Grouped by where the work was done. Fracture and corrosion R&D, composite design tooling, failure investigations, nuclear qualification and petrochemical maintenance — with the method behind each one.
Finite element verification of an analytical layup study for the oil & gas sector, and the Python–Abaqus tool that automates it.
An Abaqus user element for environmentally assisted fracture, capturing the transition from a pit to a propagating crack, with an experimental validation rig.
A coupling loop between an existing cellular automaton framework and Abaqus, so mechanical stress feeds back into electrochemical dissolution.
Failure analysis on industrial components — pressure equipment, diesel engines, compressors — through full metallurgical examination: macroscopic and microscopic examination, SEM-EDX of fracture surfaces, metallography.
Significant thermal wastage, dendritic microstructure near the nozzle — attributed to flashback.
Slop deposits raised the chloride content, nucleating pits and chloride stress corrosion cracking.
Chloride stress corrosion cracking.
Short-term overheating failure.
Fatigue fracture on the second upper coil, initiated by repeated contact damage.
Bimetallic component joined by rotary friction welding. Failure most probably caused by insufficient PWHT, suggested by the size of the heat-affected zone revealed by metallographic examination.
Fatigue fracture initiated by crosshead fretting on the larger-diameter sections of the rod; design revision and a lubrication strategy to be considered.
Thermal fatigue, most probably initiated by contact with adjacent piping.
Attributed to long-term creep rupture caused by prolonged overheating.
The valve failure caused significant damage to the cylinder head.
The visual nature of the damage indicated insufficient tightening at the moment of fracture. SEM examination of the thread flanks showed extensive galling, a known issue with stainless nuts, which can explain the poor retention of preload. More frequent nut replacement, or nuts in a more wear-resistant steel (DSS), recommended.
Two stress studies: an articulated CCTV mast rebuilt in CAD and assessed weld by weld, and the residual stress field left in a forged beam by its stamping process.
Shell model extracted from CAD, modal analysis, then a conservative pseudo-static check of the frame and its fixings to RCC-M.
Simple geometry handled analytically with Roark's formulas, complex geometry in Ansys, the whole checked against RCC-M and FEM rules.
Anchorage capacity notes for damaged supports across the nuclear fleet, with seismic loading, plus running the technical unit that fielded the plants' requests.
Wrote the specification and ran the tender for a €500k tubular exchanger, then re-ran the suppliers' sizing calculations and found the design margin the offers were quietly relying on.
Reliability work on a critical 20" double-disc valve, obsolescence management driven from failure data, and consolidation of the wall-burner maintenance procedures.