ASM Failure Analysis Case Histories: Steelmaking and Thermal Processing Equipment
Integrated Analysis of an Autoclave Failure
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Published:2019
Abstract
A detailed investigative failure analysis was conducted on an autoclave which blew apart in a furnace for no apparent reason. Bolt failure resulted in separation of the autoclave lid and subsequent destruction of the furnace. Analysis using metallography, fractography, mechanical testing and exemplar tests were performed on the bolt material. Mechanical engineering analysis and leak-before-break criteria were extensively analyzed. Results led to only one possible conclusion: that an explosion occurred within the autoclave. Suggestions for autoclave design are presented as a result of the analysis.
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ASM members
Member Sign InW. J. D. Shaw, Integrated Analysis of an Autoclave Failure, ASM Failure Analysis Case Histories: Steelmaking and Thermal Processing Equipment, ASM International, 2019, https://doi.org/10.31399/asm.fach.steel.c9001668
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