The Locomotive . lthough therod showed signs of severe stress there was no mark on it to indicatethat it had been struck by a piece of the wheel. ^9--9. THE LOCO M O T I V E 233 Failures Show Up Weakness of Unapproved Designs r|l\\0 air tank explosions — both the fruits of unapproved design,I and one the direct result of a foremans failure to observe thelong-established safety rule against caulking a vessel under pres-sure— recently cost a life and caused property damage in excess of$25,000 at plants in Seattle and Philadelphia. While applying an air-pressure test to a 500-gallon tank intended
The Locomotive . lthough therod showed signs of severe stress there was no mark on it to indicatethat it had been struck by a piece of the wheel. ^9--9. THE LOCO M O T I V E 233 Failures Show Up Weakness of Unapproved Designs r|l\\0 air tank explosions — both the fruits of unapproved design,I and one the direct result of a foremans failure to observe thelong-established safety rule against caulking a vessel under pres-sure— recently cost a life and caused property damage in excess of$25,000 at plants in Seattle and Philadelphia. While applying an air-pressure test to a 500-gallon tank intendedfor water storage, the foreman at the Seattle plant undertook to caulka leaky head seam. The head blew out with a tremendous concussion,killing the foreman instantly, severely injuring a workman, and hurl-ing from the track a lo-ton traveling crane, which stood twenty feetaway. The tank was of welded construction with bumped heads that hadno skirts or flanges. Edges of the disc-like heads were welded directly. Head Figure 1. to the ends of the shell plate. (See Fig. i.) It is believed that thetesting was being done under a pressure of lOO pounds per scjuareinch, for the safety valve was set at that pressure. Of course, the foremans mistake in hammering the seam while thevessel was under pressure was the direct cause of the explosion, butthe design itself was not satisfactory, from a safety standpoint, evenfor a tank intended merely for the storage of water. The heads shouldhave been flanged and welded in accordance with the provisions ofSection U-71 of the A. S. M. E. Rules for the Construction ofUnfired Pressure Vessels. (See Fig. 2.) The explosion at the Philadelphia plant involved an air tank pro-tected by a safety valve on the tank itself as well as by an unloadingdevice in the line between the tank and the compressor. These ap-pliances were set to operate when pressure reached 125 pounds and itit not thought probable that both could have been inoperative at thesame tim
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Keywords: ., bookauthorhartfordsteamboilerin, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860
