Excavator Accident
Electrical arcing occurred when a
high voltage/high current cross country power line
contacted the boom of a CAT excavator. Current
flowed throughout the entire excavator in passing to the
ground. In fact, the current passed through the CAT
excavator
"crystallized" the ground around the excavator.
Metallurgical evaluation of various CAT excavator parts revealed that considerable
arcing damage occurred at component part joints and
junctions.
Photograph A: Cat Excavator at
accident scene, where a high voltage/high
current power
line contacted the excavator boom.
Photograph B: Main bearing arcing damage.
Photograph C: Arcing damage on electrical
conduit
After metallurgical analysis, it was
concluded that replacement of individual arc damage
parts would be more costly than merely replacing the
entire CAT excavator.
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Dr.
R. Craig Jerner, Ph.D., PE specializes in accident
investigation and metallurgical failure analysis,
with over 30 years experience as a metallurgical
consultant and accident investigator. He has
testified as a metallurgical expert in over 250
depositions and more than 70 court appearances. If you or someone you know should need the services of Dr. Jerner and J.E.I. Metallurgical, please visit our web site at the buttons below, or e-mail Dr. Jerner --- 