Purdue News
Purdue News
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May 24, 2001 Purdue boiler accidentally lets off steam, wakes WLWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – New computer equipment at the Purdue University power plant erroneously activated safety valves that released steam several times shortly after midnight today (Thursday, 5/24), waking people as far as four miles away. "When the safety release valve lifts on one of our boilers, 650 pounds of steam pressure is released," said Joseph D. Mikesell, director of utilities. "The sound it creates is like that of a rocket taking off. It's very noisy." Police departments at Purdue and in West Lafayette were swamped with calls for 90 minutes. The Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Department logged more than 70 calls to 911, Mikesell said. "It was an unplanned event, and I wished it hadn't taken so long to get it under control," Mikesell said. "The control equipment, however, was only a week old, and we didn't have much experience with it, which compounded the delay. "Our crew finally gave up trying to correct the problem and just shut down the boiler, switching to a backup." By midmorning, Mikesell reported that his crew had determined that a new computer control system determined a fan was not operating correctly, when in fact the control system was tuned "too tightly" and misinterpreted the fan's operation. The system tripped a safety valve, releasing steam before it could build up and damage the equipment. The boiler is one of several on campus that generate steam to drive chillers and generators, which in turn provide heating, cooling and electrical power to the campus. In addition to the lost sleep and jangled nerves the noise created, Mikesell said he's also concerned that the public turned to the 911 lines to report it. "Someone who had a true emergency might not have been able to get through because the 911 lines were so busy," Mikesell said. "For the safety of everyone, I'd like to ask the public to instead call the police business office numbers when they are calling to file a complaint or inquire about a noise." Source: Joseph D. Mikesell, (765) 494-7327, jdmikesell@purdue.edu Writer: Jeanne Norberg, (765) 494-2084; jnorberg@purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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