ARTICLE D-5
OPENINGS AND THEIR
REINFORCEMENT
AD-500 SCOPE
The rules contained in this Article provide for a
satisfactory design in the vicinity of openings in the
pressure shell, under pressure loading only, on the basis
of opening shape, area replacement and its distribution,
provided a fatigue analysis is not required. These rules
do not include design requirements for piping loads
that may be imposed on the nozzle and /or shell portion
and that may be added to the pressure loadings. Such
additional loadings should be carefully considered by
the design engineer.
AD-501 Dimensions and Shape of Openings
(a) Openings except as permitted under (b) shall be
circular, elliptical, or of any other shape which results
from the intersection of a circular or elliptical cylinder
with vessels of the shapes for which formulas are given
in Article D-2, provided:
(1) the ratio of the diameter along the major axis
to the diameter along the minor axis of the finished
opening is 1.5 or less;
(2) the ratio d /D ≤ 0.50, where d is the largest
inside diameter of the intersecting vessel and D is the
inside diameter of the intersected vessel;
(3) the distance between the centerlines of adjacent
nozzles measured along the inside surface of the vessel
shall be such that
冪 (ᐉc / 2)2 + (ᐉᐉ / 3)2
is not less than the sum of their inside radii, where
ᐉc is the component of the centerline distance in the
circumferential direction, and ᐉᐉ is the component of
the centerline distance in the longitudinal direction.
For openings in a head, or for openings along the
longitudinal axis of a cylindrical shell, ᐉc p 0.
For openings around the circumference of a cylindri-
cal shell, ᐉᐉ p 0.
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(4) reinforcement is provided around the edge of
the opening in amount and distribution such that the
area requirements for reinforcement are satisfied for
all planes through the center of the opening and normal
to the vessel surface as stipulated in AD-520.
(b) Openings of other shapes or dimensions may be
used subject to the requirements of Appendix 4 or
Appendix 5.
AD-502 Location of Openings in Welded
Joints
Any type of opening permitted by these rules may
be located in a butt welded joint.
AD-510 CIRCULAR OPENINGS NOT
REQUIRING REINFORCEMENT
Circular openings need not be provided with rein-
forcement if all the following requirements are satisfied.
(a) A single opening has a diameter not exceeding
0.2 冪Rmt, or if there are two or more openings within
any circle of diameter 2.5 冪Rmt, then the sum of the
diameters of such unreinforced openings shall not ex-
ceed 0.25 冪Rmt.
(b) No two unreinforced openings shall have their
centers closer to each other, measured on the inside
of the vessel wall, than 1.5 times the sum of their
diameters.
(c) No unreinforced opening shall have its center
closer than 2.5 冪Rmt to the edge of a locally stressed
area in the shell, where Rm is the mean radius and t
is the nominal thickness of the vessel shell or head at
the location of the opening(s); locally stressed area
means any area in the shell where the primary local
membrane stress exceeds 1.1Sm, but excluding those
areas where such primary local membrane stress is due
to an unreinforced opening.
 AD-520 PART AD — DESIGN REQUIREMENTS AD-530

AD-520 REQUIRED REINFORCEMENT

FOR OPENINGS IN SHELLS AND
FORMED HEADS
(a) Design for Internal Pressure. The total cross-
sectional area of reinforcement A required in any given
plane for a vessel under internal pressure shall be not
less than

A p dtr F

where
dp diameter in the given plane of the finished open-
ing, in. (mm)
trp minimum thickness which meets the require-
ments of Article D-2 in the absence of the open-
ing, in. (mm), except that:
(1) when the opening and its reinforcement
are entirely within the spherical portion of a
torispherical head, tr is the thickness required
by AD-202 for spherical shells;
(2) when the opening is in a cone, tr is the
thickness required for a seamless cone of diame-
ter D, measured where the nozzle axis pierces
the inside wall of the cone;
(3) when the opening and its reinforcement
are in a 2:1 elliptical head, located entirely FIG. AD-520.1 CHART FOR DETERMINING VALUE
within a circle, the center of which coincides OF F
with the center of the head and the diameter of
which is equal to 80% of the shell diameter, tr is
the thickness required by AD-202 for spherical
shells, using a radius of 0.9 times the shell di-
ameter. AD-530 REQUIRED REINFORCEMENT
Fp 1.00 when the plane under consideration is in FOR OPENINGS IN FLAT HEADS
the spherical portion of a head or when the
Flat heads that have an opening with a diameter that
given plane contains the longitudinal axis of a
does not exceed one-half of the head diameter shall
cylindrical shell. For other planes through a
have a total cross-sectional area of reinforcement not
shell, use the value of F determined from Fig.
less than that given by the formula
AD-520.1, except that for reinforcing pads
Fp1.
(b) Design for External Pressure. The reinforcement
required for openings in vessels subject to external A p 0.5dtr
pressure need be only 50% of that required in (a)
above, where tr is the wall thickness required by the
rules for vessels under external pressure (see Article where
D-3). dp diameter of the finished opening, in. (mm)
(c) Not less than half the required material shall be trp minimum thickness which meets the require-
on each side of the centerline of the opening. [See ments of AD-702 in the absence of the opening,
also AD-540.1(b).] in. (mm)

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 AD-540 2001 SECTION VIII — DIVISION 2
AD-540 LIMITS OF REINFORCEMENT
The boundaries of the cross-sectional area in any
plane normal to the vessel wall and passing through
the center of the opening within which metal shall be
located in order to have value as reinforcement are
designated as the limits of reinforcement for that plane
and are as described in AD-540.1 and AD-540.2.
AD-540.1 Boundary Along Vessel Wall. Two re-
quirements on the limits of reinforcement measured
along the midsurface of the nominal wall thickness
shall be met as follows.
(a) 100% of the required reinforcement shall be
within a distance on each side of the axis of the
opening equal to the greater of the following:
(1) the diameter of the finished opening in the
corroded condition;
(2) the radius of the finished opening in the cor-
roded condition plus the thickness of the vessel wall
plus the thickness of the nozzle wall.
(b) Two-thirds of the required reinforcement shall
be within a distance on each side of the axis of the
opening equal to the greater of the following:
(1) r + 0.5 冪Rmt, where Rm is the mean radius
of shell or head, t is the nominal vessel wall thickness,
and r is the radius of the finished opening in the
corroded condition;
(2) the radius of the finished opening in the cor-
roded condition plus the thickness of the vessel wall
plus the thickness of the nozzle wall.
01 AD-540.2 Boundary Normal to Vessel Wall. The
limits of reinforcement, measured normal to the vessel
wall, shall conform to the contour of the surface at a
distance from each surface equal to the following limits.
(a) For Fig. AD-540.1 sketches (a) and (b):
(1) when h < 2.5tn + K, the limit is the larger of
0.5 冪rm tn + K or 1.73x + 2.5tp + K
but this limit shall not exceed either 2.5t or L + 2.5tp;
(2) when h ≥ 2.5tn + K, the limit is the larger of
0.5 冪rm tn + K or 2.5tn
but this limit shall not exceed 2.5t, where
rp inside radius of nozzle, in. (mm)
tnp nominal nozzle thickness, in. (mm)
rmp mean radius of nozzle, in. (mm)
p r + 0.5tn
r2p transition radius between nozzle and vessel
wall, in. (mm)
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AD-550
tpp nominal thickness of connecting pipe, in. (mm)
tp nominal vessel thickness, in. (mm)
hp length along nozzle with thickness tn, in. (mm)
Lp length along nozzle with thickness of tn plus
transition length, in. (mm)
Kp 0.73r2 when a transition radius r2 is used and
the smaller of the two legs when a fillet weld
transition is used, in. (mm)
xp slope offset distance, in. (mm)
p tn − tp
(b) For Fig. AD-540.1 sketch (c):
(1) When 45 deg ≥ ␪ ≥ 30 deg, the limit is the
larger of
0.5 冪rm tn′ or L ′ + 2.5tp ≤ 2.5t
(2) When ␪ < 30 deg, the limit is the larger of
0.5 冪rm tn′ or 1.73x + 2.5tp ≤ 2.5t
where
rp inside radius of nozzle, in. (mm)
t n′p tp + 0.667x
␪p angle between vertical and slope (45 deg or
less), deg
L′p length of tapered section along nozzle, in. (mm)
rmp r + 0.5t n′
Other terms are given in (a) above.
(c) For Fig. AD-540.1 sketch (d), the limit is the
larger of
0.5 冪rm tn + te + K or 2.5tn + te + K ≤ 2.5t
In no case can the thickness te used to establish the
limit exceed 1.5t or 1.73W, where
Wp width of added reinforcing element, in. (mm)
tep thickness of added reinforcing element, in.
(mm)
Other terms are given in (a) above.
(d) For Fig. AD-612.1 sketches (d-1) and (d-2), and
for Fig. AD-621.1 sketches (c-2) and (c-3), the limit
is te , but not greater than 1.5t or 1.73W. See (a) and
(c) above for nomenclature.
AD-550 METAL AVAILABLE FOR
REINFORCEMENT
Metal may be counted as contributing to the area
of reinforcement called for in AD-520 and AD-530
provided it lies within the area of reinforcement specified
 PART AD — DESIGN REQUIREMENTS Fig. AD-540.1

FIG. AD-540.1 NOZZLE NOMENCLATURE AND DIMENSIONS

(Depicts Configuration Only. See Article D-6 for Details of Construction.)

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 AD-550 2001 SECTION VIII — DIVISION 2 AD-560.1

in AD-540 and shall be limited to material which meets
the following requirements:
(a) metal forming a part of the vessel wall which
is in excess of that required on the basis of primary
stress intensity (see AD-200 through AD-210, and AD-
702), and is exclusive of corrosion allowance;
(b) similar metal in the nozzle wall provided the
nozzle is integral with the vessel wall or is joined to
it by a full penetration weld;
(c) weld metal which is fully continuous with the
vessel wall;
(d) full penetration weld metal joining nozzle neck
to separate reinforcing plate;
(e) metal not fully continuous with the shell, such
as a pad continuously welded around its periphery,
may be counted as reinforcement provided the require-
ments of AD-570 are met;
(f) The metal to be included as reinforcement under
(b), (c), and (d) shall meet the following limit:
| (␣R − ␣V )⌬T | ≤ 0.0008
where
␣Rp mean coefficient of the thermal expansion of
reinforcing metal at design temperature,
in. /in.°F (m/m°C; see Tables TE-1, TE-2, TE-
3, and TE-4 in Section II, Part D)
␣V p mean coefficient of thermal expansion of vessel
metal at design temperature, in. /in.°F (m/m°C;
see Tables TE-1, TE-2, TE-3, and TE-4 in Sec-
tion II, Part D)
⌬Tp operating temperature range from 70°F (21°C)
to the operating temperature, or the difference
from the lowest operating temperature to the
highest operating temperature, if greater
For designs exceeding this limit, no credit shall be
taken for reinforcing potentially available in the nozzle
neck within the limits of reinforcement, and no credit
shall be taken for fillet weld metal area joining the
nozzle neck to shell or separate reinforcing plate. For
other reinforcing metal, requirements of (a) to (e) apply.
NOTE: It is extremely likely that for designs exceeding limit in (f),
a fatigue analysis will be required by AD-160 rules.
AD-550.1 Metal Not Available for Reinforcement.
Metal not fully continuous with the shell, as that in
nozzles attached by partial penetration welds, shall not
be counted as reinforcement (see also AD-621).
AD-550.2 Reinforcement Metal Limited to One
Opening. Metal available for reinforcement shall not
be considered as applying to more than one opening.
AD-551 Strength of Reinforcement Material
(a) Material in the nozzle wall used for reinforcement
shall preferably have the same design stress intensity
value as that used for the material in the vessel wall.
In no case shall this value of design stress intensity
be less than 80% of that value used for the vessel
wall at the design temperature.
(b) If material with a lower design stress is used,
the area provided by such material shall be increased
in proportion to the inverse ratio of the stress intensity
of the nozzle and the vessel wall material. No reduction
in the reinforcement requirement may be made if the
nozzle material or weld metal has a design stress
intensity value higher than that of the material of the
vessel wall. The strength of the material at the point
under consideration shall be used in fatigue analyses.
AD-560 ALTERNATIVE RULES FOR
NOZZLE DESIGN
The following is an acceptable alternative to the
rules of AD-501 through AD-550 and Article 4-6 subject
to the limitations of AD-560.1.
AD-560.1 Limitations. These alternative rules are
applicable only to nozzles in vessels within the following
limitations.
(a) The nozzle is circular in cross section and its
axis is perpendicular to the vessel or head.
(b) The nozzle and reinforcing (if required) are
welded integrally into the vessel with full penetration
welds between all parts. Constructions such as those
shown in Figs. AD-610.1 and AD-613.1 are acceptable.
However, fillet welds must be ground to a radius in
accordance with Fig. AD-560.1.
(c) The edge of the opening is at least 2.5冪Rmt from
the nearest edge of any other opening.
(d) The material(s) used in the nozzle, reinforcing,
and vessel adjacent to the nozzle shall have a ratio of
UTS /YS of not less than 1.5, where
UTSpspecified minimum ultimate tensile strength
YSpspecified minimum yield strength
(e) The following dimensional limitations are met:
Nozzles in Spherical
Vessels or
Nozzles in Spherical Portion of
Cylindrical Vessels Formed Heads
D/t 10 to 100 10 to 100
d/D 0.5 maximum 0.5 maximum
d / 冪Dt ... 0.80 maximum
d / 冪Dtnr2 /t 1.50 maximum ...

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 PART AD — DESIGN REQUIREMENTS Fig. AD-560.1

FIG. AD-560.1 EXAMPLES OF ACCEPTABLE TRANSITION DETAILS

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 Fig. AD-560.4 2001 SECTION VIII — DIVISION 2

FIG. AD-560.4 LIMITS OF REINFORCING ZONE

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 AD-560.1 PART AD — DESIGN REQUIREMENTS AD-560.7

(f) In the case of spherical shells and formed heads, TABLE AD-560.7
at least 40% of the reinforcement is located on the STRESS INDICES FOR INTERNAL PRESSURE
outside surface of the nozzle–shell juncture. LOADING
(a) Nozzles in Spherical Shells and Spherical Portions of
AD-560.2 Nomenclature Formed Heads
Dp inside diameter of cylindrical vessel, spherical
vessel, or spherical head, in. (mm) Inside Outside
Stress Corner Corner
dp inside diameter of nozzle, in. (mm)
Rp inside radius of cylindrical vessel, spherical ves- ␴n 2.0 2.0
␴t −0.2 2.0
sel, or spherical portion of formed head, in.
␴r −2t/R 0
(mm) ␴ 2.2 2.0
rp inside radius of nozzle, in. (mm)
trp wall thickness of vessel or head, computed by (b) Nozzles in Cylindrical Shells
the equation given in AD-201 for cylindrical Longitudinal Plane Transverse Plane
vessels; by AD-202 for spherical vessels or
spherical portion of formed heads, in. (mm) Inside Outside Inside Outside
Stress Corner Corner Corner Corner
t rnp wall thickness of nozzle, computed by the equa-
tion given in AD-201, in. (mm) ␴n 3.1 1.2 1.0 2.1
tp nominal wall thickness of vessel or head, in. ␴t −0.2 1.0 −0.2 2.6
␴r −t/R 0 −t/R 0
(mm) ␴ 3.3 1.2 1.2 2.6
tnp nominal wall thickness of nozzle, in. (mm)
tpp nominal thickness of connecting pipe, in. (mm)
Arp required minimum reinforcing area, sq in.
(mm2)
Aap available reinforcing area, sq in. (mm2) AD-560.5 Strength of Reinforcing Material Re-
r1, r2, r3, r4, r5, ␪, ␪1: See Fig. AD-560.1 quirements. Material in the nozzle wall used for rein-
Lc , Ln: See Fig. AD-560.4 forcing shall preferably be the same as that of the
S, ␴t , ␴n , ␴r , ␴: See Fig. 4-611.1 and AD-560.7 vessel wall. If material with a lower design stress value
AD-560.3 Required Reinforcement Area. The re- Sm is used, the area provided by such material shall
quired minimum reinforcing area is related to the value be increased in proportion to the inverse ratio of the
of d / 冪Rtr as tabulated below. stress values of the nozzle and the vessel wall material.
No reduction in the reinforcing area requirement may
Required Min. Reinforcing Area Ar , sq. in. (mm2) be taken for the increased strength of nozzle material
or weld metal which has a higher design stress value
Nozzles in Spherical
Vessels or
than that of the material of the vessel wall. The strength
Value of Nozzles in Spherical Portion of of the material at the point under consideration shall
d / 冪Rtr Cylinders Formed Heads be used in fatigue analyses.
< 0.20 None1 1
⁄
None1 1
⁄ AD-560.6 Transition Details. Examples of accept-
> 0.20 [4.05 (d / 冪Rtr ) 2 [5.40 (d / 冪Rtr ) 2
and −1.81]dtr −2.41]dtr
able transition tapers and radii are shown in Fig. AD-
< 0.40 560.1. Other configurations which meet the reinforcing
> 0.40 0.75dtr dtr cos ␾ area requirements of AD-560.3 and with equivalent or
␾ p sin−1(d / D) less severe transitions are also acceptable, e.g., larger
radius to thickness ratios.
NOTE:
(1) However, the transition radius r2 (defined in Fig. AD-560.1), or AD-560.7 Stress Indices. The term stress index, as
equivalent thereof, is required.
used herein, is defined as the numerical ratio of the
The required minimum reinforcing area shall be pro- stress components ␴t , ␴n , and ␴r under consideration
vided in all planes containing the nozzle axis. to the computed stress S.
The symbols for the stress components are shown
AD-560.4 Limits of Reinforcing Zone. Reinforcing in Fig. 4-611.1 and are defined as follows:
metal included in meeting the minimum reinforcing Sp P(2R + t) /4t for nozzles in spherical vessels
area specified in AD-560.3 must be located within the or heads
reinforcing zone boundary shown in Fig. AD-560.4. Sp P(2R + t) /2t for nozzles in cylindrical vessels

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 AD-560.7 2001 SECTION VIII — DIVISION 2
␴tp the stress component in the plane of the section
under consideration and parallel to the boundary
of the section
␴np the stress component normal to the plane of
the section (ordinarily the circumferential stress
around the hole in the shell)
␴rp the stress component normal to the boundary
of the section
␴p the stress intensity (combined stress) at the point
under consideration
Pp range of pressure in cycle under consideration,
psi (kPa)
When the conditions of AD-560.1 through AD-560.6
are satisfied, the stress indices given in Table AD-
560.7 may be used. These stress indices deal only with
the maximum stresses, at certain general locations, due
to internal pressure. In the evaluation of stresses in or
adjacent to vessel openings and connections, it is often
necessary to consider the effect of stresses due to
external loadings or thermal stresses. In such cases,
the total stress at a given point may be determined by
superposition. In the case of combined stresses due to
internal pressure and nozzle loading, the maximum
stresses should be considered as acting at the same point
and added algebraically. If the stresses are otherwise
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AD-570
determined by more accurate analytical techniques or
by the experimental stress analysis procedure of Appen-
dix 6, the stresses are also to be added algebraically.
AD-570 REQUIREMENTS FOR NOZZLES
WITH SEPARATE REINFORCING
PLATES
Except for nozzles at small ends of cones reinforced
in accordance with the requirements of AD-212.3, added
reinforcement in the form of separate reinforcing plates
may be used, provided the vessel and the nozzles meet
all of the following conditions.
(a) The materials of nozzle, pad, and vessel wall
conform to those in Section IX, QW-422 for materials
listed in Column 1 and Column 4 of Table AF-241.1.
(b) The specified minimum tensile strengths of said
materials do not exceed 80,000 psi (552 MPa).
(c) The minimum elongation of each of said materials
is 12% in 2 in. (51 mm).
(d) The thickness of the added reinforcement does
not exceed 11⁄2 times the shell thickness.
(e) The requirements of AD-160 for pads in cyclic
service are met.