Pressure Cooker Explosion: The Casting Flaw That 3D Metrology Uncovered

A domestic explosion caused severe material and structural damage to a home, but the origin of the incident was not incorrect use, but a hidden manufacturing defect. The remains of the pressure cooker, including the safety valve and the deformed lid, were subjected to a forensic scan with GOM ATOS. The metrological analysis revealed the root cause: the diameter of the steam exhaust ducts was smaller than the original design, blocking the pressure outlet to the point of collapse.

Forensic reconstruction with GOM ATOS and CFD simulation in Ansys Fluent 🔍

The process began with the digitization of the deformed parts. GOM ATOS captured the real geometry of the bulged lid and the valve body, generating high-precision point clouds. By comparing this data with the nominal CAD model in Fusion 360, a critical 18% reduction in the steam duct diameter was identified, a serial casting error. With this corrected geometry, a CFD simulation was executed in Ansys Fluent. The software modeled the saturated steam flow and internal pressure buildup. The results showed that, unable to evacuate steam at the rate generated by the heat, the pressure exceeded the elastic limit of the steel, causing plastic deformation of the lid and subsequent catastrophic rupture. The simulation validated that the failure was inevitable within 90 seconds of operation.

Lessons for industrial safety and quality control ⚠️

This case demonstrates that 3D metrology is not just a design tool, but a pillar in disaster investigation. The casting error, invisible to the naked eye, could only be detected through high-precision scanning. The combination of reverse engineering in Fusion 360 and rendering in Keyshot allowed the case to be visually documented for use in safety regulations. The lesson is clear: a millimeter less in a duct can turn a safe appliance into a ticking time bomb, and the only way to prevent it is with rigorous metrological controls in the production chain.

What variables would you consider for modeling this disaster?