Expert Details
Industrial Utilities and Forensic Engineering
ID: 719692
Ohio, USA
Expert is very experienced in mechanical engineering analysis including fluid and gas flow analysis, problem identification and analysis, process analysis, failure analysis, thermodynamic cycle and process analysis, economic analysis, feasibility analysis, and report writing. He is very adept at data analysis and enjoys undertaking problem solving after others have abandoned the task.
Expert has investigated several explosions, most of which were boiler explosions. In addition, he has investigated the explosion of a very large steam-fired autoclave used for curing concrete blocks.
Expert has worked extensively with flowmetering over his forty plus year engineering career. He has worked with flowmeters of many types and most types of flow control valves. He has done metering and flow control work on compressed air, steam, water, fuel gases, and liquid fuels.
Expert's primary area of expertise is boilers of all sizes up to utility boilers. He has worked with boilers fired by gas, light oil, heavy oil, and coal. In addition to boiler work, he has also worked on boiler auxiliaries including feed pumps, deaerators, economizers, controls, fans, piping, valves, fuel handling equipment, etc. He has performed combustion calculations in order to determine air/fuel ratios. Finally, he has performed forensic engineering involving boiler failures and explosions (both pressure vessel and furnace).
Expert has an intense interest in boiler and steam system safety. He teaches boiler courses in which he makes safety a central issue. He uses his expert witness experience to teach from others mistakes in an effort to prevent future accidents.
Expert has served as an expert in over eighty cases involving ruptured flex joints, fractured and leaking steam valves, an exploding autoclave, boiler sulfur emissions, cogeneration systems, furnace explosions, a frozen fire sprinkler line, a leaking boiler gauge glass, pump failures and problems, faulty water meters, failed refrigerant compressors, workers injured during utility boiler outages, workers injured while testing piping systems, and several boiler explosions.
Expert’s general area of expertise is industrial facilities and utility systems engineering. His experience includes work with air compressors and compressed air systems; blowers; hot and boiling liquid pumping; blowers and fans; chillers and chilled water systems; cogeneration; combined heat and power systems; cooling towers; heat exchangers; fuel piping, delivery, and control systems; pumps and pump selection; steam piping, systems, and auxiliaries, including steam turbines; piping systems; and valves of all types.
Expert completed a gas line capacity study for a large glass manufacturing plant.He performed a steam line and condensate study for a large paint/coatings plant. Expert has analyzed and solved numerous complex problems for industrial clients, i.e., a natural gas consumption problem at an asphalt plant, and a severe cooling problem on four very large air compressors.He has conducted cogeneration feasibility studies for an automobile manufacturer and a large Midwestern university. Expert has analyzed numerous boiler problems, including boiler puffs and explosions.
Education
Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
---|---|---|---|
Year: 1988 | Degree: M.E. | Subject: Mechanical Engineering | Institution: Ohio State University |
Year: 1976 | Degree: B.S.M.E. | Subject: Mechanical Engineering | Institution: Purdue University |
Work History
Years | Employer | Title | Department |
---|---|---|---|
Years: 1988 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: President | Department: |
Responsibilities:Expert is the Owner, President, and Chief Engineer. |
|||
Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 1983 to 1988 | Employer: Ohio State University | Title: Power Plant Project Manager | Department: |
Responsibilities:He was Project Manager for a large, complex steam line expansion; a large coal fired boiler and dry flue gas scrubber; and a 3MW cogeneration system. |
|||
Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 1981 to 1982 | Employer: Cummins Engine Company | Title: Facility Maintenance Manager | Department: |
Responsibilities:Expert was responsible for all facility maintenance and engineering for several large buildings. |
|||
Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 1979 to 1981 | Employer: Aluminum Company of America | Title: Power Plant Project Manager | Department: |
Responsibilities:He was responsible for all power plant, energy conservation, and heat treat furnace engineering. |
|||
Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 1977 to 1979 | Employer: Purdue University | Title: Project Engineer | Department: |
Responsibilities:Expert was the project engineer for various HVAC, utility, and power plant projects. |
|||
Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 1976 to 1977 | Employer: Armour-Dial, Inc. | Title: Project Engineer | Department: |
Responsibilities:He was the project engineer and maintenance supervisor in the soap finishing area. |
Government Experience
Years | Agency | Role | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Years: 1968 to 1972 | Agency: USMC | Role: Officer and Enlisted Man | Description: Expert enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1968 and in 1969 completed OCS. After Basic School, he volunteered for and served nine months in Viet Nam as an artillery forward observer. Upon his return to the United States, he was appointed as a disbursing officer where he served until his release from active duty. |
International Experience
Years | Country / Region | Summary |
---|---|---|
Years: 2003 to 2003 | Country / Region: Bremerhaven, Germany | Summary: Expert traveled to Germany to investigate the explosion of a boiler on the cruise ship S.S. Norway. |
Career Accomplishments
Associations / Societies |
---|
Expert is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the National Fire Protection Association. |
Licenses / Certifications |
---|
He holds a Third Class Stationary Engineer's License and is a Registered Professional Engineer in Ohio, Illinois, and Texas. |
Awards / Recognition |
---|
Expert has received various Who's Who awards. |
Additional Experience
Expert Witness Experience |
---|
Expert has served as a consulting and testifying forensic engineer in over eighty cases for both plaintiff and defense attorneys. The cases have involved ruptured flex joints, fractured and leaking steam valves, an exploding autoclave, boiler sulfur emissions, cogeneration systems, furnace explosions, a frozen fire sprinkler line, a leaking boiler gauge glass, pump failures and problems, faulty water meters, failed refrigerant compressors, workers injured during utility boiler outages, workers injured while testing piping systems, and several boiler explosions. |
Training / Seminars |
---|
He has delivered hundreds of seminars on basic boiler theory and operation, and on industrial boiler controls. |
Vendor Selection |
---|
Expert has experience locating vendors of pumps, valves, fans, blowers, piping specialties, flow metering, boilers, chillers, compressors, heat exchangers, cooling towers, mechanical and inspection services. He has access to the following resources: catalogs, magazine compendia, personal contacts, and databases. |
Other Relevant Experience |
---|
Expert spearheaded the implementation of a 3125 kW cogeneration system for a major Midwestern university. This involved conducting load analyses, writing a feasibility study, and then supervising the design, installation, and startup of a topping (non-condensing) steam turbine generator supplied by a coal-fired boiler. |
Fields of Expertise
industrial utility system, mechanical engineering analysis, boiler explosion, flowmetering, boiler, boiler safety, forensic engineering, facilities engineering, water leak, industrial piping, energy consumption, energy requirement, chilling, boiler fuel, boiler emission, utility blower, expansion tank, steam boiler air preheater, industrial water, flow, fossil fuel electric energy generation, boiler optimization, writing, oil-fired boiler, industrial boiler system, industrial plant energy management, utility system, combined heat and power distribution, metering, thermodynamic process evaluation, energy-efficient waste heat recovery system, steam-jet ejector, energy-efficient coal boiler, energy-efficient boiler, energy-efficient steam cogeneration, energy-efficient packaged cogeneration, energy-efficient metering, energy-efficient fuel metering, fire tube boiler, energy-efficient water metering, heat generation, generation process, energy-efficient energy recovery system, deaerator, steam system, pressure, venturi tube, power, facility, maintenance, energy recovery, mechanical system, chiller, oil, heating equipment, energy, water pipe, water hammer, thermal insulation material, steam pipe, steam flow, screw pump, recuperator, Rankine cycle, pump selection, project management, pipe, orifice meter, mechanical engineering, liquid flow through a nozzle, hot liquid pumping, gear pump, gas flow through a nozzle, fuel oil, fluid handling, flowmeter, electric power plant, cooling tower, control valve, heat exchange condenser, compressor (machine), combustion furnace, combustion chemistry, cogeneration, coal (fuel), centrifugal fan, burner, blower, ball valve, air compressor