Source & Citation Policy — Where the Numbers Come From
Content last reviewed · page regenerated 2026-09-03 at build.
Engineering software earns trust by being explicit about what it computes from where. Piping Toolset enforces that with an architectural rule, not a style guide: equations live in code; copyrighted table values never do — with one narrow exception, enumerated in full in §3.
1. Citation policy
- Every calculator cites its governing method by standard and paragraph/equation number (e.g. ASME B31.3 ¶304.1.2 Eq. (3a)) — on the calculator card, on its landing page here, and in generated reports.
- Code equations and public-domain engineering methods (Kellogg guided cantilever, Euler buckling, WRC closed forms) are implemented in open code you can verify against the cited source.
- Code table values — allowable stresses, quality factors, Y/y coefficients, gasket factors — are either inputs you supply from your governing edition, or (on paid tiers) autofilled from the embedded datasets enumerated in §3, always with the standard, edition, table and line cited on the card and in the report. Pages on this site never reproduce them.
2. The data firewall
Reference data flows through a dedicated data service where every dataset carries a mode flag with a strict progression:
user_supplied → derived → licensed_embedded
- user_supplied — the default. You key in the value from your own copy of the standard.
- derived — computed or restructured from freely published data, with attribution (e.g. pipe-support catalog selection data, used with "confirm with the manufacturer at order time" disclaimers).
- licensed_embedded — shipped inside the app, verified and validated.
Datasets served through the data service are gated by an explicit
source allowlist in code, which refuses to serve a
licensed_embeddeddataset whose source is not on it. Reference tables compiled directly into a calculation module are held to the same policy and are enumerated individually in §3 — that list is the complete inventory of embedded standard data, not a sample.
3. Embedded standard data, in full:
| Standard / edition | What ships embedded | Used by |
|---|---|---|
| ASME BPE Part DT-4.1 | Fitting-dimension tables | BPE calculators |
| ASME BPE SD-3.1.2.2 | Dead-leg L/d limit | Dead-leg calculator |
| ASME B16.5-2017 | Pressure–temperature rating tables II-2-1.1 / 2.1 / 2.2 / 2.3 | Flange rating calculator (2017 edition selection) |
| ASME B16.5-2025 | Pressure–temperature rating tables 2-1.1C / 2-2.1C / 2-2.2C / 2-2.3C | PiperFLG rating derivation (current edition, default) |
| ASME B16.5-2017 | Facing and drilling tables II-7 through II-22 (Classes 150–2500) and Table 9 weld-neck hub dimensions | PiperFLG |
| ASME B16.20-2017 | Table SW-2.1-1 spiral-wound sealing-element dimensions | PiperFLG |
| ASME B31J-2023 | Table 1-1 component catalog (i/k equations implemented in code; Tables 1-2/1-3 relationships) | B31J SIF & flexibility engine |
| ASME B31.3-2024 | Tables 302.3.4-1 (Ej), 302.3.3-1 (Ec), 302.3.5-1 (W), 304.1.1-1 (Y) | Process-line factor pickers |
| ASME B31.3-2024 | Table A-1C basic allowable stresses and Table A-4C bolting design stresses — first-slice material lines (A53, A105, A106, A182, A193, A234, A312, A335 slice grades) | Material Property Autofill (Process line) |
| ASME B31.1-2024 | Tables 102.4.3-1 (E), 104.1.2-1 (y), 121.5-1 (support spans) | Power-line factor pickers, Pipe Supports |
| ASME B31.1-2024 | Appendix A Tables A-1/A-2/A-3 maximum allowable stress SE and Table A-10 bolting — same first-slice material lines | Material Property Autofill (Power line) |
| ASME B31.1-2024 | Table II-2.2.1-1 (App. II steam constants a, b) | PiperPSV discharge-reaction calculator |
| ASME BPVC Section IX-2025 | Table QW-442 (A-Numbers: ferrous weld-metal analysis classification) | General line — welding reference |
| ASME B31.9-2025 | Table 921.2.2-1 (threaded-rod capacities), Table I-1 (allowable stresses) | Building/HVAC line, Pipe Supports |
| ASME BPVC VIII-1-2025 | Table UCS-66 (tabular MDMT values), Figure UCS-66 curve assignments | MDMT / impact-exemption tool |
| ASME BPVC VIII-2-2025 | Table 4.16.1 (gasket factors m, y) | App 2 flange tools, PiperFLG |
| ASME NM.1-2022 | Tables 2-3.2.2-1 (GSR), 2-3.2.2-2 (DF), 2-3.2.2-3 (molded-fitting PR), Appendix IV Table IV-1 (HDPE i/k) | Non-metallic line |
| API 610 13th Ed. (2026) | Tables 5a/5b nozzle allowable loads | PiperNOZ preset picker |
| API 660 9th Ed. (R2025) | Table 2 nozzle allowable forces/moments | PiperNOZ preset picker |
| API 661 7th Ed. (R2024) | Table 4 nozzle loads + §7.1.10 aggregate rules | PiperNOZ preset picker |
| API 560 6th Ed. (2026) | Tables 7–10 terminal forces, moments and movements | PiperNOZ preset picker |
Everything outside that table stays user-entered, and the free tier always retains full hand-keyed input — embedded data adds autofill with citations, it never removes a capability. The B31.1/B31.3 allowable-stress autofill ships a first slice of the most-specified material lines (every autofilled value cites its table and line number, and interpolation never extrapolates past a line's tabulated range); material lines outside the slice, and the BPVC Section II-D tables behind the vessel calculators, remain values you supply from your governing edition until the next program phase embeds them.
4. Validation sources
- Hand derivations — recorded case-by-case in the fixture files (see validation methodology).
- PVP Suite validation set — 112 checks from a legacy validated toolset; driving inputs reverse-derived and locked as fixtures for seventeen calculators.
- Published worked examples — e.g. the expansion-loop coefficient rule (6.225·√(ΔL·D)), reproduced by the general form within 0.03% and locked as fixtures.
- Purchased codes and standards — embedded standard data cross checked to source documentation.
5. No runtime AI — and what telemetry exists
There is no LLM, no retrieval system, and no AI-generated number anywhere in the calculation path. Every result is a deterministic function of your inputs, and the same inputs produce the same outputs, forever — that is what makes a calculation report auditable.
Site pages carry Google Analytics for anonymous usage measurement (page views and which calculators are opened). All advertising signals are disabled, analytics consent is denied by default in the EEA/UK, and calculation inputs are never transmitted — calculators run entirely in your browser.
6. The standards themselves
Every number on this site traces to a published standard you can obtain from its issuing body. The editions your project invokes govern; these are the official listings (each link verified live 2026-08-11):
- ASME B31.1 — Power Piping
- ASME B31.3 — Process Piping
- ASME B31.4 — Pipeline Transportation Systems for Liquids and Slurries
- ASME B31.8 — Gas Transmission and Distribution Piping Systems
- ASME B16.5 — Pipe Flanges and Flanged Fittings
- ASME BPVC Section VIII, Division 1
- ASME BPE — Bioprocessing Equipment
- API Standards — API 610, RP 14E, 580/581 (allowables stay user-supplied)
- AISC Steel Standards — AISC 360
- DNV-RP-F101 — Corroded Pipelines
- EJMA — Expansion Joint Manufacturers Association
7. Corrections
Found a citation error or a number you cannot reproduce? Report it — a confirmed discrepancy becomes a fixture case first and a fix second, and both land in the calculation changelog.