Failure analysis of a silane gas cylinder valve: A case study

A tragic fire occurred in a photovoltaic fabrication plant and resulted in one fatality and significant losses in equipment damage and production interruption. Investigation results indicated that failure of a silane cylinder valve was the main cause. Tests which simulate the incident scenario were conducted to find out the cause of the failure. The test results showed that if a retainer was improperly torqued, an operator could remove and detach the retainer from the valve by hand even without using a wrench. The detached retainer resulted in rapid release of silane and caused a significant explosion. Suggestions on the structure design and operation of silane cylinder valve are also given to prevent similar incidents in the future.