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Expert in Structural Failure Analysis and Design, Including Thermal and Non-Linear Analysis
Available for your Consulting and Expert Witness Needs
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Summary of Expertise:
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Listed with other top experts in: |
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Expert has been involved in finding the causes and fixing thermal stress problems since the mid 1970s. These problems have been related to thick walled boiler components, heat exchangers, fluid beds, and fuel cells as well as high temperature piping and tubing failures. These failures involved both steady state and transient conditions and included nonlinear creep and plasticity effects. The failures were related to fatigue, stress-to-rupture or tensile strength. The analysis was performed using classical as well as finite element procedures. NISA, ALGOR, NASTRAN, and MARC have been used. ASME Section VIII div. 2, B31.1, B31.2, B31.3, BS5500 and API 579 criteria have also been applied. The solution to a failure has been design modifications or a change in operating conditions.
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Expert has solved a number of different types of buckling problems. He used classical mechanics to solve buckling problems in wide flange shapes used as buckstays. (He notes that buckstays are used in boilers to brace the furnace but have different boundary conditions than the same wide flange shape in a building so the buckling rules in the AISC steel code do not apply.) Using classical equations Expert can explain the failures that occurred and produce a safe design. Buckling problems when members were coped were also examined and redesigned as well as buckling of angles in a failed space frame. Nonlinear problems of the buckling of sheet steel used as seals supporting each other in contact was solved using the nonlinear finite element code “MSC-MARC”. In this case it was solved as a static problem and checked to see when the structure became unstable.
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Expert has used applied mechanics to solve problems with rotating equipment. Sometimes these problems can be solved using statics and closed form solutions. In other cases dynamic analysis or more sophisticated solutions and testing are needed. In one case involving bowl mill vibration, the problem was related to the rheology of the bed causing a self-excited vibration problem, and changing the dimensions of the grinding element or disrupting the bed solved the problem. In another case involving end rings on generators, the analysis is straightforward using the finite element technique. However, the procedure to determine the adequacy of the shrink fit for the end ring is easily estimated from closed form solutions.
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Expert uses classical structural mechanics on a routine basis and at times it meets the client's needs better than a finite element analysis. He notes that in the 1980s the power industry was concerned about life extension. A finite element analysis of transient conditions in boiler components under creep and plasticity conditions was generally too costly and too time consuming to produce a practical solution. Using his background of studying failed components, Expert wrote simplified computer software using FORTRAN that would calculate the stress from pressure and thermal transients, including the nonlinear effects of creep and plasticity. This approach has been modified for heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs).
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Show Secondary and Basic Areas of Expertise | Localities:
Expert may consult nationally and internationally, and is also local to the following cities: New York, New York;
Yonkers, New York;
Bridgeport, Connecticut;
New Haven, Connecticut;
Hartford, Connecticut;
Stamford, Connecticut;
Boston, Massachusetts;
Worcester, Massachusetts;
Springfield, Massachusetts;
and Providence, Rhode Island.
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Degree |
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Subject |
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Institution |
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1974
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M. S.
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Civil Engineering
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University of Illinois
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1972
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B. S.
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Civil Engineering
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Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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| Years |
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Employer |
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Department |
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Title |
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Responsibilities |
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1992 to
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(Undisclosed Consulting Company)
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Engineer
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Expert is responsible for linear and non-linear structural analysis. This can be performed using classical methods or the finite element method. Once the analysis is completed he is responsible for the evaluation. The evaluation may be to a code such as API 579, BS5500, ASME Section I or VIII, or to another standard. He is also responsible for developing life assessment techniques for existing components.
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1974 to 1992
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ABB-CE
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Engineering Mechanics
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Consulting Engineer
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He was responsible for solutions to field failures. These failures included high temperature, high-pressure components as well as structural steel failures such as buckling. He also developed computer programs (FORTRAN) to assist others in design, analysis and life prediction including fracture mechanics programs.
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Associations/Societies
Expert is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and ASM International.
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Licenses/Certifications
He is a P. E. in the State of Connecticut.
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Awards/Recognition
Expert received the Distinguished Engineer of the Year from the Hartford Chapter of ASME for CE Fossil Systems.
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Publications and Patents Summary
He has six publications and one patent.
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Selected Publications and Publishers
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- Joint Petroleum, Mechanical Engineering and Pressure Vessel Piping Conference
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- International Journal of Fracture
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- Journal of the Structural Division
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- Conference on Life Extension and Assessment of Fossil Plants
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- International Conference of the AMIME
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| Selected Consulting Examples: |
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A utility had cracking in their piping. The cracks had some suspicious features. Under further review it was found that other repairs had been performed and the hanger system as well as sections of piping had been repaired or replaced. After some monitoring it was found that the problem was caused by operation. After fixing the cracks and changing the operation on this and other units, the hanger and cracking problems stopped.
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After a collapse of a space frame made of bolted angles, it was found that torsional buckling was the problem, but the problem was not addressed by the AISC code. Others initiated code changes after the problem was exposed.
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A procedure was developed to design the high crown seal section of a boiler. The original procedure took three to four weeks. The new procedure is done in days with documentation to support what is done.
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A structure that is held together by springs but, due to an uneven temperature distribution, expands unevenly was analyzed to give insight to some possible problems and a logical basis to proceed with design changes.
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Tubes were failing in only days of operation in a fluid bed heat exchanger. When a tube was repaired others would fail. The problem was analyzed, the source of the problem was found and a redesign made. The redesign had to allow for thermal expansion, the fatigue load and work in the same size box as the original design. After the redesign the units have worked for years.
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Recent Client Requests:
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Steel boiler expert for consulting on cupola liner structure failures.
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Education
