8 replies to this topic

[Master slacker]

If you pneumatically test any pressure containing equipment, make sure you know the dangers and have an adequate plan in place to mitigate those dangers.

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[Ble_PE]

So what are we looking at here? Looks similar to a gas turbine, but I'm not sure.

[Master slacker]

I wish I knew, but it doesn't appear to be a gas turbine.

[cableguy]

Heh, a coworker was talking to me this week about building a bolt flanged pressurized pipe at his house for a project.

I had to send him a copy of this. Boom!

Looks like it failed above the weld. Weird spot for a failure. The pipe looks like cast metal, which can crack if not welded properly. Or maybe it just had a crack there to begin with.

[Master slacker]

Latest update from the pipeline (no pun intended):

This failure happened last weekend. A GE compressor package was under nitrogen pressure test. You can see the pipe had a brittle fracture failure. I have no other details at this time. This is another illustration of the potential hazards of pneumatic testing. This is for the expansion of the West-East Gas Pipeline project for PetroChina. It is China's longest natural gas pipeline at 2500 miles (4000 km).

[MagicCityDawg]

This failure happened last weekend.

I thought China was 13 hours ahead of us here in the central time zone, not two weeks behind.

[Supe]

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why you buy some blinds and hydro the sucker.

[momech]

Looks like a giant weldneck flange failure. Doesn't look to me like the weld had anything to do with the failure. I wonder what the test pressure was.

[Coastal Engineer]

Just say no to pneumatic testing.