Southern Counties Branch November In-person Technical Presentation: Catastrophic Failures - Revisiting the John Thompson Pressure Vessel

The Welding Institute Southern Counties Branch invite you to their November Technical Presentation:  Catastropic Failures - Revisiting the John Thompson Pressure Vessel 

The presentation will take place on 26 November 2026 at 7pm at King Rufus Pub, 135 Winchester Road, Chandlers Ford, Eastleigh SO53 2DU

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS AN IN-PERSON EVENT ONLY

Presentation Overview:

As engineers, we try at every stage to ensure that catastrophic failures don’t occur. This presentation revisits one of the key failures from 1965, after which many changes were made to ensure that such failures do not occur again.

John Thompson Pressure Vessel

Our industry expert:

EUR ING Joanna Nicholas CEng FWeldI, Consultant Welding Engineer at TWI Ltd

Meet the speaker: 

Joanna joined TWI Ltd in 1999, and has been involved in research, materials selection, and failure investigations, mainly with ferritic steels, alongside welding consultancy.  She has also been involved in various aspects of computer modelling of weld phenomena and welding software supporting standardisation of weld procedures and welder qualifications.

Joanna has a broad knowledge of ferritic steels with particular emphasis on hydrogen cracking and hydrogen diffusion, HAZ hardness, mooring chains, fasteners, in-service welding and 9% Ni steels.  She has carried out numerous investigations in these areas including failure investigation as well as production qualification and research.

Benefits from attending the event:

• Attend in-person For a friendly, low-pressure way to see what the branch is like (come along even if you don’t know anyone.)
• Meet local peers and make useful connections wherever you join from. It’s a welcoming, inclusive space for new voices and first-time attendees.
• Practical takeaways you can use straight away, shared by people working in the industry right now. 
• Interactive discussion and Q&A with questions taken from the room. Bring your real questions and get honest, helpful answers.
• Get involved at your own pace. Attend in-person to see what events and branches are like, and then you can help shape what the branch does next.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD):

The Welding Institute awards points towards CPD for delegates attending this webinar. Every hour attendance of an event will earn 2 points towards your continuing professional development.