Event
- Event ID
- 20
- Quality
- Description
A liquid hydrogen tanker was travelling on a higway, when the vacuum guaranteeing the thermal insulation of the tank started to degrade. The increased heat transfer caused a pressure build-up and the rupture of the burst disc.
- Event Initiating system
- Classification of the physical effects
- Unignited Hydrogen Release
- Nature of the consequences
- leak no ignition
- Macro-region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Date
- Component involved
- PRD (burst disc)
- Failure mode
- correct activation & venting
- Initiating cause
- over-pressurisation (thermal insulation degradation)
- Root CAUSE analysis
The INITIATING CAUSE was the deterioration of the thermal insulation of the cryogenic tank
The ROOT CAUSE unknown.- Root causes
- Unknown
- Date entry in HIAD
- 01/01/2025
Facility
- Application
- Hydrogen transport and distribution
- Sub-application
- LH2 tanker
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- All components affected
vacuum thermal insulation; burst disc
- Process temperature range [C]
- cryogenic temperature (below -50°C)
- Process pressure range [MPa]
- low to medium pressure (below 2 MPa)
- Location type
- Open
- Location
- highway or similar
- Operational condition
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Number of injured persons
- 0
- Currency
- US$
- Property loss (onsite)
- 660
- Post-event summary
Zalosh (see references) provides the property damage. The low value of 660 US$ suggests that only a imited part of the load went lost after the rupturing of the burst disc.
Lesson Learnt
- Lesson Learnt
The safety measures worked as designed.
The release of cold hydrogen gas trough the vent without ignition confirms the general trend for the transport of liquid hydrogen. The small releases on-the-road, caused by overpressure, very rarely ignite.
In-depth data
- Release type
- gas
- Involved substances (% vol)
- H2 100%
- Probable IGNITION SOURCE
References
- Sources categories
- Zalosh
- Reference & weblink
Table III of Appendix A of Zalosh and Short
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF HYDROGEN FIRE AND EXPLOSION INCIDENTS
Quarterly Report No. 2 for Period December 1, 1977 - February 28, 1978
https://www.osti.gov/biblio/6566131
(accessed September 2020)Event incident I-1971080145 of the PHMSA database (Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, 1996),
https://portal.phmsa.dot.gov/analytics/saw.dll?Portalpages
(accessed September 2024)The PHMSA report does not contain the details reported by Zalosh.
