Malarky

steam explosions

I think we should have a discussion on the steam explosion talk page, on your latest addition - fci are not just superheat expansions, I beieeve. Bob aka Linuxlad 22:31, 31 October 2005 (UTC)

You can wipe it if you want.

Short Version: Approximately 950PSI, 850F water inside boiler reached the furnace, which is hot enough to make cro-moly high temperature steel glow cherry red, which is at most at 30PSIA. The biggest problem I saw was that the article said most of these explosions are caused from lava hitting water, but man has been blowing up boilers in tugboats since at least 1860.

Long Version: I have pictures of a steam explosion that involves a large waterside tube, a water-wall tube that blew out in a boiler and dumped a large amount of water from the steam drum, enough to set off the low-low level alarm trip that cut out the boiler fires. The the explosion was steam because if it was caused by fuel there would have been two explosions, also the fuel line solenoid valves and fuel oil root valves all de-energize upon a low-low level alarm in a boiler. The steam expansion expanded the large metal surfaces on the boiler walls and the boiler air supply system. The steam cleaned the soot out of the boiler and blew it all up the stack into a large black cloud.

Part of damage to boiler. http://img495.imageshack.us/my.php?image=expansionjoint1kt.jpg

Outside Diameter:2”, Thickness:.134”, Name: Frontwall Tube http://img3.imageshack.us/my.php?image=explodedtube4xb.jpg

Malarky 23:14, 31 October 2005 (UMT)