Expert Witness and Fire Investigation Division Janet Cotton - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Expert Witness and Fire Investigation Division

Janet Cotton Ian Matheson Petra Gress Sandy Mariaye

Our Expert Witness Team

DR JANET COTTON Metallurgy, Materials Engineering, Mechanical Failure, Corrosion, Manufacturing, Fabrication, Product Performance

QUALIFICATIONS and EXPERIENCE

Qualifications:

• Bsc.Eng. (Materials Engineering)
• PhD (Materials Engineering) University of Cape Town Material Science
• PrEng ECSA

Experience

• Director One Eighty (Pty) Ltd 15 years
• Lead Consulting Engineer, Failure Investigation, Problem Solving, Materials

Selection, Expert Witness, Business Owner

• Lead Research and Development Engineer Advanced Materials

CASE STUDY 1: Ozone Generator Failure

• Ozone Generation is used to scrub fumes from process plants to remove odours
• Ozone Generator is an array of tubes coated with a thermally sprayed glass

coating

• The tubes are powered with high voltage so that plasma is produced, which

changes O2 into ozone (O3) The Ozone is used to scrub odours

• Ozone generator failed, by shorting out.
• Root cause established: Thermal spray coating was porous, allowing a short
• Between the steel tubes when plasma was produced
• Client was supplied with new Ozone Generators

CASE STUDY 1: Ozone Generator Failure

CASE STUDY 2 : Main Engine Failure Wartsilla

• Big end bearing failure, fracture through the connecting rod
• Main Engine sustained irreparable damage
• Fracture surface showed evidence of fatigue failure, IE slow and insidious

propagation of a crack under a cyclic load

• Once the fatigue crack propagated, the connecting rod fractured damaging the

main engine

• Failure mode effect analysis was applied with the metallurgical evidence
• The root cause: Torque sequence was not applied to the big end bolts

CASE STUDY 2 : Main Engine Failure Wartsilla

CASE STUDY 3: Corrosion of Manufactured Items

• Evaluate the corrosive nature of oils such as conventional and bio-oils for metallic

materials.

• Understand the chemical difference between the different types of oils.
• Calculate the different experimental conditions that would allow one to conduct

experiments over a short period of time to predict the effects of different oil medium on metallic material for a significant amount of time.

• The difference in chemical nature of the oil proved that bio-oils are corrosive to

metallic material.

CASE STUDY 3: Corrosion of Manufactured Items

CASE STUDY 4: Past Experience as Expert Witness

• MV “Azzure” – Rudder Failure – Bowman Gilfillan
• MV “Lola” – Stanchion Failure – Shepstone Whiley
• Sea Harvest – Corrosion failure fire reticulation pipes – Webber Wentzel Bowens
• Oceana – Bollard Failure – Webber Wentzel Bowens
• MV “Margeret” – Tow Rope Failure – Norton Rose Fullbright
• Corroded Structural Steel in fertilizer factory – Maurice Philipps Weisenberg

IAN MATHESON Fire/Explosion Investigation, Metallurgy, Mechanical Failure, Corrosion, Fabrication

QUALIFICATIONS and EXPERIENCE

Qualifications:

• B.Sc. Materials Engineering & M.Sc. Materials Engineering - University of Cape Town
• Chartered Engineer (C.Eng MIEI) - The Institution of Engineers of Ireland
• European Engineer (Eur. Ing.) - European Federation of National Engineering Associations
• Fire Science & Investigation – University of Edinburgh / IFE
• Powder Metallurgy Technologist Level 1 - American Powder Metallurgy Institute
• MBA – University of Warwick

Experience

• Over the past 18 years, employment experience in:
• Mining tools industry (Boart Longyear)
• Medical devices (Medtronic)
• Forensic engineering investigations (fire & explosions), workplace accidents & metallurgical-related

failures (MCA & One Eighty)

CASE STUDY 1: Fire & explosion investigations

CASE STUDY 2: Mechanical failures and structural collapses

Fatal pallet racking collapse

CASE STUDY 3: Metallurgical/Corrosion failure

SANDY MARIAYE Expert witness specialising in chemistry and non- metallic materials: Polymers, oils, paint, ceramics and composites.

QUALIFICATIONS and EXPERIENCE

Qualifications:

• BSc (Chemistry)
• BSc (Hons) Material Science
• MSc Materials Engineering University of Cape Town

Experience

• Product Engineer for Research and Development for 4 years
• Senior Project manager for consulting for 3 years
• Expert witness work
• Investigate failure, material selection and process optimisation.

CASE STUDY 1: Oil and Gas Industry – water contamination of oils

• Assess the effects of water as a contaminant on the metallic components as well

as chemical properties of the oil.

• Determine the maximum acceptable level of water that every type of oil can

contain without being detrimental to the system that they are present in.

• Experimentally determine the level of water in different oil samples.
• Compare theoretical and experimental results.
• Determine practical ways in which excess water can be removed.

CASE STUDY 1: Oil and Gas Industry – water contamination of oils

CASE STUDY 2: Food and Beverage Industry – Bottled drinks discolouration

• Regular testing of polymeric material and reverse engineering of various

materials including composites.

• Testing of lacquer inside vodka containing bottles.
• Determine the cause for the change in colour of flavoured vodka.
• Research and experiments conducted proved that the additives added to make

the different flavours reacted with the lacquer and cause lacquer disintegration and change in colour.

CASE STUDY 2: Food and Beverage Industry – Bottled drinks discolouration

Past Experience as an Expert Witness

• For paint coating system: Had to determine the effects of iron(III) oxide on

adhesion properties of alkyd paint system.

• Determine the difference in adhesion properties (in terms of chemical and

physical bonds) of paint coating systems on porous and non-porous substrate.

• Several scientific journals were analysed and experiments were conducted to

explain the difference in bonding strength hence adhesion properties of paint coatings on porous and non-porous substrate.

PETRA GRESS Expert in international standards for testing metallic materials and Weld Procedure Qualifications, Prediction of lifespan of materials, Mechanical Failures, Optimisation of processes, Material selection.

QUALIFICATIONS and EXPERIENCE

Qualifications:

• BTech - Mechanical Engineering (with distinction) -UNISA
• National Diploma -Mechanical Engineering -Cape Peninsula University ofTechnology
• Bachelor ofArts - Business Administration (Dual certification course“Diplom-Betriebswirt“) -University ofCooperativeEducation Ravensburg, Germany
• Technical Signatory for mechanical & metallurgical testing -SANAS

Experience

• Project Management ; 3D CAD Design ; Cold Form Technology/Production Processes ; Fastening Technology
• Metallurgy ; Materials Testing (Tensile, Bend, Impact, Hardness tests, Chemical composition, MicrostructuralAnalysis)
• Stress analysis incl. fatiguecalculations; Various failureinvestigations
• Various material selection studies
• Scoping Weld ProcedureQualifications and determination ofrequirements acc. to ASME IX, AWS D1.1 & D1.6, ISO 15614-1, EMMUA 158
• Quality Managment and Accreditation (ISO 17025)
• Expert witness work
• In total over 10 years experience at MTU (Germany), Zumtobel Lighting (Austria), SFS intec (Switzerland), OneEighty (South Africa)

CASE STUDY 1: Oil and Gas Industry – gear box failure on oil rig

Metallurgical investigation, fracture surface and stress analysis confirmed that a torsional overload was applied onto the shaft.

CASE STUDY 2: Steel Works – Failed Heater Pipe

CASE STUDY 3: Expert Witness Work

Expert witness work on quality of welding.