If a word is capitalized in the manuscript, check for consistency; question the engineer, or consult other books in the Code, if necessary.
Proper nouns are always capitalized [i.e., Fahrenheit (°F), Celsius (°C), and Rankine (R)]. Exceptions to this rule are kelvin (K), joules (J), and newtons (N).
Words that refer to a specific book element are always initial cap: Chapter, Part, Article, Section (e.g., Section IX of the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code), Table, Figure, and Appendix. In Boiler Code, paragraph designators have a prefix (e.g., HW-201); it is therefore unnecessary to add the word “para.” before the designator when it is referenced in the text.
For a list of Code-specific elements in the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, refer to Code-Specific Items.
EXAMPLES:
Refer to Table RD-620.1-1.
The values named in this Appendix shall apply.
Refer to HA-802.
Prepositions. In instances where initial caps are used (i.e., figure and table captions, chapter heads, and h2 through h5 heads), prepositions with four or more letters are initial capped. Prepositions with three or fewer letters are lowercase.
EXAMPLE:
Fig. UG-53.3 Example of Tube Spacing With Pitch of Holes Unequal in Every Second Row
Units of measure that appear in instances where initial caps or all caps are used remain lowercase when abbreviated.
EXAMPLES:
Table UCS-56.1-1 Dimensions of Class 125, 90-deg and 45-deg Elbows, Tees, and Crosses
NONMANDATORY APPENDIX A DIMENSIONS OF 45-deg ELBOWS
For capitalization rules for breakdowns, see Breakdowns: Punctuation and Capitalization.
Avoid excessive use of capitalization. In accordance with The Chicago Manual of Style (14th ed.), which states, “modern publishers of works in the English language…usually discourage excessive use of capital letters in text,” ASME makes few exceptions for using initial caps for words other than proper nouns.
In "Definitions" sections, each term is set lowercase unless it is a proper noun.
When acronyms are spelled out, the terms are set lowercase, unless a proper noun is included.
EXAMPLES:
coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE)
Fourier transform spectroscopy (FTS)