Event
- Event ID
- 386
- Quality
- Description
- During initial testing at a liquid hydrogen bubble chamber facility, an explosion occurred shortly after opening a high pressure hydroger line. The explosion was assumed to have taken place in the liquefier. Piping, transfer lines and dewar were ruptured. Hydrogen escaped and burned in a large cloud.
[Ordin, NASA (1974)] - Event Initiating system
- Classification of the physical effects
- Hydrogen Release and Ignition
- Nature of the consequences
- Macro-region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Date
- -
- Main component involved?
- Cryogenic Pipe
- How was it involved?
- Internal Explosion (H2-O2 Mixture)
- Initiating cause
- Wrong Operation
- Root causes
- Root CAUSE analysis
- The liquid hydrogen was considered to contain about 2% contaminants, mostly oxygen. The single deoxidation unit was too small. The ignition source was attributed to an electric charge accumulated on solid oxygen as an insulator. The flow of high velocity gas produced the electric charge. With the layer of solid oxygen as insulator having an electric charge, a voltage across the insulator would be sufficient to break it down and cause a spark. The spark was most likely the ignition source.
Facility
- Application
- Non-Road Vehicles
- Sub-application
- Aerospace
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- Hydrogen Liquefaction (No additional details provided)
- All components affected
- piping, dewar
- Location type
- Unknown
- Operational condition
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of injured persons
- 0
- Number of fatalities
- 0
Event Nature
- Release type
- gas-liquid mixture
- Involved substances (% vol)
- H2 100%
- Presumed ignition source
- Static electricity
- Ignition delay
- N
References
- Reference & weblink
Mishap no 44 in <br />
P. L. Ordin, Review of hydrogen accidents and incidents in NASA operations, 1974, NASA TM X-71565<br />
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19740020344Lowesmith et al., Safety issues of the liquefaction, storage and transportation of liquid hydrogen: An analysis of incidents and HAZIDS, Int. J. Hydrogen energy (2014) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2014.08.002
Hankinson and Lowesmith, Qualitative Risk Assessment of Hydrogen Liquefaction, Storage and Transportation, FCH JU project IDEALHY, Deliverable 3.10 (2013)<br />
confidential<br />
(accessed October 2025)
JRC assessment
- Sources categories
- ORDIN
