CAUSES OF DISASTER

 Following the disaster, public inquiry conducted under the chairmanship of Roger Parker QC
To establish the causes and circumstances of the disaster.

 Till now, Two main theories /Hypotheses were postulated:

1)The 20 inch hypothesis

2) The 8 inch hypothesis

1) The 20 inch hypothesis

 The 20 inch bypass assembly failed due to its unsatisfactory design features

 However, the assembly had survived 2 months of normal operation.

 A number of independent pressure tests were commissioned to determine unusual working

conditions.

 The normal working pressure = 8 bar

 practice during start-up to allow the pressure to build up to about 9 bar.

 The safety valves for the system, were set to discharge at a pressure of 11 bar

 At pressure above 11 bar, squirming motion which distorted the bellows.

 Even when the assembly squirmed, no rupture until pressure crossed 14.5 bar, a pressure
not achievable in reactors.

 Inquiry concluded that a rupture of the 20 inch bypass due to pressure, temperature
conditions was impossible.

 Report conceded ambiguity in the hypothesis.

2) The 8 inch hypothesis

 It was believed that a 50 inch split in an 8 inch line connected to separator below bypass
might have caused the explosion.

 this failure having led to a smaller explosion causing a massive failure of the main 20 inch
bypass.

 Zinc embrittlement is supposed to have caused the split.

 Small lagging fire at a leaking flange caused zinc to drip onto the 8 inch pipe.

 This brittle failure was believed to have led to explosion. But there was little evidence to
prove this, hence it was dismissed.