Abstract
On January 10, 2017, at 1:03 p.m. eastern, J.M. Stuart Power Station’s Unit 1 #A3 High Pressure Feed Water Heater experienced a catastrophic shell failure causing significant damage to the facility. The failure occurred on Unit 1 of the four (4) unit, 2,318 MW, coal fired Stuart Station which was located on the Ohio River east of Aberdeen, Ohio. There were no fatalities but unfortunately (6) people were injured. The failure caused extensive damage to equipment and structural components that completely disabled Unit 1 and resulted in damage to several systems that also serve the other three (3) units in the plant. Unit 1 never resumed commercial operation following the incident. The plant began operations in 1970 and was permanently shut down in 2018 due to economic and environmental challenges. This paper will review the details including operating data leading up to the overpressure event, root cause investigation, and recommendations to prevent a similar failure from happening again.
