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An Introduction to the New ASME Standards on Nonmetallic Pressure Piping

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Conference Paper · July 2018

DOI: 10.1115/PVP2018-84458

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 Proceedings of the ASME 2018 Pressure Vessel and Piping Division Conference
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW ASME STANDARDS ON NONMETALLIC
PRESSURE PIPING SYSTEMS
Charles L. Henley
Kiewit Engineering Group Inc.
Lenexa, Kansas, USA
Charles.Henley@Kiewit.com
ABSTRACT
Design requirements for nonmetallic piping systems are
significantly different from those applicable to piping made of
steel and other metals, and the development of rules for
nonmetallic materials requires a unique set of expertise. While
other piping standards have tried to address the use of
nonmetallic materials in industrial piping, they do not provide
adequate requirements to cover the service limitations, design,
materials, fabrication, installation, fusing or joining, and quality
control which are unique to nonmetallic piping systems.
To address this gap, ASME assembled the Committee on
Nonmetallic Pressure Piping Systems (NPPS) in 2011 to develop
standard rules for the construction of nonmetallic pressure piping
systems. Over the last 7 years, the NPPS Committee has
developed three new standards which are scheduled to be
published in 2018: ASME NM.1 Standard on Thermoplastic
Piping, ASME NM.2 Standard on Glass Fiber Reinforced
Thermosetting Resin Piping, and ASME NM.3 Standard on
Nonmetallic Materials. These standards cover the design,
manufacture, fabrication, installation, examination, testing, and
inspection of thermoplastic and glass fiber reinforced
thermosetting resin piping systems suitable for pressure
applications. They will also cover specifications for nonmetallic
materials for piping components including material design
values and limits on the use of nonmetallic materials.
INTRODUCTION
Piping systems constructed of nonmetallic materials such as
wood, clay, and concrete have been in use for many more years
than those made from metals. Nonmetallic piping materials are
beneficial in many respects over comparable metallic piping
with regards to weight, cost, and corrosion resistance. And while
the advancement of polymer research and developments has
increased the variety of nonmetallic materials available to be
used for pressure piping applications, a barrier to wider adoption
of these materials has been the absence of nonmetallic piping
standards. During this same time, the development of codes and
PVP 2018
July 15-20, 2018, Prague, Czech Republic
PVP2018-84458
Jeffery D. Eisenman
Maverick Applied Science, Inc.
Palmetto, Florida, USA
JEisenman@mas-mss.com
standards for metallic piping applications has significantly
expanded. In response to the lack of standardized rules,
manufacturers and fabricators of nonmetallic piping components
created their own criteria which was suitable for their product
forms without consideration for industry uniformity.
Design requirements for nonmetallic piping systems are
significantly different from those applicable to piping made of
steel and other metals, and the development of rules for
nonmetallic materials requires a unique set of expertise. While
piping standards originally written for metallic materials have
tried to address the use of nonmetallic materials in industrial
piping, industry experience shows they have not provided
adequate requirements to cover the service limitations, design,
materials, fabrication, installation, fusing or joining, and quality
control which are unique to nonmetallic piping systems. In some
cases, international standards exist for the design of certain types
of nonmetallic piping systems, but their adoption and use in US
standards has been limited.
To address this gap, ASME assembled the Committee on
Nonmetallic Pressure Piping Systems (NPPS) in 2011 to develop
standard rules for the construction of nonmetallic pressure piping
systems [1]. The committee and its subordinate groups are
composed of stakeholders from different industries with
expertise in dealing with a wide range of nonmetallic materials.
As with most ASME standards committees, members represent
widely differing perspectives including designers,
manufacturers, operators, insurers, and regulators.
The goals established by the ASME Board on Pressure
Technology Codes and Standards (BPTCS) to NPPS was to
develop a set of industry leading standards for nonmetallic
pressure piping systems and become ASME’s primary repository
for nonmetallic material data. The intent of the initial issuance of
these standards is to document a consensus approach to design,
materials, manufacturing, fabrication, installation, fusing or
joining, and quality control of nonmetallic piping systems in
accordance to current industry best practices, and develop a set
of standards which can be used independently or may be
1 Copyright © 2018 by ASME
incorporated by reference into other ASME and industry
standards.
Over the last 7 years, the NPPS Committee has developed
three new standards which are scheduled to be published in 2018:
ASME NM.1 Standard on Thermoplastic Piping [2], ASME
NM.2 Standard on Glass Fiber Reinforced Thermosetting Resin
Piping [3], and ASME NM.3 Standard on Nonmetallic Materials
[4, 5, and 6]. The NM.1 and NM.2 Standards cover the design,
manufacture, fabrication, installation, examination, testing, and
inspection of thermoplastic and glass fiber reinforced
thermosetting resin piping systems suitable for pressure
applications. The NM.3 Standard covers specifications for
nonmetallic materials for piping components including material
design values and limits on the use of nonmetallic materials.
COMMON APPROACHES
The development of these nonmetallic piping standards has
occurred in a similar manner to other codes and standards for
which ASME has excelled as a standards development
organization. And while nonmetallic piping systems have
different technical requirements than those for steel and other
metals, the NPPS Committee utilized existing ASME codes and
standards as model documents to develop these new nonmetallic
piping standards. This was done to ensure a consistent approach
for pressure piping design throughout the industry, whether the
piping components be made from metallic or nonmetallic
materials.
For NM.1 and NM.2, the model documents used were the
ASME B31 Pressure Piping Codes. In fact, the first 6 chapters of
both NM.1 and NM.2 directly correlate to the first 6 chapters of
the ASME B31.1 Power Piping Code and ASME B31.3 Process
Piping Code. Hence the user of these new nonmetallic standards
will see chapters on Design, Materials, Fabrication and
Examination, etc. as well as mandatory and nonmandatory
appendixes which address subjects such as stress intensification
factors and supplemental requirements. Technical subjects such
as the definition of design pressure and temperatures, how to
calculate minimum wall thickness of piping and components,
requirements for performing flexibility analysis, requirements
and guidelines for pipe supports, qualification requirements for
materials, acceptance criteria of bonds, qualification
requirements for bonders, etc. can be found within the chapters
of NM.1 and NM.2 which correspond with those in ASME B31.1
and B31.3. While these chapters and appendixes have a similar
format to the existing piping codes, the content is significantly
different in many places as necessary to define the specific
requirements for thermoplastic and reinforced thermoset piping
systems; while in other locations, the content may be almost
identical to the requirements for metal.
The model document for NM.3 was Section II of the ASME
Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. Like its metallic counterpart,
NM.3 is subdivided into three separate books to become the
central repository for nonmetallic material specifications and
property data.
The next sections discuss selected specific requirements of
the nonmetallic piping standards. The intent is not to present
each chapter or topic included in the standards but rather to
highlight selected areas which make these standards unique for
nonmetallic pressure piping systems and in some cases, unique
to other nonmetallic piping system design approaches currently
in use.
NM.1 - THERMOPLASTIC PIPING
The ASME NM.1 Standard provides requirements for
design, materials, manufacture, fabrication, installation,
inspection, examination, and testing of thermoplastic pressure
piping systems. The standard addresses both pipe and piping
components that are produced as standard products, and custom
products that are designed for a specific application.
A thermoplastic is a polymer that becomes pliable or
moldable above a specific temperature and solidifies upon
cooling. They are generally considered to be homogenous and
isotropic and therefore many of the design requirements utilized
for metals are directly applicable to thermoplastics. However,
thermoplastic materials in piping applications are significantly
different than metals because they degrade under load with time.
Therefore, the mechanical properties used in design must be
consistent with the load duration and design life of the piping
system and care must be taken in selecting the appropriate
materials properties for a given loading.
To account for this variation in material properties based on
service, NM.1 utilizes testing methods for both long-term and
short-term properties of thermoplastic materials and then further
adjusts these values using various design factors based on the
type of service the piping material is being applied. These factors
include design factors which are included in the material
property tables in NM.3.3 as well as service factors which further
derate the allowable stress based on fluid service, environmental
factors, material or joint quality, and temperature. Once the
allowable stress values are determined for a material type, a
common design procedure can be utilized for most material
types.
There are a few exceptions where certain material types lend
themselves to specific manufacturing/fabrication methods of
fittings that aren’t typically applied to other material types. For
these, some rules are written for a specific material or range of
materials and not for all thermoplastics covered by NM.1. To
illustrate one example of such a case, Figure 1 shows a constant
outer-diameter, five-segment, reinforced mitered elbow. Such a
fabrication technique for larger diameter elbows is common for
high density polyethylene (HDPE) piping but is not commonly
utilized for other types of thermoplastics such as PVC.
NM.1 covers a large list of thermoplastic materials and
includes materials for both pressure piping applications as well
as thermoplastic materials used for linings of steel piping.
However, it also provides acceptance criteria to utilize materials
which aren’t listed. These are handled in a similar manner to the
requirements for unlisted materials in ASME B31.1 and B31.3.
2 Copyright © 2018 by ASME

Figure 1 – Reinforced Mitered Elbow
A unique difference between NM.1 and NM.2 is that many
thermoplastics already have fusion procedures addressed by the
American Welding Society. For example, AWS B2.4, Standard
Welding Procedure Specification for Welding Procedure and
Performance Qualification for Thermoplastics, covers materials
which can be fused together utilizing electrofusion, hot gas,
socket fusion, butt contact fusion, infrared, extrusion welding,
and flow fusion welding process [7]. Where AWS standards do
not exist for joining thermoplastic materials, qualification
requirements are covered within the standard.
Beyond the first six (6) chapters, the NM.1 Standard has two
additional chapters included to address specific applications of
thermoplastics which do not follow the same design and
fabrication rules as outlined in the first six (6) chapters. These
two additional changes are as follows.
 Chapter 7 – Use of Metallic Piping Lined with
Thermoplastics. Covers the requirements for the
design and use of piping systems comprising of
mechanically assembled metallic components,
including metallic pressure-containment host pipe
and/or fittings, complemented or conjoined with a
corrosion- and/or abrasion-resistant polymeric liner.
 Chapter 8 – Multilayered Reinforced Thermoplastic
Piping Systems. Pertains to multilayered reinforced
thermoplastic piping systems that are composed of
pipes with a thermoplastic liner and a distinct
reinforcing layer. The reinforcing layer can be made of
materials such as dry glass fiber, impregnated glass
fiber, carbon fiber, aramid fibers, steel strips, steel
cords, and aluminum.
As currently written, the NM.1 Standard has five (5)
Mandatory Appendixes and four (4) Nonmandatory Appendixes
which provide more detailed requirements and guidance on
specific topics not covered in the eight (8) chapters of the
standard. Each are described below.
 Mandatory Appendix I – Fusing and Electrofusion
of Polyamide-11 Thermoplastic Piping; and Fusing
of Polypropylene, Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF),
and Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) Plastic Liners
of Lined Steel Pipes. Provides requirements for joining
these material types when a review of existing standards
revealed that neither ASME BPVC, Section IX, nor any
of the American Welding Society standards include
Joining Procedure Specifications for Polypropylene,
Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), and polytetrafluoro-
ethylene (PTFE) liners of lined steel pipe.
 Mandatory Appendix II – Threaded Thermoplastic
Connections. Provides information for qualification of
threaded thermoplastic components manufactured in
accordance with existing ASME/ASTM standards.
 Mandatory Appendix III – Acceptance Criteria for
Thermoplastic Joints. Requirements for visual
inspection of HDPE butt-fusion joints and PVC/CPVC
solvent-welded joints.
 Mandatory Appendix IV – Stress Intensification
Factors and Flexibility Factors. Provides methods for
determining the factors needed to predict stresses and
deformation in piping components.
 Mandatory Appendix V – One-Piece Thermoplastic
Flanges. Requirements for one-piece thermoplastic
flanges made from ABS, CPVC, PP, PVC, or PVDF
thermoplastics.
 Nonmandatory Appendix A – Components for
Thermoplastic Lap-Joint Flange Connections.
Recommendations for the use of thermoplastic lap-joint
flange connections (i.e. Van Stone flanges).
 Nonmandatory Appendix B – Design Rules for
Buried Piping. Guidelines for buried thermoplastic
piping which is supported, confined, and restrained by
the passive effects of the backfill and the trench
bedding.
 Nonmandatory Appendix C – Pressure Surge from
Fluid Transient. Suggested method for calculating
pressure surges and transient loads due to fluid
transients.
 Nonmandatory Appendix D – Multilayered
Reinforced Thermoplastic Piping System(s)
Operation, Maintenance, and Repair. Guidance for
the operation, maintenance, and repair of multilayered
reinforced thermoplastic piping systems.
NM.2 - GLASS FIBER REINFORCED THERMOSETTING
RESIN PIPING
The ASME NM.2 Standard provides requirements for the
design, materials, manufacture, fabrication, installation,
3 Copyright © 2018 by ASME
inspection, examination, and testing of glass fiber reinforced of the material strength where the LDV is defined as the
thermosetting resin (herein referred to as FRP) piping systems. test mean value less two standard deviations.
FRP is a composite material made by combining two or more  Method D — Design by Stress Analysis. Allowable
constituent materials to form a glass fiber reinforced polymer stresses are determined using laminate theory
matrix laminate. FRP materials can be customized in a variety of appropriately conservative strain limits or using
different laminate designs which results in a material which is laminate theory along with results from short-term
both nonhomogeneous and anisotropic. Such customization is testing. The laminate theory method consists of two
view by the industry as being a competitive advantage of the steps: the first is to perform a biaxial stress analysis of
material. Therefore, the NM.2 Standard was written with the the component to determine the stress state at points of
intent to provide a common set of rules to addresses pipe and concern in the component; and the second step is to
piping components that are produced as standard commodity- apply the quadratic interaction criterion to demonstrate
type products as well as custom products that are designed for a that the stress state is within permissible limits. The
specific application. In addition, the Standard allows for a variety quadratic interaction criterion requires calculation of
of manufacturing methods of FRP pipe and piping components the strength ratio of each individual lamina for each
including but not limited to contact molding, compression loading combination using stress limits determined by:
molding, centrifugal casting, and filament winding. (1) testing of individual layers (lamina) or macrolayers
To accommodate the unique design criteria for a to determine the stress limit based on a strength ratio of
customizable material that is nonhomogeneous and anisotropic, not less than 6; or (2) using stress limits calculated from
a single design methodology was developed but allowed the specified strain limits using the appropriate modulus of
determination of allowable stress values by both prescriptive and elasticity values with the strength ratio not less than 8.
performance-based methods. These methods utilize historical
experience in successful service and proof-of-design testing, as Because the strength of the material in one direction, e.g.
well as detailed stress analysis using laminate theory with a longitudinal direction, depends upon the stress in the orthogonal
quadratic interaction failure criterion. The magnitude of the direction, e.g. hoop direction, an allowable stress envelope as
design factors used are dependent upon the level of confidence shown in Figure 2 is used to define the allowable stresses. The
of the material properties. The philosophy being that components allowable stress envelope defines the allowable longitudinal
qualified with the highest level of confidence have the lowest stress as a function of the coincident hoop stress.
design factors, while components designed by prescription
methods and with lower levels of confidence will have the
highest design factors. The four methods of design recognized
by the NM.2 Standard are as follows.
 Method A — Design by Rules. Allowable stresses for
listed materials are provided in ASME NM.3.3 based
on not greater than one-eighth of the lower deviated
value (LDV) of the laminate tensile strength. The LDV
is defined as the test mean value less two standard
deviations from a large sample of industry samples.
This method minimized the amount of testing required
to qualify a piping component in exchange for a highest
design factor.
 Method B — Design by Long-Term Testing.
Allowable stresses are determined using the results of
long-term pressure testing procedures described in
ASTM D2992, defined as the hydrostatic design
stresses (HDS). The long-term hydrostatic strength
(LTHS) is defined as the lower 95% prediction limit of
the estimated tensile stress in the wall of the pipe in the
hoop direction due to internal hydrostatic pressure that
Figure 2 – Allowable Stress Envelope
will cause failure of the pipe after the design life of the
piping, which is normally specified as not less than
Regardless of the qualification method, a minimum of two
175,200 hours (20 years).
points must be determined to develop the allowable stress
 Method C — Design by Short-Term Testing.
envelope: SA(0:1), the allowable longitudinal tensile stress with
Allowable stresses are determined using the results of
no coincident hoop stress; and SA(2:1), the allowable
short-term hoop and axial tensile testing. The allowable
longitudinal tensile stress with coincident hoop stress equal in
stresses shall be not greater than one-sixth of the LDV
magnitude to twice that of the longitudinal stress. Additional

4 Copyright © 2018 by ASME

points may be used to develop a more complex allowable stress
envelope.
The Standard allows the use of more than one design method
to determine the points of the allowable stress envelope. For
example, Design Method B could be used to determine SA(2:1),
and Design Method C could be used to determine SA(0:1). While
each of these methods have been successfully employed in many
designs, NM.2 is currently the only known nonmetallic piping
standard which allows a design basis utilizing all four methods.
Since certain types of FRP laminates have greater strength
in the hoop direction than in the longitudinal direction, e.g. a
filament-wound pipe with a winding angle of 55° to the pipe
axis, designing the thickness of these types of laminates solely
to resist pressure loads could result in insufficient capacity to
withstand longitudinal loads other than pressure. Therefore, the
Standard allows for additional longitudinal load-carrying
capacity beyond that required for pressure by using an allowable
stress multiplying factor, K1, which is defined as follows:
K1 = 0.67 × SH(2:1) / SA(0:1) + 0.33, where K1 < 1.67
This effectively lowers the design factor for stresses in the
longitudinal direction due to pressure plus bending by a factor as
large as 1.67. This has been proven to be a historically successful
design approach for many FRP piping installations, independent
of the laminate design or method in determining allowable
stresses.
Once the allowable stress envelope is determined for a
particular FRP laminate, the Standard provides a single design
methodology for the piping system and common components
within the piping system such as elbows, flanges, branch
connections, etc. This includes internal and external pressure
design, sustained plus operating loads such as those due to
restrain of displacement and thermal expansion/contraction,
stresses due to occasional loads, and loads due to hydrostatic
pressure testing. The Standard also includes provisions for
piping systems which are restrained from axial movement as
well as unrestrained piping systems, installed with and without
expansion joints.
Similar to NM.1, NM.2 has specific requirements for visual
inspection acceptance criteria but in addition to final fabricated
and installed joints, these visual acceptance criteria include
criteria for the inspection of constituent materials and
manufactured components. The visual inspection criteria also
includes assembly and erection tolerances since similar metallic
assembly and erection tolerances are not directly applicable to
FRP piping systems. Bonding qualifications requirements also
parallel metallic welding qualification requirements, i.e.
Bonding Procedure Specification (BPS) vs. Welding Procedure
Specification (WPS); however, there are no current standards in
AWS for bonding of thermosets like there are for thermoplastics.
As currently written, the NM.2 Standard has six (6)
Mandatory Appendixes and three (3) Nonmandatory
Appendixes which provide more detailed requirements and
guidance on specific topics not covered in the six (6) chapters of
the Standard. Each are described below.
 Mandatory Appendix I – Design of Integral Flat-
Faced Flanges. Provides a design method for integral
flat-faced FRP flanges that use full-face gaskets. The
design method given is derived from a design method
given in ASME BPV Code, Section X, and Section
VIII, Division 1, Mandatory Appendix 2.
 Mandatory Appendix II – Calculation of Physical
and Mechanical Properties Using the Laminate
Analysis Method. Provides the laminate analysis
method to be used to calculate the laminate properties
needed defining the theory of failure for use with
Design Method D noted above.
 Mandatory Appendix III – Stress Intensification
Factors, Flexibility Factors, and Pressure Stress
Multipliers. Provides methods for determining the
factors needed to predict stresses and deformation in
piping components other than pipe and are based on
component and laminate type.
 Mandatory Appendix IV – Specification for 55-deg
Filament Wound Glass Fiber Reinforced Thermo-
setting Resin (FRP) Pipe. Applies to pipe described as
Type III pipe in ASME NM.3.3.
 Mandatory Appendix V – Inspection and Testing of
Reinforcement Materials. Provides inspection and
test requirements to be performed by manufacturer
personnel or an independent testing laboratory on the
reinforcement materials.
 Mandatory Appendix VI – Examination and Testing
Requirements for Vinyl Ester Resin, Polyester
Resin, and Additive Materials. Specifies the
minimum requirements for the inspections and tests to
be performed by the fabricator’s personnel, or an
independent testing laboratory, on resins and curing
agents.
 Nonmandatory Appendix A – Calculation of Pipe
Support Load. Provides a suggested method for a hand
calculation evaluation of a simple piping system to
determine restrained piping anchor loads, locate
anchors and guides, and determine support spacing.
 Nonmandatory Appendix B – Alternate Testing
Grips and Brackets. Provides guidance on the design
of alternate grips or brackets when testing thicker FRP
pipe and ASTM D2105 grips are not available.
 Nonmandatory Appendix C – Guidance on Repairs.
Sets forth general criteria and repair guidance that
should be used to correct nonconformities in piping
system components.
NM.3 - NONMETALLIC MATERIALS
NM.3 was developed in response to one of the goals for the
NPPS Committee to develop a primary repository for
nonmetallic material data. NM.3 has been subdivided into three
separate books titled: NM.3.1, Part 1, Thermoplastic Material
Specifications; NM.3.2, Part 2, Reinforced Thermoset Material
Specifications; and NM.3.3, Part 3, Properties. NM.3.1 and
5 Copyright © 2018 by ASME
NM.3.2 look almost identical to the ASME BPV Code Section
II, Parts A and B while NM.3.3 looks very similar to ASME BPV
Code Section II, Part D. The materials chosen to be listed in
NM.3 were based on the NPPS Committee’s evidence of
sufficient usage in the industry for pressure piping applications.
In a similar manner done for metallic specifications in the
ASME BPV Code Section II, Parts A and B, NM.3.1 contains 43
specifications for thermoplastic materials which have been
converted from ASTM, and other recognized national or
international organizations, to ASME Specifications. These
specifications represent nine (9) thermoplastic material types as
follows.
 Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride (CPVC), Oriented
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVCO), and Polyvinyl Chloride
(PVC)
 Perfluoro-EthylenePropylene Copolymer (FEP)
 Perfluoroalkoxy alkane (PFA)
 Polyamide (PA)
 Polyethylene of Raised Temperature (PE-RT)
 Polyethylene (PE)
 Polypropylene (PP)
 Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
 Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF)
Figure 3 – Example of Reinforced Thermoset Datasheet
NM.3.2 contains 16 specifications for reinforced thermoset
materials which have been converted from ASTM, and other
recognized national or international organizations, to ASME
Specifications. These specifications represent four (4) product
forms as follows.
 Elastomeric Gaskets/Seals
 Fiberglass Pipes
 Fittings/Flanges
 Special Applications
NM.3.3 provides physical property tables, including those
for allowable, design, tensile, and yield stress values that are
referenced and used in ASME NM.1 and NM.2. The format of
the tables for thermoplastic materials is very like those found in
ASME BPV Code Section II, Part D. Hence the user will find
separate tables for things such as allowable stresses, modulus of
elasticity, etc. with material properties for each of the types of
thermoplastic materials. For the reinforced thermoset piping
materials, datasheets for different types of construction methods
were developed which contain the allowable stress values,
mechanical properties, and physical properties used in NM.2. An
example of a datasheet is shown in Figure 3.
6 Copyright © 2018 by ASME
 The reason for the two different approaches to documenting
physical property data is that there are many thermoplastic
materials which contain a relatively few number of physical
property characteristics; while for reinforced thermoset
materials, there are a relatively limited number of material types
but a relatively large number of properties.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
While every attempt was made to include requirements for
all commonly used thermoplastic and reinforced thermoset
piping materials, priorities were defined and decisions had to be
made on what to include and not include in the initial release of
these new nonmetallic piping standards. This was necessary to
achieve schedule milestones necessary to support industry needs.
To ensure continued development of these standards, the NPPS
Subcommittees maintained a list of additions and improvements
which they are already working on for the next edition of the
standards. A partial list of these items includes the following
items.
 Expanding listed materials in their final product forms.
 Expanding listed constituent materials to include such
items as epoxy and phenolic resins, graphite and Kevlar
reinforcements, and additional liner materials for both
steel and nonmetallic piping systems.
 Potentially expanding beyond thermoplastics and
thermosets to include additional nonmetallic material
types such as glass and ceramics.
 Including dual laminate requirements for where
thermoplastics and reinforced thermosets are combined
for pressure containment.
 Initiate research projects on items such as stress
intensification factor testing to determine variability
between materials, manufacturing/fabrication methods,
and component types.
 Expand qualification requirements for inspectors of
nonmetallic piping.
 Evaluate alternate testing methods for expanded
property data.
One other area which will require significant attention over
the next few years will be activities necessary to support an effort
to utilize these standards in the industry and adoption by other
codes and standards. As previously noted, the nonmetallic piping
standards were developed with the goal to be independent
standards or incorporated into other ASME codes and standards.
Potential ASME codes and standards for adoption or reference
include the ASME B31 Pressure Piping Codes, existing
nonmetallic standards such as ASME RTP-1 and the ASME
BPVC Section X, ASME Bioprocessing Equipment Standards
(BPE), ASME BPVC Section III, and others. In addition to
ASME codes and standards, it is hoped that the NM.1, NM.2 and
NM.3 Standards are recognized and utilized by other
organizations which have direct or indirect involvement with
nonmetallic piping and material standards.
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In addition to expanding the technical scope and industry
acceptance of these nonmetallic piping standards, the NPPS
Committee and Subcommittees are transitioning
administratively. One is the transition from a new standard
development committee to an enhancement and maintenance
group. Like most other codes and standards committees within
the ASME system, this requires the implementation of
interpretation review groups, updates to a regular publication
schedule, and similar types of expanded functions. In addition,
most of the Committee, Subcommittee, and Subgroup chair and
vice-chairman positions have remained unchanged throughout
this initial development process. While this has allowed a certain
level of constancy through the develop of these standards, the
infusion of new leadership is necessary to ensure the continued
development and improvement to meet the needs of an
expanding industry. Enthusiastic professionals have been part of
the development process and are waiting to take these leadership
roles which should ensure the NM.1, NM.2 and NM.3 Standards
become and remain viable technical requirement documents for
years to come.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
While the authors of this paper are the current Chairman and
Vice-Chairman of the ASME Committee on Nonmetallic
Pressure Piping Systems (NPPS), the development of these
standards could not have been accomplished without the efforts
of the committee members who have volunteered their time and
their company resources in the develop of these standards. While
too numerous to mention individually, the collective knowledge
of these volunteers represents the technical basis for which these
standards have been developed. In addition, special recognition
goes to Carlton Ramcharran, Colleen O’Brien, and Jihoon Oh
and other ASME staff who have supported this effort over the
last 7 years.
REFERENCES
[1] O’Brien, Colleen and Lobo, Noel and Ramcharran, Carlton.
“These Pipes Have Passed.” Mechanical Engineering Vol. 137
No. 6 (June 2015): pp 86-87. New York: American Society of
Mechanical Engineers.
[2] ASME NM.1: Thermoplastic Piping. (2018) New York:
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[3] ASME NM.2: Glass Fiber Reinforced Thermosetting Resin
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[4] ASME NM.3.1: Part 1: Thermoplastic Material
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[5] ASME NM.3.2: Part 2: Reinforced Thermoset Material
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[6] ASME NM.3.3: Part 3: Properties. (2018) New York:
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[7] AWS B2.4: Standard Welding Procedure Specification for
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