BS 7910 is the European standard on metallic structures used in building construction that guides to assess if flaws in metallic structures are acceptable.
BS 7910 gives guidance and recommendations for assessing the acceptability of flaws in all types of structures and components.
BS 7910 is particularly relevant wherever structural integrity is important e.g. pipelines, shipbuilding, turbines, engines, vehicle manufacturing and pressure vessels and equipment.
BS 7910 on metallic structures is applicable to:
The metallic structures are to be assessed for fitness of purpose rather than adherence to design and fabrication codes, in order to demonstrate margins for the continued operation of the welded structure.
In order to ascertain the fitness-for-service of a damaged structure, BS 7910 evaluates a known flaw (such as fabrication cracks, fatigue cracks, creep cracks, and corrosion damage).
To inform materials selection, load capacity, or inspection requirements, BS 7910 provides a calculation on a structure's defect tolerance. In thick-walled steel constructions, BS 7910 justifies the absence of post-weld heat treatment.
Quality control levels are typically arbitrary and cautious, yet they are extremely useful in monitoring and maintaining quality during production.
Moreover, BS 7910 navigates you through the process of performing an assessment of an existing flaw and supporting the continued operation, repair, replacement decisions, and, or determining a limiting flaw size for a component subject to a given operating environment and to determine the time to reach the limiting state.
BS 7910:2019 supersedes BS 7910:2013+A1:2015. BS 7910:2019 includes some technical changes with respect to BS 7910:2013+A1:2015. These include: