| An oil field assembly failed, with the test plug departing the stripper bowl adapter and
causing a fatal injury. Finite element models estimated the stress levels under internal pressure. Various
adapter design improvements, which were readily-available to the manufacturer, were identified. Opinions
expressed included the identification of design flaws and of readily-available strength calculations that had
not been performed. The opinions indicated that this produced a foreseeable risk of adapter failure, and that
had the flaws been corrected or the calculations been performed and honored, the fatal injury would in all
likelihood not have occurred. |
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