Simple Pressure Vessels are vessels which are intended to contain air or nitrogen at a guage pressure greater than 0.5 bar but less than or equal to 30 bar and not intended to be exposed to heat.
They must be manufactured in series production and be of welded steel or aluminium construction with a total volume not exceeding 10,000 litres.
The Directive categorises vessels according to their stored energy.
Category A with a P.S. V. not more than 50bar litres and is divided into 3 subcategories.
The safety requirements in Category A are related to Annex 1 of the Directive. CE Marking and other information are shown on the vessel.
Category B are manufactured in accordance with sound engineering practice and carry the specific inscriptions (but not CE Marking).
The machinery directive applies to the following products:
This Directive applies to the design, manufacture and conformity assessment of pressure equipment and assemblies with a maximum allowable pressure PS greater than 0,5 bar.
For the purposes of this Directive:
‘Pressure equipment’ means vessels, piping, safety accessories and pressure accessories.
Where applicable, pressure equipment includes elements attached to pressurized parts, such as flanges, nozzles, couplings, supports, lifting lugs, etc.
The following are excluded from the scope of this Directive:
3.1. pipelines comprising piping or a system of piping designed for the conveyance of any fluid or substance to or from an installation (onshore or offshore) starting from and including the last isolation device located within the confines of the installation, including all the annexed equipment designed specifically for pipelines. This exclusion does not apply to standard pressure equipment such as may be found in pressure reduction stations or compression stations;
3.2. networks for the supply, distribution and discharge of water and associated equipment and headraces such as penstocks, pressure tunnels, pressure shafts for hydroelectric installations and their related specific accessories;
3.3. equipment covered by Directive 2014/29/EU on simple pressure vessels;
3.4. equipment covered by Council Directive 2013/10/EU on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to aerosol dispensers
3.5. equipment intended for the functioning of vehicles defined by the following Directives and their Annexes:
3.6. equipment classified as no higher than category I under Article 9 of this Directive and covered by one of the following Directives:
3.7. equipment covered by Article 223 (1) (b) of the Treaty;
3.8. items specifically designed for nuclear use, failure of which may cause an emission of radioactivity;
3.9. well-control equipment used in the petroleum, gas or geothermal exploration and extraction industry and in underground storage which is intended to contain and/or control well pressure. This comprises the wellhead (Christmas tree), the blow out preventers (BOP), the piping manifolds and all their equipment upstream;
3.10. equipment comprising casings or machinery where the dimensioning, choice of material and manufacturing rules are based primarily on requirements for sufficient strength, rigidity and stability to meet the static and dynamic operational effects or other operational characteristics and for which pressure is not a significant design factor. Such equipment may include:
3.11. blast furnaces including the furnace cooling system, hot-blast recuperators, dust extractors and blast-furnace exhaust-gas scrubbers and direct reducing cupolas, including the furnace cooling, gas converters and pans for melting, re-melting, de- gassing and casting of steel and non-ferrous metals;
3.12. enclosures for high-voltage electrical equipment such as switchgear, control gear, transformers, and rotating machines;
3.13. pressurized pipes for the containment of transmission systems, e.g. for electrical power and telephone cables;
3.14. ships, rockets, aircraft and mobile off-shore units, as well as equipment specifically intended for installation on board or the propulsion thereof;
3.15. pressure equipment consisting of a flexible casing, e.g. tyres, air cushions, balls used for play, inflatable craft, and other similar pressure equipment;
3.16. exhaust and inlet silencers;
3.17. bottles or cans for carbonated drinks for final consumption;
3.18. vessels designed for the transport and distribution of drinks having a PS·V of not more than 500 bar·L and a maximum allowable pressure not exceeding 7 bar;
3.19. equipment covered by the ADR ( 1 ), the RID ( 2 ), the IMDG ( 3 ) and the ICAO Convention ( 4 );
3.20. radiators and pipes in warm water heating systems;
3.21. vessels designed to contain liquids with a gas pressure above the liquid of not more than 0,5 bar.
In choosing the most appropriate solutions, the manufacturer must apply the principles set out below in the following order:
Where the potential for misuse is known or can be clearly foreseen, the pressure equipment must be designed to prevent danger from such misuse or, if that is not possible, adequate warning given that the pressure equipment must not be used in that way.
1.2. The conformity assessment procedures to be applied to an item of pressure equipment with a view to affixing the CE marking shall be determined by the category, as defined in Article 9, in which the equipment is classified.
1.3. The conformity assessment procedures to be applied for the various categories are as follows:
1.4. Pressure equipment shall be subjected to one of the conformity assessment procedures which may be chosen by the manufacturer among those laid down for the category in which it is classified. The manufacturer may also choose to apply one of the procedures which apply to a higher category, if available.
1.5. In the framework of quality assurance procedures for equipment in categories III and IV referred to in Article 3, section 1.1 (a), section 1.1 (b) first indent and section 1.2, the notified body shall, when performing unexpected visits, take a sample of equipment from the manufacturing or storage premises in order to perform, or have performed, the final assessment as referred to in Annex I, section 3.2.2. To this end, the manufacturer shall inform the notified body of the intended schedule of production. The notified body shall carry out at least two visits during the first year of manufacturing. The frequency of subsequent visits shall be determined by the notified body on the basis of the criteria set out in section 4.4 of the relevant modules.
1.6. In the case of one-off production of vessels and equipment in Category III referred to in Article 3, section 1.2 under the module H procedure, the notified body shall perform or have performed the final assessment, as referred to in Annex I, section 3.2.2, for each unit. To this end, the manufacturer shall communicate the intended schedule of production to the notified body.
2. Assemblies referred to in Article 3 (2) shall be subjected to a global conformity assessment procedure comprising:
3. By way of derogation from paragraphs 1 and 2, the competent authorities may, where justified, allow the placing on the market and putting into service in the territory of the Member State concerned of individual pressure equipment items and assemblies referred to in Article 1 (2), in respect of which the procedures referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article have not been applied and the use of which is in the interests of experimentation.
4. Records and correspondence relating to conformity assessment shall be drawn up in the official language(s) of the Community which may be determined in accordance with the Treaty by the Member State where the body responsible for carrying out these procedures is established, or in a language accepted by that body.
Where neither the manufacturer nor his authorized representative is established within the Community, the obligation to keep the technical documentation available is the responsibility of the person who places the pressure equipment on the Community market.
The technical documentation must enable an assessment to be made of the conformity of the pressure equipment with the requirements of the Directive which apply to it. It must, as far as is relevant for such assessment, cover the design, manufacture and operation of the pressure equipment and contain:
When pressure equipment is placed on the market, the manufacturer is required by the PED to ensure that it is accompanied by instructions for the user containing certain safety information; such information is mandatory. Additional information may be requested by the user or recommended by the manufacturer, and agreed as part of the order or contract; this information is not a PED requirement and therefore is optional. Both types of information are elaborated below.
The following are required by the PED:
The manufacturer, or his authorized representative established within the Community, must affix the CE marking to each item of pressure equipment and draw up a written declaration of conformity.
The EC declaration of conformity must contain the following particulars:
The CE marking shall consist of the initials ‘CE’ taking the following form:
If the CE marking is reduced or enlarged the proportions shown in the above drawing must be respected.
The manufacturer may choose to affix the CE marking visibly, legibly and indelibly to the toy, to an affixed label or to the packaging.
The various components of the CE marking must have substantially the same vertical dimension, which may not be less than 5 mm.
The CE marking shall be accompanied by the identification number, as referred to in Article 12 (1), of the notified body involved at the production control phase.
The CE marking shall be affixed in a visible, easily legible and indelible fashion to each
which is complete or is in a state permitting final assessment as described in section 3.2 of Annex I.
It is not necessary for the CE marking to be affixed to each individual item of pressure equipment making up an assembly as referred to in Article 3 (2). Individual items of pressure equipment already bearing the CE marking when incorporated into the assembly shall continue to bear that marking.
Where the pressure equipment or assembly is subject to other Directives covering other aspects which provide for the affixing of the CE marking, the latter shall indicate that the pressure equipment or assembly in question is also presumed to conform to the provisions of those other Directives.
However, should one or more of those Directives allow the manufacturer, during a transitional period, to choose which arrangements to apply, the CE marking shall indicate conformity only with the Directives applied by the manufacturer. In this case, the particulars of the said Directives, as published in the Official Journal of the European Communities, must be given in the documents, notices or instructions required by the Directives and accompanying the pressure equipment or assembly.
The affixing of markings on pressure equipment or assemblies which are likely to mislead third parties as to the meaning or form of the CE marking shall be prohibited. Any other marking may be affixed to pressure equipment or assemblies provided that the visibility and legibility of the CE marking is not thereby reduced.