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Clean Hydrogen Partnership

Fire at a generator of a power plant

Event

Event ID
277
Quality
Description
The compressor-turbine unit tripped while on on-load, due to a serious fire between alternator and one of the bearing. The failure of a generator slip ring and of the hydrogen seal caused the leak of hydrogen. The hydrogen ignited (perhaps caused by contact with hot surface), resulting in a combination of hydrogen and oil fires.
The fire extinguished by fire brigade. No injuries.
Serious site damage was sustained to in CT chamber and alternator end of generator.
Event Initiating system
Classification of the physical effects
Hydrogen Release and Ignition
Nature of the consequences
Fire (No additional details provided)
Macro-region
Europe
Country
United Kingdom
Date
How was it involved?
Leak & Formation Of A Flammable H2-Hc-Air Mixture
Initiating cause
Conventional Component Failure (Turbine-Generator)
Root causes
Unknown (No additional details provided)
Root CAUSE analysis
The INITIATING cause was the hydrogen seal and of the generator slip ring. The source identified the failure of the seal as "caused by circulating current", what unfortunately is not clear.
Nothing can be said on the root cause

Facility

Application
Power Plant
Sub-application
unspecified
Hydrogen supply chain stage
All components affected
bearing, alternator,
turbine-generator system,
oil lubrication system,
hydrogen coolant seal
Location type
Confined
Operational condition

Emergency & Consequences

Number of injured persons
0
Number of fatalities
0
Emergency action
The plant fire fighters service were the first to intervene with 2 water and foam extinguishing vehicles and 1 ambulance. They carried out a reconnaissance of the area in conjunction with the supervisor on site, cut the electricity supply to the whole section and took the first steps to extinguish the fire.
Access to the area was restricted and the safety zone (300 meters) delimited. Access routes were established to facilitate the access of external intervention forces.
Air quality monitoring in the vicinity of the site was requested to an accredited laboratory. Personnel who were not involved in the intervention were evacuated.
Following the activation of the Red Intervention Plan, the professional emergency service were alerted and directed to the scene of the accident. They arrived from various location I the county.
The fire was extinguished 3 hours later.

Event Nature

Release type
gas
Involved substances (% vol)
H2 100%
Presumed ignition source
Hot surface
Deflagration
N
High pressure explosion
N
High voltage explosion
N

References

Reference & weblink

Event description provided by HSE, original source confidential

JRC assessment