur- rently consists of PTC 19.1, Test Uncertainty.

      Figures 1-3-1 and 1-3-2 show the organization of ASME Performance Test Code categories.

      
      

4. PHILOSOPHY

PTCs provide guidelines for test procedures that yield results of the highest level of accuracy based on current engineering knowledge, taking into account test costs and the value of information obtained from testing. Pre- cision and reliability of test results must underlie all

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