Severity
Near-Miss
Leak
No
Ignition
No
A bourdon tube ruptured in a pressure gage after 528 hours of operation in a liquid H2 system. The alarm sounded, the system was isolated and then vented.
Incident Date
Dec 31, 1969
Setting
Equipment
- Safety Systems
- Measurement / Sensing Device
- Piping/Fittings/Valves
- Piping
Damage and Injuries
Probable Cause
Contributing Factors
Characteristics
When Incident Discovered
Lessons Learned
The tube was 403 stainless steel, which is subject to hydrogen embrittlement. It is requested that all gauges that have bourdon tubes be replaced with 303 stainless steel.
A web-based resource developed by Sandia National Laboratories to provide data on hydrogen embrittlement of various materials is available at Technical Reference for Hydrogen Compatibility of Materials.
Post date
September, 2017
Key:
- = No Ignition
- = Explosion
- = Fire
- = No Ignition
- = Explosion
- = Fire