Project-Experience

Below is a incomplete and growing list of some of the projects I have worked on. Please contact me through the secure form below if you need technical assistance in a related matter.

  • Erosion of cement and steel components of a deepwater oil well and Blow Out Preventer (BOP)
    • Testing and analytical investigation of fluids in high-intensity flows.
  • Failure analysis of a lithium-polymer battery used in commercial aircraft
    • Pyroclastic testing and analysis of thermal runaway in an aircraft APU starter battery.
  • Root Cause Analysis of Diesel Particulate Filter thermal failures in heavy duty (Class IV-VI) commercial vehicles.
  • Moss-Ferguson Warranty Act investigation in turbocharged diesel engines for heavy duty trucks (Class IV)
    • Standard of care and maintenance review,
    • 100+ field inspections.
  • Automotive intake air filter analysis
    • Filtration testing to ISO-5011 air filtration performance standards for combustion engines and compressors, using calibrated testing media according to ISO-2103,
    • Dynomometer testing to determine horsepower increase due to installation of aftermarket air filter systems.
  • Experimental Investigation of cavitation in cryogenic rocket propellants (my PhD Dissertation)
    • Testing and analysis to simulate performance of the impeller on the Space Shuttle Main Engine (RS-25) low-pressure fuel pump which pumps liquid hydrogen.
  • Rapid Prototyping in a downrange battlefield
    • Deployed to Afghanistan to develop tactical solutions directly to warfighters.
  • Root Cause Analysis and design correction for mitigation of detonation in automotive airbag inflators
    • Modeling, testing, and accelerated aging of solid propellants and moisture intrusion.
  • Fluid flow analysis in domestic clothes washers
    • Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) trace particle detection, microorganism growth, and self-cleaning effectiveness.
  • Protection schemes for utility poles to resist damage from wildland fires
    • Design review and testing of commercial Off The Shelf (OTS) and custom product solutions.
  • Boiler failure in a hand-held domestic steam mop
    • Lifecycle testing and mitigation of accelerated fouling from tap-water deposits.
  • Quality assurance of laptop soft-pouch battery cell by custom 3D laser profilometry.
  • Failure Analysis of catastrophic engine in industrial scale biogas digestion engine
    • Piston and combustion chamber fracture and unplanned disassembly due to fuel-sourced sulfur deposition and insufficient maintenance.
  • Failure analysis of microphones on handheld mobile devices
    • Drop testing and shock wave modeling.
  • Unintended acceleration of turbo-diesel passenger cars
    • Analysis and inspection of uncontrolled engine runaway due to oil consumption from alleged turbocharger seal leaks.
  • UL94 testing of plastics samples for consumer electronics.
  • False advertising claim of steam power in a consumer steam appliance
    • Testing and analysis of clothes irons to validate claims of heat power.
  • False advertising claim of radiant heating power in hot-water baseboard heating
    • High-precision thermal transducer measurement uncertainty and accuracy, environmental cell testing.
  • Brake Failure thermal modeling in class VIII (cement) trucks in a runaway crash event .
  • Unintended acceleration in passenger vehicles with cable-operated cruise control.
  • Microbial spoilage in domestic clothes washers
    • Thermal imaging, fluid flow testing, large-scale accelerated cycling.
  • Engine failure in sports cars due maintenance
    • Failure analysis of high-performance engines with regard to valve train, oiling, and bearing failure. Analytically determined propensity for catastrophic engine failure based on design versus maintenance frequency and technique.
  • Intermittent fuel starvation and uncontrollability in motorcycles
    • Root Cause Analysis of “Lag and Leap” issues due to improper installation behavior of factory technicians.
  • Smoke damage cost analysis of engine components from an adjacent building fire
  • Fire Cause and Origin (C&O) investigation for city buses power by compressed natural gas (CNG).
  • Safety analysis of increased broad-utility gas line pressure
    • Combustion emissions testing from aged and antique appliances.
  • Burn injury risk analysis in consumer appliances
    • Thermesthesiometer testing and international standards review.
  • Fire and Explosion investigation of a commercial logging operation
    • Flammability and explosion propensity of outdoor welding operations.
  • Engine thermal failure in Off-Road-Vehicles (ORVs)
    • Design and process reconfiguration.
  • Failure and explosion of a domestic pressure-cooking kitchen appliance
    • Design and assembly review, failure probability assessment.
  • Burn injury risk and severity analysis of a gas-fired glass fireplace for domestic use
    • Thermesthesiometer testing, Canadian and US standards review, burn hazard analysis.
  • Heat Pipe characterization
    • Shape and advanced copper alloy testing for use in cooling of a microprocessor.
  • Combustion performance optimization of a camping stove
    • Research and testing for the reduction of carbon-monoxide, fuel efficiency, flame holding, and flame shape.
  • Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) of engine-control relay causing fires in zero-mile medium-duty trucks
    • Modeling and testing of low-temperature precipitation of moisture on electrical contacts in low voltage (5 and 12VDC) power control relays.
  • Failure analysis on UV water filtration units
    • Accelerated aging, circuit analysis, and fire hazard analysis on UV filters used in industrial and commercial (public and hotel pools, etc) applications.
  • Fire cause and analysis of passenger car due to common part application
    • Identical part (DC license plate bulb) used in reverse polarity can cause adverse thermal conditions leading to heating and ignition of plastic body panels.
  • Fire cause and analysis of domestic gas meter
    • Plastics flammability and fracture testing.
  • Telematics and fleet management system analysis and optimization.
  • Unsteady acceleration of motorcycles due to improper component installation by offshore factory labor
    • Diagnosis of root cause of Lag-and-Leap acceleration (surging from intermittent fuel starvation) caused by fuel sloshing and pumping circuit robustness.
  • Design and construction of an ultrasonic resonator for accelerated chemical catalysis
    • Reactor design and construction of cavitation reactor for applications in the spirits industry.
  • Testing of chassis fixture and belt strength of modern passenger car seat belts
    • Construction of a court-room exhibit to demonstrate the tensile strength of a seat belt assembly in a crash scenario.