TR CU 032: Certificate or Declaration for a Vessel
A vessel's approval form is not a choice. TR CU 032/2013 sorts equipment into four categories from working pressure, capacity and the hazard group of the medium. Categories 1 and 2 take a declaration of conformity, categories 3 and 4 take a certificate. A declaration may always be upgraded to a certificate, never the other way round.
Which vessels does TR CU 032 cover?
Any vessel with a maximum allowable working pressure above 0.05 MPa, once its capacity and its pressure-times-capacity product cross the thresholds. Those thresholds depend on two things: whether the contents are gas or liquid, and which hazard group the medium belongs to.
| Contents | Medium group | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Gases, liquefied gases, vapours | 1 | > 0.05 MPa, capacity > 0.001 m³, P×V > 0.0025 MPa·m³ |
| Gases, liquefied gases, vapours | 1 | > 20 MPa, capacity 0.0001 to 0.001 m³ |
| Gases, liquefied gases, vapours | 2 | > 0.05 MPa, capacity > 0.001 m³, P×V > 0.005 MPa·m³ |
| Gases, liquefied gases, vapours | 2 | > 100 MPa, capacity 0.0001 to 0.001 m³ |
| Liquids | 1 | > 0.05 MPa, capacity > 0.001 m³, P×V > 0.02 MPa·m³ |
| Liquids | 1 | > 50 MPa, capacity 0.0001 to 0.001 m³ |
| Liquids | 2 | > 1 MPa, capacity > 0.01 m³, P×V > 1 MPa·m³ |
| Liquids | 2 | > 100 MPa, capacity 0.0001 to 0.01 m³ |
Group 1 is the hazardous one, explosive, flammable or toxic media. Group 2 is everything else. Two vessels of identical geometry can land in different categories purely because of what is inside them.
Check two exclusions before you calculate anything. Vessels that operate under pressure created by an explosion inside them as part of the process, or by combustion in self-propagating high-temperature synthesis, are out of scope. So are vessels specially designed for aircraft.
How is the category determined?
From four figures in the technical specification:
- Volume
- Maximum allowable pressure
- Medium, liquid or gas
- Operating environment group, 1 or 2
Those give a category of 1, 2, 3 or 4, and the category gives the approval form.
| Category | Approval form |
|---|---|
| 1 and 2 | Declaration of conformity |
| 3 and 4 | Certificate of conformity |
The rule runs one way. A declarable product may be certified instead, buyers sometimes prefer it, but a certifiable product can never be declared.
To settle the category, a certification body needs the technical specification, the HS code, drawings and a product description. Send those before anything else; almost every question about cost and timeline downstream depends on the answer.
Which declaration scheme applies?
| Scheme | Basis | Production |
|---|---|---|
| 1d | Manufacturer’s own test reports | Serial |
| 2d | Manufacturer’s own test reports | Single batch |
| 3d | Tests in an accredited RF laboratory | Serial |
| 4d | Tests in an accredited RF laboratory | Single batch |
| 5d | Study of the equipment type | Assembled at the place of operation |
Schemes 1d and 2d rest on the applicant’s own evidence. Factory reports qualify if their content matches what the relevant GOST standards require; so do reports from laboratories accredited in the Customs Union.
Schemes 3d and 4d normally mean sending one sample for testing in an accredited laboratory inside the Union, and registering the declaration on the resulting report.
Scheme 5d exists for equipment of any category that is made up with permanent joints at the place of operation. The type study takes one of two routes: examining a sample as the representative of everything produced afterwards, or examining the submitted documents plus testing the sample or its critical components. The certification body issues a type certificate and a test report, and the declaration follows from those.
A declaration for serial production is valid for up to 5 years. For a batch or a single product, no validity period is set.
Which certification scheme applies?
| Scheme | Applies to | Inspection control |
|---|---|---|
| 1c | Mass-produced equipment | Yes, annually |
| 3c | A batch | No |
| 4c | A single product | No |
| 7c | Serial and mass production, and planned modifications | Yes |
Under 1c the applicant assembles the documents and applies; the certification body takes samples; the laboratory tests them; the body analyses the state of production together with the test results and issues the certificate; and it then repeats inspection control once a year, by testing samples in an accredited laboratory, by analysing production, or both.
3c runs the same way for a batch, minus the production analysis and minus the annual inspection. 4c is 3c applied to a single product.
7c is 1c plus a study of the equipment type. Its advantage is practical: instead of testing whole equipment, the main components may be tested. It is the scheme to reach for when modifications are planned during the certificate’s life.
Certificates issued under 1c, 3c and 4c are valid for 5 years. A 7c certificate is valid for the assigned service life or lifetime instead.
What documents does the technical file need?
- Equipment datasheet
- Copy of the safety analysis
- General view drawing
- Datasheet of safety devices, where the project documentation includes them
- Calculation of the throughput of those safety devices
- Calculation of equipment strength
- Operating manual
- Drawings, diagrams, calculations and anything else the supply contract names
The technical datasheet deserves its own attention
It is drawn up to GOST 34347-2017, and it is the document that most often sends a file back. It must carry:
- General information, manufacturer name and address, date of manufacture, factory number, estimated service life
- Technical parameters, operating, design and test pressure in MPa; operating temperature of the medium; design wall temperature; minimum permissible negative wall temperature; name of the working medium; medium group; corrosion allowance in mm; capacity; empty weight; maximum mass of the filled medium
- Main parts, with quantity, dimensions, material and welding or soldering method
- Nozzles, flanges, covers and fasteners, with quantity, dimensions and material
- Safety devices, main valves and instrumentation, with quantity, nominal diameter, design pressure, housing material and installation location
- Drawings and diagrams of the vessel, plus the summary sheet of factory changes, packing list and specification of assembly unit dimensions
- Anything else bearing on safe operation
Sources
- TR CU 032/2013, On the safety of equipment operating under excessive pressure, Eurasian Economic Commission
- GOST 34347-2017, Vessels and apparatus of steel welded. General specifications
- Eurasian Economic Union register of certification bodies and testing laboratories
Frequently asked questions
Which vessels fall under TR CU 032?
Vessels with a maximum allowable working pressure above 0.05 MPa, once capacity and the pressure-times-capacity product cross the thresholds set for the medium. The thresholds are lower for group 1 media, explosive, flammable or toxic, than for group 2. Vessels pressurised by an internal explosion or by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis, and vessels designed for aircraft, are excluded.
Can I choose a declaration instead of a certificate?
Only upwards. A product that needs a declaration may be certified instead, which some buyers ask for. A product in category 3 or 4 cannot be downgraded to a declaration. The category follows from the technical specification, so the answer is fixed before you apply.
What if the vessel is too large to test in a laboratory?
Testing can be done at the production site or the installation site inside the Union. Once the technical documentation is collected and the application registered, the certification body picks the model to test, sends a test expert to the site, and the report is drawn up on their return.
Not sure which of these applies to your product? Send it and we will tell you
Related articles
TR CU 032 vs the PED Directive: Two Philosophies
Both regulate pressure equipment safety, but one puts risk analysis on the manufacturer and the other prescribes the requirements. What that means in practice.
TR CU 032/2013: What It Is and What It Requires
Scope, materials, strength calculations, testing, marking and conformity assessment under the EAEU regulation for equipment operating above 0.05 MPa.
What Counts as Equipment Operating Under Excess Pressure
The 0.05 MPa threshold that makes equipment high-risk, the device types it captures, and why the purpose of the device has nothing to do with it.
