Curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing 1989-2025
-----
Zinc Embrittlement
How can stainless steel pipe can be protected against zinc embrittlement which may result from molten zinc dripping from galvanised steel during fire in a refinery.
MishraLTC - INDIA
2006
2006
Hmm, avoid jury-rigging piping that leads to mechanical failures and fires.
Regarding the 1974 Flixborough disaster, zinc embrittlement seems only a secondary or tertiary cause. Leaking and ignition initiated events including prolonged impingement of a cyclohexane jet flame upon a stainless pipe. This decomposed cyclohexane within the pipe at
400-800 C, forming a brittle carbide network within the SS grain boundaries. I suggest also that burning cyclohexane reduced available oxygen and allowed melting, rather than oxidation, of zinc on the galvanized piping.
See "FLIXBOROUGH: THE EXPLOSION AND ITS AFTERMATH" by J. E. S. VENART, Trans IChemE, Part B, Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 2004, 82(B2): 105˜127.
http://www.icheme.org/about_icheme/medals/Venart2004.pdf
- Goleta, California
Finishing.com honored Ken for his countless carefully researched responses. He passed away May 14, 2015.Rest in peace, Ken. Thank you for your hard work which the finishing world, and we at finishing.com, continue to benefit from.
this text gets replaced with bannerText
Q, A, or Comment on THIS thread -or- Start a NEW Thread