Event
- Event ID
- 360
- Quality
- Description
The safety disc failed during unloading from a liquid hydrogen tanker. The release of cryogenic hydrogen resulted in fracturing a section of the vent pipe.
- 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
- premature activation & venting
- Initiating cause
- unknown
- Root CAUSE analysis
The INITIATING CAUSE was the malfunction of the rupture disc, which failed prematurely. The proper technique for the unloading of the LH2 the trailer had not been used due to operational problems. The fracture of the vent pipe was due to thermal shock caused by the cold liquid hitting the pipe (the vent piping was carbon steel).
The report does not explain why the standard procedure was not used. It reasonable to conclude that this was the ROOT CAUSE, although it is not known if the right procedure could have avoided the premature disc rupture.
- Root causes
- Date entry in HIAD
- 16/11/2024
Facility
- Application
- Hydrogen transport and distribution
- Sub-application
- LH2 tanker
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- All components affected
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
- industrial area
- Operational condition
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Number of injured persons
- 0
In-depth data
- Release type
- gas
- Involved substances (% vol)
- H2 100%
- Probable IGNITION SOURCE
References
- Sources categories
- ORDIN
- Reference & weblink
Mishap no 8 in
P. L. Ordin, Review of hydrogen accidents and incidents in NASA operations, 1974, NASA TM X-71565
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19740020344
