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Steam Turbine Failure and Explosion

A steam turbine in an oil refinery was undergoing a routine trip test following maintenance work. During this test, a sudden blade fracture caused the turbine to explode. The flying fragments caused injuries and fatalities. APTECH was retained by the refinery to determine the root cause of the accident. To reconstruct the accident, we examined the layout and components, interviewed plant personnel, inspected operating records and logs, and reviewed safety procedures. APTECH performed metallurgical failure analysis, turbine reconstruction, roto-dynamic and energy calculations to determine the root cause.

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.

Kimble Clark, Ph.D.		Failure analysis, heat transfer & thermodynamics, process plant equipment failures & explosions, fuel science, combustion, industrial fires and explosions.

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

Richard Schreiber, P.E.		Machinery and mechanical device failure analysis, mechanical testing, combustion and heat transfer, industrial fires and explosions, gas appliances.

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