Today I posted the movie that was shot live from Black Mountain of the 1988 explosion at the PEPCON Plant in Henderson, NV. This is one of the most incredible movies of an accident that you will ever see because it captured almost the entire sequence of a process plant fire and several explosions; an incredible disaster while it was in progress. Go to the Articles menu and read the background and details on this accident. Then hit the link “Click for Movie of actual Explosion“. You will be amazed!! It is rare for an accident of this speed and magnitude to be filmed as events unfold!! (Note: You can also use the highlighted links from this Blog post). Dr. Kim Parnell worked extensively on this investigation while at Exponent.
I read the FEA you did on this. If I understood correctly, your results show that the pipeline was depressurized before the explosion?
This analysis was one part of the investigation that supported the conclusion of a 40 foot axial rupture (choked flow leaking massive amounts of gas) and depressurization prior to the large explosion. Some of the video evidence and other things also supported this conclusion.