Design Services

FCL staff have extensive experience in the design and fabrication of pressure vessels, heat exchangers, storage tanks and piping systems.

Design services can be tailored to clients’ needs from the following:

• Preparation of mechanical design calculations in accordance with ASME VIII-1, ASME VIII-2, EN 13445, PD 5500, ASME III & RCC-M.
• Preparation of fabrication drawings using AutoCAD LT, Inventor & Solidworks software.
• Piping flexibility analysis using CAESAR II software.

To the fabricator, our design and draughting service can provide an overload capability, or alternatively, we are able to provide expertise not otherwise available in areas such as:

• Cyclic service
• Seismic design
• Ships motion
• Blast overpressure resistance
• Deviations from design shape
• Wind induced vibrations
• Specialist design codes such as ASME PVHO & BS 4994
• National design codes such as AD-Merkblatter, CODAP, Stoomwezen & AS 1210

For the contractor, FCL’s design services in the area of pressurised equipment offer a means of reducing man-hours expended in vendor drawing review whilst releasing design information to other disciplines earlier in project execution.

For the plant operator, FCL offers a complete pressurised equipment design service and can provide invaluable support for the inspection and maintenance functions.

FCL’s structural integrity assessment capability may also prove valuable in the re-rating and life assessment of existing equipment.

FCL design services are complimented by a comprehensive design-by-analysis capability which can be used to substantiate the design of features outside code geometry limits, or subject to unusual loading conditions.

All work is undertaken strictly in accordance with client requirements and is presented in a form suitable for immediate submission to third parties for approval.

Direct liaison with third party organisations can be undertaken on a client’s behalf if required.

FAQs 

Added November 2025.

Below are Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for this Design Services web page.

Which pressure vessel design codes do you work with?

We primarily work with ASME BPV codes such as Section VIII Division 1 & Division 2 and the UK national code PD5500. We also have extensive experience with the European harmonised standard EN 13445.

How long does pressure vessel design take?

The time required to design a pressure vessel can vary significantly depending on the complexity of the vessel, the intended service, whether all aspects of the design are covered by design-by-rule methods provided in the applicable design code, and the availability of the required design data.

For a simple vessel design, design calculations could be completed and a substantiation report provided in as little as two weeks.

A larger project with a design taken from initial concept to full substantiation with preparation of fabrication drawings, where material selection is required, limited information on loadings is available, transient thermal behaviour is exhibited, and fatigue assessment is required could take in excess of six months.

Do you provide fabrication drawings with your design service?

FCL offers the provision of high quality fabrication drawings (prepared using AutoCAD LT, Inventor & Solidworks software), as an additional service which can be incorporated into the scope of our design work.

What software do you use for mechanical design calculations?

FCL typically use a combination of FINGLOW Pressure Vessel Design Software and bespoke spreadsheets produced in Microsoft Excel to carry out design-by-rule calculations.

Design-by-analysis work is primarily carried out using ANSYS Finite Element Software.

Can you design pressure vessels for cyclic service conditions?

FCL has designed many pressure vessels for cyclic service conditions and has extensive experience in the application of fatigue life assessment methods using cyclic stresses calculated either by code rules or by design-by-analysis methods.

This experience enables the introduction of fatigue resistant features to a design in the early stages of a project, which can reduce overall timescales considerably.

Do you offer piping flexibility analysis services?

FCL regularly offer piping flexibility analysis services.

Piping flexibility analyses and assessments are typically carried out using CAESAR II software to ensure that piping satisfies the criteria in ASME B31.3 and where applicable, the European Pressure Equipment Directive.

What industries do you provide pressure vessel design for?

FCL provide pressure vessels design services for various industries including: Petrochemicals; Oil & Gas; Nuclear; Marine; Green Technology; Pharmaceuticals and Transport.