Hazards and safeguards of high pressure hydraulic fatigue testing

The creation and transfer of hydraulic pressure at the 690 MPa (100,000 psi) level is in itself hazardous. When this is used to fatigue cycle large pressure vessels to failure, the potential for catastrophic accidents is always present. This paper summarizes the experience gained over several years of this operation wherein several hundred pressure vessels have been successfully taken to fatigue failure. Although accidents still take place, most of the personnel hazards have been eliminated, equipment damage greatly reduced, and the authors are striving to detect and eliminate any existing or new hazards. The hazards and safeguards are grouped into four areas of consideration: high pressure fluids, fragments, large components, and material handling