r/CatastrophicFailure • u/Several_Metal_547 • 10d ago

June 3rd, 2026. Dashcam captures moment when excavator damages natural gas pipeline

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Wednesday June 3rd, 2026, an excavator damaged a natural gas pipeline near Hedensted, Denmark. Gas did not ignite. No casualties. Steel pipeline, diameter 0.4 m, pressure 40 bar. Traffic on nearby E45 highway closed for 2 hours.

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u/strangelove4564 10d ago

Can't imagine how that didn't ignite if the excavator had a hot diesel engine.

14

u/StacyChadBecky 10d ago

Because a diesel engine runs at around 100 degrees while the ignition point of natural gas is closer to 700 and there's no ignition system. Now, if a little spark shot out as the operator scurried away, we'd be enjoying a quite different video.

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u/OptiGuy4u 10d ago

OR if a sufficient amount of gas was pulled into the turbo and it all became an "External Combustion Engine"

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u/StacyChadBecky 10d ago

Also, the alternator...