Thermal Barrier Coating Systems (TBC) Technical Expert and Power Generation-Propulsion Engine Consultant

Technical Consultant #2080

TBC - Thermal Barrier Coatings; zirconia, aluminas, silicates and perovskites.
Bondcoat; MCrAIY's and aluminides.
Metallic superalloys; nickel, nickel-colbalt and ferrous.
Ceramic substrate materials; aluminas, silicas and REO's.
Thermal protection systems and materials; titanium and nickel based.
Gas turbine engines - aeropropulsion.
Fired heaters -petrochemical upgraders and refiners.
Power generation - natural gas, coal and petcoke, solar, alternative.
Heat exchangers - active and passive recuperation, rejection and regeneration.
Pipelines - gas and liquid transport and process piping.
Aerospace propulsion materials and processes.
Gas Separations - membrane purification and syngas reforming.
Vacuum infiltration coatings and coating systems.
Thermal spray coatings (Plasma, flame spray, DVM)
Sol-gel coating processes.
CVD coatings (low pressure MOCVI).
PVD and vacuum sputtering deposition.
Powder coatings and conversion coatings.
Metallurgical castings and thermally formed coatings.
Materials processing expertise.
SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) analysis, operation, maintenance, and specifications and installation.
Cross-sectional and planar materials preparation and analysis; fracture analysis; melt studies, SEI, HRSEI, BSE, EDS, image processing (manual and digital), TEM, AFM, XRD, ICP/AES, NMR (liquid state), FTIR, DTA/TGA, calorimetry and analytical chemistry methods.
Optical microscopy and metallurgical microscopy methods.
Metallographic sample preparation.

Independent Consultant, Present

Providing clients with state of the art and practiced knowledge in the following areas in advanced thermal barrier coatings;
Hands on materials characterization and analysis.
Nondestructive materials evaluations.
Coating production and fabrication; sol-gel, thermal spray, physical vapor deposition and plasma spray.
Post-production materials treatment development; sealant treatment processes and heating and aging.
Materials microstructure evaluation; structure-processing-property relationship, base mechanical and physical properties studies and thermal-moisture based aging.
Thermomechanical testing-analysis; k-T behavior-evolution of thermal behavior, thermal heat transfer studies, strain tolerance, oxidation behavior and fatigue-stress response.
Corrosion testing-analysis; CMAS-modeling behavior, resistance of zirconia TBC's, fly ash, sulfur and vanadium, water and humidity.
Materials qualification; thermal-thermomechanical testing-protocol, program management, OEM, validation and FAA certification.

Applied Thin Films Inc., Skokie, IL, Lead-Founding Engineer, 1998 - 2014

Senior Processor for the Materials - Applications and Engineering Department.
Technical team member in small business in specialty chemicals.
Successfully developed a range of advanced surface coatings and treatments.
Design, research and development, testing, and applications development of new coating materials.
Thermal barrier coatings; nano-scale glass coatings, and CVD coatings.
Process design and implementation for coating application methods.
Principal Investigator on over 25 completed technical projects in the area of coatings and advanced and high temperature materials.
Over $10 million earned revenue cumulative responsibility.

Additional Projects and Essential Functions

Development of new coating materials, architectures, and application processes.
Securing incoming company revenue.
Commercialization of coating technology - marketing, proposals, technical sales and support, contract negotiations, technology insertion and follow-up process monitor.
For thermal barrier coatings (k-T, sintering, CMAS corrosion, TGO formation) provided technical consulting and experience.
Head of Characterization and Analysis Laboratory.
Provided technical expertise in protective glass coatings; (oxidation, corrosion, diffusion limiting).

Capstone Achievements

Oil and Gas Industry

Project initiator, team lead, and principal investigator that developed and installed novel coating material in active production oil refinery furnace.
Installed anti-coking coating resulting in over 30% furnace specific downtime reduction.
End-to-end project required defining every step of a new effort in multiple areas: technical sales, engineering, business relationship, project budgets, execution plan and timeline creation, job definitions and work distribution, complete logistics, vendor acquisition - co-ordination, process design and implementation for coating application.
Premier pioneering coating installation job in company history.
Benefited end-use customer over $4 million in direct profits.

Electronic Industry

Team lead and principal investigator that developed targeted electrical insulation coating for leading advanced electronics manufacturer.
Achieved targeted breakdown voltage while surpassing thickness requirements on production run electrical components.
Designed and presented coating process and scale up manufacturing plan to end customer that surpassed throughput, cost and quality requirements.

Product Development

Lead a team that developed and launched a new advanced coating material product.
High E ceramic wear coating for high-tech applications.
End-to-end project encompassing multiple areas: materials engineering, marketing and sales - pricing strategy, customer interface, support and product manufacturing.

Aerospace and Power Generation Industry

Team lead and principal investigator that developed oxidation and corrosion resistant coatings materials and application process for aero propulsion engines.
Achieved 2X oxidation resistance for titanium propulsion materials.
Developed characterization method and materials models to accurately describe oxidation profile through micro hardness testing.
Demonstrated imparting CMAS resistance for aerospace ceramic coatings.
Pioneering research and work to understand the newly emerging area of corrosion of ceramic TBCs.
Co-Investigator that developed new thermal barrier coating for heat engines.
Designed ceramic oxide coating based on nanolayered structure (BNT).
Developed precursor solution production process to create BNT powder that is applied as a coating via thermal spray.
Created thermal spray applied BNT TBC coating using PlasmaTechnik System and ASEA 7-axis programmable robot.
Delineated k-T behavior of as-sprayed and aged BNT TBCs.

Credentials

Publications and Patents

Author and Co-Author of scientific papers, presentations and articles in peer reviewed journals with subject matters in the following areas:
A New Novel TBC Material
Pyrotechnic Magnesium Passivation Coatings
Fire Insulation System Materials
Glassy Microsphere Compositions
Advanced Boiler Coatings
Pressure Assisted Infiltration Coatings
Antifouling Coatings for HEX Systems
A New Glassy Silicoaluminate Material
Nanoflow Systems for Engineering Applications
Patent Holder (Co-inventor, 1 U.S., 1 international issued, 2 U.S. pending)