BS 7910:2013 in brief

Abstract The UK standard BS 7910 (‘Guide to methods for assessing the acceptability of flaws in metallic structures’) was revised in late 2013, in order to incorporate into the document a number of advances in structural integrity assessment methods. The source documents included earlier versions of BS 7910 (and its predecessor documents, PD 6493 and PD 6539), the UK nuclear structural integrity assessment procedures R5 and R6, and the European documents SINTAP and FITNET. This paper summarises the structure and contents of the standard and outlines the process by which it is developed and maintained. A comparison with other standards and procedures that address structural integrity through fracture mechanics-based assessment is also given.