Similar Cases:

Gas Turbine Fire

Steam Turbine Failure and Explosion

Catastrophic Failure of a Steam Turbine in a Power Plant

Coking and Fire in a Refinery Hydroprocessing Vessel

Damage to a Steam Turbine in a Paper Mill

Fire in Gas Turbine-Driven Natural Gas Compressor

A fire broke out in a gas turbine-driven natural gas compressor, causing damage to the unit and to adjacent equipment. APTECH was hired to determine the root cause of the fire and to itemize the extent of damage produced by this fire. Our evaluation involved site inspections, interviews with site personnel, field metallurgical testing (e.g., metallurgical replication, hardness measurements, etc.), reviewing the lubrication system designs and fire suppression, and a nondestructive laboratory failure investigation of a fractured lube oil line. We determined that an unnoticed oil line vibration caused fatigue at a fitting and the oil line ruptured. The oil impinging on the hot section of the gas turbine ignited and caused the fire. APTECH provided expert opinions regarding the cause of the fire, the extent of subsequent damage, and the repair cost estimates.

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.

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

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

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