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Catastrophic Failure of High Energy Power Plant Piping (Mohave Plant)

A 30-inch diameter hot reheat steam pipe, operating at 1000°F and 600 psig, ruptured without warning in a fossil power plant. This accident caused numerous fatalities and major property loss. APTECH was hired by one of the defendants to investigate the failure of the pipe. APTECH performed a detailed stress analysis of the as-built line configuration and evaluated the material properties and the likelihood of creep damage under stresses sustained during normal operation. APTECH also investigated maintenance practices over an extended period at the plant prior to the failure. We concluded that the failure was caused by creep damage in local regions adjacent to the heat affected zone of the long seam weld.

Satish Almaula		Plant failure and root cause analysis; process and design engineering analysis; process technology development and testing; plant engineering, operations, maintenance and safety management; plant and process control system management.

Marvin Cohn, P.E.		Power plant steam piping, failure analysis, stress analysis.

Geoffrey Egan, Ph.D.		Engineering mechanics, welding engineering, stress and fatigue analysis, risk analysis, nondestructive examination, project management.

Eric Sullivan, P.E.		Metallurgy, welding, failure analysis, fire and explosion investigations, equipment, piping.

Michael Cronin, P.E.		Stress analysis, design evaluation, engineering mechanics