Meena Rezkallah, P.Eng.
Most blind flanges are in accordance with listed standards, such as ASME B16.5. When designing a blind flange, the rules of ASME BPVC Section VIII, Division 1, para. UG-34 apply. The procedure in ASME BPVC Section VIII includes consideration of the moment due to the flange bolts, so the required bolt load for boltup and operation must be determined per the flange design rules of Appendix 2 of ASME BPVC Section VIII, Division 1. #Little_PEng.