Objective
Work on structural design of platforms, oil derricks, and related structures.
Experience
OVERVIEW
• 18 years structural design experience, primarily in structural steel (buildings, cranes, frames, platforms, steel structural framing systems for cable trays, mezzanines in industrial and food processing facilities, analysis of tower structures used for electrical transmission)
• Over five years experience in steel building design (frames, connections, welds, cold form, steel tubing per AISC, AISI, MBMA)
• Experience in oil and gas structural design (cold boxes for natural gas liquification, pipe supports, platforms, submittal of complete drilling mast design package to API to obtain API manufacturing certification, drilling masts design for central and northern Texas, foundations, welds, bolted connections), fall protection per systems per IWCA criteria.
• Food processing structural design experience (platforms, roof support of oven stacks and evaporators, liquid ammonia line support, roof structure reinforcement design for scrubbers, evaluation of existing plant room systems for new or increased loading conditions with bar joist and prestressed concrete T roof systems.
• Design of h-frame and monopole utility towers (structural design of poles, vangs, arms, baseplates, welds)
• Design and analysis of structures at Naval Station Norfolk and NSA Northwest: hangar additions at Chambers Field, hangar additions to house AWACS planes, using primarily rolled structural steel and steel tubing per AISC 9th edition, brig structure design including Anti-Terrorism, fire protection, and progressive collapse design, foundations and platforms for equipment and electrical systems.
• Analysis of the structural stresses and deformations of a complete wind turbine nacelle structure under each of the lifting configurations used at the assembly port, consolidated port, and final placement of the nacelle on top of the support tower for wind turbines to be located in coastal areas of the United States. Analysis included determining the response of the structure during the lifting of the approximately 300 metric ton nacelle for bearing at the pin holes plus edge distance and von-mises stresses of the structural components (castings and S355 J2R beam lattices) at the interface between the lifting tooling at the nacelle steel structure, and determining structural reinforcement or “tooling constraints” necessary to insure the structural integrity of the nacelle structure during the lifting operations. Structural analysis and finite element modeling per Eurocode steel design criteria and Abacus simulations.
• Codes: AISC 9th edition and commentary, ASCE 7-02, ASCE 7-95, IBC 2003, IBC 2000, ACI 318-02, ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, AWS, NDS, AISI, ASCE 31-03, ASCE 41-06, BOCA 1993, BOCA 1990, UBC 1997, UBC 1994, federal government UFC’s, National Electric Safety Code, National Building Code of Canada, Bahamas Building Code, various state building codes, Texas Windstorm Resistant Construction Guide, IWCA code, Eurocode,
• Software/programs: Staad Pro 2005, AutoSteel (Synercom), Risa 2-D, AutoCAD Version 13, AutoCAD 2000, Autodesk Architectural Desktop, Impax, Visio-Analysis, Caesar II output for pipe support design, Solidworks output of drilling mast design, Catia V5 and interpretation of results from Abacus structural models (finite element and meshing) in wind turbine design and analysis.
WORK EXPERIENCE
GAMESA CORPORATION (contracted through Corporate Staffing Services)
Chesapeake, Virginia 2011-2012
European based global wind turbine manufacturer.
Structural Engineer – Design of structural support for various equipment housed inside the nacelle and the hub structure. Designed supports for fans, dehumidifier, and sensors attached to the steel interior structure or to the composite fiberglass nacelle cover. Assisted in the design of a stainless steel bushing system for corrosion protection of the rotor lock flange when the rotor lock pins are engaged. Performed a preliminary structural design for a cantilevered beam system to support a helihoist off the end of the nacelle structure. Also, determined three locations on the nacelle structure for attachment of hoisting tooling and equipment inside the nacelle structure. Did preliminary calculations for the forces and stresses to be withstood by the structure during hoisting operations to determine structural reinforcement or “tooling constraints” to insure integrity of the structure during hoisting operations. Because the lifting has to be carried out during separate “phases” of the assembly and transport process, approximately 50 variant load conditions had to be analyzed for the ten primary load cases, in determining the variation of reactions at interface between the tooling and the lifting points on the structure. Also, evaluation of the overall ability of the nacelle structure to withstand the affects of the lifting both in terms of stresses and deformations using the global abacus model with the structural support conditions and the centers of gravity of the load path subsystems and total lifted mass.
Worked on design of support for thermal conditioning equipment inside the wind turbine structure. This included supports for fans installed on moving equipment, dehumidifier supports inside the nacelle, and support of temperature and humidity sensors inside the nacelle and tower.
NAVFAC (contracted through Advantech GS Enterprises)
Norfolk, Virginia 2009-2010 (short term contract)
Part of the Navy responsible for construction and renovation of buildings.
Structural Engineer – Performed design of new and analysis of existing structures for building loading per UFC criteria at the Naval Base in Norfolk, Virginia. Reviewed plans and specs for several projects located at Naval Station Norfolk and the Navy Brig project at NSA Northwest in Chesapeake, Virginia. Review of all drawing submittals and calculation submittals for the buildings and foundations for the Navy Brig project. Review included making sure that design met the requirements of the applicable UFCs, IBC, and ATFP requirements, checking for use of correct design strengths, seismic requirements, importance factors, and procedures for the design of all structural members and foundations as outlined in the UFC’s, ASCE 7-05, and IBC 2003.
Designed the building structure and foundations for the SCIF additions to the existing hangar buildings at Chambers Field. The structural design for the Chambers Field hangar addition involved the hand design of tube steel columns and hot rolled roof beams per the requirements of AISC 9th edition and the load combinations of AISC 7-05. Tube columns were designed as “pinned” to minimize the depth of the columns so that they would fit inside the stud wall systems. Also, cross bracing and rigid roof diaphragm were used to transfer loads and minimize deflections while keeping the column design as “pinned”.
FLEXIBLE LIFELINE SYSTEMS (Formerly known as Seaflex, Inc.),
Houston, Texas 2008 (short term contract)
Manufacturer of fall protection equipment for all applications as well as select products for the oil industry.
Structural Engineer – Performed design and analysis of existing structures for addition of fall protection loads. Prepared a design package for a previously fabricated truck mounted drilling mast for API certification. This involved hand analyzing the members (main columns with lattice members) for the loads generated in the operating load cases per ASCE 7-02. Also, prepared calculations to prove adequacy of the welds used in fabricating the structure. Designed billboard structures in the New Orleans area using tube columns at the main structural support system. Designed columns for combined axial and bending and also sizing the main horizontal support members for a fall protection load at center span. Design of billboard members was for gravity loads in combination with a maximum 100 mph wind load per ASCE 7-02 along with the fall protection loads. Sized lanyards (tube steel and pipe columns) for fall protection applications on buildings and railroad sidings. Designed fall protection anchorage and reinforcement for use on existing conveyor systems, such as used at a working rock quarry operation in Golden, Colorado.
CHART ENERGY AND CHEMICALS, The Woodlands, Texas 2006-2008
Company that designs natural gas processing plants, as well as manufacturing associated cold boxes and heat exchangers.
Structural Engineer – Performed structural design and analysis of cold box structures used to house natural gas processing equipment. Designed natural gas processing structures and platforms. Did pipe support design for pipe supports on both the interior and exterior of cold boxes using STAAD PRO 2005.
Design of the main support columns of the cold boxes (14 inch to 18 inch tube columns of ½ to ¾ inch thickness) incorporated the requirements of the AISC 9th edition for combined axial load and bending incorporating the appropriate “k” factors for the tube steel columns, which had horizontal beams framing into them on the boxes interior approximately every 40 feet in elevations and skin plate (3/8” or ½” carbon steel) continuously welded to the outside of the columns. The analysis of the columns with the appropriate load combinations was performed using STAAD PRO 2005. Also, for applications where stainless steel columns were used for cold box and other structural applications, the requirements of ASME Division II were used, requiring lower yield strength values. Welds and weld geometry were analyzed separately using sections properties of the welds and in some cases the procedures outlined by Blodgett for welded structures published by Lincoln Electric Company.
Did both carbon steel and stainless steel pipe support design using angles, HSS, I-beam, and pipe sections (all modeled with STAAD PRO 2005). Utilized both the AISC 9th edition design criteria as well as the design criteria for angles listed in the specification for allowable stress design of single angle sections in the back of the AISC 9th edition (geometric axis, principal axis, combined stresses). STAAD PRO structural models for cold boxes would include hundreds of structural members (beams, columns, and braces) designed per the load combinations of ASCE 7 and IBC 2003.
Also modeled the skin plates in STAAD covering the outside of the cold boxes as equivalent discrete brace members (varied depending upon the panel aspect ratio) for resisting lateral (horizontal) forces on the outside of the cold boxes. Built the STAAD PRO model input files using both the text editor and graphical user interface features of STAAD PRO 2005. Piping inside the cold boxes was primarily designed with stainless steel, and modeled in STAAD PRO 2005. Manually changed the “k” values in cases where the members were not pin ended (k greater than 1.0). Manually modified standard STAAD input for different steel yields and the requirements for angles in the AISC 9th Edition commentary. Designed simple foundation/housekeeping pads for rotating equipment and other small pad applications for chemical plant layouts. Created and assembled a standard pipe support manual that could be used by pipers and designers in STAAD PRO 2005. The pipe support manual was made available to designers for horizontal and vertical eccentricities up to approximately 6 feet.
TYSON FOODS INC, Fayetteville and Springdale, Arkansas 2005-2006 (short term contract)
Leading producer of processed meats. Structural design of processing facilities at the corporate offices.
Structural Engineer – Design and analysis of structural platforms and supports for vessels, piping, machinery, and roof supported structures. Design and analysis of structural systems and foundations in operating processing plants.
Design included the design of structural steel platforms and steel moment resisting frames. The platforms used to support equipment were designed with tube steel or hot-rolled columns, with horizontal beams and cross bracing. The columns were sized for the appropriate “k” value of the columns for the given vertical spans, column end-conditions, and bracing stiffness. Design was primarily done per the requirements of AISC 9th edition for combined axial loads and bending loads where appropriate. Also, designed steel for the dampening of vibrations in rotating equipment used in a Tyson facility in Robards, Kentucky. Designed moment resisting frames with horizontal rafters where the rafters acted as a mezzanine supporting equipment used in a waste water treatment facility in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Designed the rigid frame moment connections by hand using moment amplification for prying action forces with procedures introduced by Thornton. Designed the column haunch for panel web shear per the requirements of AISC 9th Edition.
Design included both the design and structural reinforcement used in the repair of existing building systems used in food processing and also structural design adjacent to or above existing conveyor systems used in operating food processing plants.
AMERICAN BUILDINGS COMPANY, Columbus, Georgia 2003-2005
Manufacturer of Steel Buildings and Components
Design Engineer – Designed steel buildings of all complexity levels for public and private use. Design of factory, warehouse and commercial buildings in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. Building systems included jib crane, bridge crane, and gantry crane systems. Designed buildings for wind, snow, and seismic loadings based on current building code requirements, including National Building Code of Canada. Designed structural support steel (plate girder and hot rolled framing) for crane systems. Used the criteria in the appendix of AISC 9th edition to design steel for lower yield strength required for fatigue caused by loading from different classifications of cranes. Worked on estimates and designs for primary steel framing on all types of structures.
VALMONT INDUSTRIES, Valley, Nebraska 2001-2002
Leading manufacturer of utility structures for the electrical industry. Manufacturer of h-frame and single pole electrical tower structures.
Project Engineer – Designed utility structures, including single pole towers and h-frame utility towers using company developed structural analysis programs. Designed the poles for forces transferred from the wires and arms/vangs to the poles. Used Valmont’s proprietary pole and h-frame modeling software called Impax to develop the structural models. Design of poles (monopoles and h-frame) consisted of analyzing the steel pole members for combined axial loads and bending from cable tensions applied through the vangs to the pole members. In addition to the axial and bending, the program also incorporated the affects of the maximum fibers stresses due to shear forces on the pole members faces. Also performed weld design by hand for connection of the vangs to the poles, with the vangs being the u-shaped bracket connection between the arms and the poles.
Analysis with the Impax program would verify that the pole design was adequate in fatigue as well as verify the maximum pole deflection under the load cases and load requirements given in the National Electric Safety Code. Worked on quotations of various utility structures in all regions of the U.S.
NCI BUILDINGS SYSTEMS, Houston, Texas 1997-2000
Manufacturer of Steel Buildings and Components
Design Engineer – Designed steel buildings of all complexity levels for public and private use. Used AutoSteel/Synercom frame design software and CFS cold form section design software to model structures and apply various forces. Designed steel framing (cold-formed, hot-rolled, and plate girder) for loading requirements given in the various building codes. Designed building for crane systems (bridge, gantry, and jib cranes) using the criteria given in the MBMA and AISC 9th Edition. Designed steel for the fatigue requirements given in the AISC 9th Edition for various classes of cranes.
Education
Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering,
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas
May 1994
Certification
EIT AR #5086
Skils
structural design primarily of steel structures and connectins by hand and with software and programs.