Boiler explosions

[NW Mailing List]

Bruce,

This is a superb example to show what can happen using that good ole
"little" water heater as the trial balloon here. Okay, sorry for that pun
however it gives a good idea. Now take a locomotive boiler, which is
horizontal, maybe 5 or 7 times the circular diameter of this water heater
and is mmmmmm - fifty or so feet long and has A SAFETY factor of 4, meaning
it will take something like 1,200 PSI to make it go boom. Ever watch the
Shuttle take off? How about any of the NASA or similar rocket engines for
that is what the loco boiler instantaneously becomes - a rocket engine
until its energy is spent. Remember Challenger when a small leak got real
large FAST?

Bruce in Blacksburg found this superb example for us to watch here and it
is great. Air tanks are another one which occasionally also launch when
they get rusty in the wrong places (okay what's a right place to get
rusty-yeah!), and a knowledgeable pressure vessel inspector has told me of
these suckers going up maybe 1,800 feet, no typo here, before returning
back to terra-firma. Hope there were no low flying aircraft overhead.

Thanks again for sharing this little gem. Now, Anyone still interested in a
611 cab ride?

Bob Cohen



On Mon, Aug 3, 2015 at 9:08 AM, Bob wrote a great description of boilers
and pressure...

So do you still want to be in the cab of a ready to roll steam locomotive?
> Now you may better understand why the FIRST thing a crewman does when
> entering cab of a locomotive is: check the water level: PERIOD.


For a good modern-day example of instant pressure release, look on You Tube
for any of the videos from Mythbusters (such as this one:
https://youtu.be/9bU-I2ZiML0 ) where they show what happens when your basic
home water heater has a safety failure that allows pressure to build.

Bruce in Blacksburg
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