Event
- Event ID
- 280
- Quality
- Description
- Ejection of rotor wedge material lead to vibration induced failure of components, including hydrogen seals. Serious fire resulted from hydrogen leakage, which subsequently lead to an oil fire. Ignition from metal to metal contact between fractured components.
- 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
- Main component involved?
- H2 Coolant System (Rotating Seal)
- How was it involved?
- Leak & Formation Of A Flammable H2-Air Mixture
- Initiating cause
- Conventional Component Failure (Turbine-Generator)
- Root causes
- Unknown (No additional details provided)
Facility
- Application
- Power Plant
- Sub-application
- unspecified
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- All components affected
- turbine, generator, cooling system
- Location type
- Unknown
- Operational condition
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of injured persons
- 2
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Emergency action
- The local fire brigade intervened (6 vehicles and 27 persons).
The clearing of the emergency required to extract the hydrogen-air mixture, from the venting system. The fire department deployed an explosion-proof suction device. Using a hand diaphragm pump and suitable tools, several hundred litres of fluid were extracted and drained. It took more than three hours for the fire department to regain operational readiness.
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
- Sources categories
- HSE
