Lessons learned from the Rotokawa condensation induced water hammer incident

I.M.R. Lemmens

Key words: Condensation Induced Water Hammer, Steam Hammer, Learning from Incidents, Rotokawa
Conference: New Zealand Geothermal Workshop
Year: 2024
Session: Session 2.2 - PRODUCTION & MANAGEMENT 1
Language: English
Paper number: 46.0

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Abstract

This paper details the conditions that can lead to Condensation Induced Water Hammer (CIWH) and seeks to raise awareness for the potential catastrophic nature of these events and the major impact they can have in terms of Health and Safety and how this risk can be managed during the design phase of a project as well as during normal operation.
The sequence of events that led to the CIWH incident that occurred at Mercury’s Rotokawa site is presented including the key lessons learned related to plant design, human behaviour, and operational processes, as well as the corrective actions that were taken.

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