Bison is a multi-disciplined engineering firm specializing in failure analysis, forensic engineering and fire sciences with a team of P.E.'s who have performed thousands of forensic assignments including in excess of 1,000 fuel gas investigations.

Legal professionals turn to Bison to scientifically conduct investigations to determine the cause of destructive events. Forensic Engineers provide expert testimony and consultation. Investigations include explosions, fires, carbon monoxide incidents, electrical fires and failures, structural failures, mechanical failures, accident reconstruction, specialized testing, and courtroom presentations:

Fuel Gas Incidents: Fire and Explosion Causation; Propane Explosions, Natural Gas Explosion, Gas Delivery Systems; Carbon Monoxide Testing and Evaluation, Production and Migration Investigations; Plant & Pipeline, Piping Evaluation; Operational Analysis; Appliance Evaluation; Code Compliance; Soil Gas Migration; Vapor Dispersion

Fire Investigation and Explosion Analysis: Cause and Origin, Scene Documentation; Collection of Evidence; Certified Fire Investigator

Electrical Engineering: Electrically Related Fires, Electrical Service and Wiring Failures, Production Facility Service and Controls for Chemical, Petroleum, and Distribution Facilities, Electrical Contacts, Electrocutions; Lightning Strikes

Mechanical Engineering: Equipment Design and Operation; High-Pressure Oilfield Equipment; Pump Design and Operation; HVAC Systems; High and Low-Pressure Seals; Plastic Part Design and Manufacture, Industrial Equipment

Accident Reconstruction: Accident Sequence Reconstruction; Speed, Time and Distance Calculations; Crush Damage; Braking; Steering and Mechanical Analysis, including Tires; Electrical System / Electronic Failures; Mechanical and Fuel Systems; Airbag and Seatbelt Fatalities/Injuries; Staged Vehicle Impact

Failure Analysis: Industrial Equipment, Vehicle Impacts, Airbags and Seat Belts; Elevator Failures; Helmet and other Protective Equipment Failures; Infant Crib Design Inadequacies; Carbon Monoxide Investigations, Crane Failures, etc.

Metallurgical Engineering: Metal Fatigue of Gas Compressor Components; Electrical Contact Evaluations; Cracking of Structural Plastics; Chemical Analysis; Corrosion & Stress Evaluation and Analysis; SEM Analysis; Electron/Optical Microscopy; X-ray Examination

Bison's clients argue their cases with confidence, secure in the knowledge that their claims are based on unbiased, scientific data.

Engel Metallurgical Ltd. is an independent Materials Engineering consulting and testing company. Our team of engineers, technicians, and administrative staff, is dedicated to providing timely and cost-effective service. We aim to continuously improve the scope and quality of services using the latest technology to meet or exceed our customer's expectations. For your convenience, Engel Metallurgical Ltd. will provide support at our lab, your site, or your vendor's site. ISO 17025 accredited.

Areas of Expertise:

Turbine and Power Generation

Failure Analysis

Legal Investigation & Expert Witness

Materials Consultants

Research and Development

Component Failure Analysis

Lester P. Engel, JR., P.E. Metallurgical Engineer with more than 38 years of experience in materials application, failure analysis, R & D program management, materials and process specifications, engineering standards and procedures, laboratory design and operation, data analysis and personnel and budget management.

Services Offered:

Provides metallurgical and materials joining consulting to a wide variety of clients in the manufacturing, legal, and insurance industries

Performs failure analyses of products manufactured from various materials, including metals, cements, and plastics

Renders expert opinions and gives depositions and testimony for litigation support

Assists manufacturing clients with materials and process selection and problem solving, and prepare material and process specifications

Develops and reviews product design, materials, and process specifications

Oversight and development of on-site metallurgical testing laboratory that provides: scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS); metallographic preparation and examination; and mechanical property testing

Dr. James Rice has over 35 years of technical and managerial experience in both industry and academia. He has a strong technical background in broad areas of mechanical engineering ranging from fluid mechanics and heat transfer to basic design. Dr. Rice’s primary expertise is in computational methods and simulation in mechanical engineering. His mechanical engineering practice has focused in particular on the development and application of these methods to a diverse range of applications in industry, and has also used these methods in his litigation support activities.

Dr. Rice has extensive experience as an expert witness in patent litigation involving issues in Mechanical Engineering. Over the last ten years, he has provided litigation support in more than 30 cases including approximately 25 patent cases. This experience has included the preparation of numerous expert reports, depositions, and trial testimony for both plaintiff and defense attorneys. His litigation support activities have also included testing and analysis as required to support his opinions.

Dr. Rice is the author of over 30 technical publications and has consulted for over fifty companies. He has conducted over 200 seminars and short courses in the U.S., Europe, and the Orient, and has been an invited speaker at international engineering conferences.

Expertise:

Computational Methods Heat Transfer / Thermodynamics Turbomachinery Combustion Fluid Mechanics

Finite Element Analysis Mechanical Design Intellectual Property Prior Art Review Infringement & Invalidity

Industries and Applications:

Automotive:

Vehicle Aerodynamics Passenger Compartment Flow Underhood Flow & Heat Transfer Intake & Exhaust Manifolds Intake & Exhaust Valves Engine Cooling Jackets

Power Steering Components Cooling Fans Fuel Delivery Systems Ejectors Control Valves Torque Converters

Power Generation: Valves Fossil & Nuclear Heat Exchangers Thermal Stratification Separation Systems Combustion Systems

Electronics: Enclosures Heat Sinks Natural / Forced Convection Hard Drive Flow Motors

HVAC: Duct Systems and Components Valves, Fittings Flow & Temperature Distribution Particle Dispersion

Turbomachinery: Pumps Compressors Blowers Fans

Aerospace:

Aerodynamics

Wind tunnels

Rotor Loads

Mr. D.E. Hansen, M.E. founded Piping Analysis Incorporated (PAI) in 1972 as a full service Engineering Company specializing in Piping, Mechanical, Machinery, and Civil / Structural Design Problems. Originally serving the local Gulf Coast region (Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi), PAI has seen tremendous growth in its business and now solves complex engineering problems all over the world. The results of their work are presently operating throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

PAI understands that efficiency loss and shut-downs cut deeply into the bottom line. PAI will work around the clock to provide the correct answers as quickly as possible and you can expect the most workable, cost-effective solution.

Areas of Expertise:

Piping Stress & Flexibility Finite Element Analysis CFD & Fluid Flow Heat Transfer Vibration Failure Analysis

Plant Design Civil & Structural Construction Drawings Project Scheduling Design Review Construction Follow-Up

POWERPLANT Consultants, Inc., (PPC) is a technical services company providing highly specialized support services for Industrial Power Generation Systems, Cogeneration and Combined Cycle Power Plants. PPC specializes in Design, Performance, Forensics, Construction, Design Defects, Cost Analysis for Lost Operations, Maintenance, and Repair. PPC has extensive international experience and is OSHA Lockout / Tagout Certified.

Areas of Expertise

Power Generation

Marine Propulsion - Conventional / Alternative Fueled Systems

Microturbines

Boilers

Industrial Gas Turbines

Diesel Engines

Cogeneration

Geothermal

Landfill

Digester Gas

Wind and Solar Powered Generation Systems<

Mechanical Engineer - Turbomachinery Expert. Gas turbine engines, steam turbines, jet engines, compressors, pumps, expanders, generators, cogeneration, combustion equipment, diesel engines, and reciprocating compressors. Failure analysis, stress analysis, mechanical design, design analysis, troubleshooting, performance analysis, durability assessment. Access to metallurgical laboratory. Experienced Expert witness.

Please see our Service List at www.sbkushnick.com/servicelist.pdf for a concise description.

Dr. Meherwan P. Boyce, Ph.D., P.E., CEng, Fellow ASME (US), IDGTE (UK), IMechE (UK); has 44 years of experience in the field of TurboMachinery in both industry and academia. His industrial experience covers 20 years as Chairman and CEO of Boyce Engineering International, and five years as a designer of Compressors and Turbines for Gas Turbines for Various Gas Turbine Manufacturers. He is committed to providing leading edge technologies, in areas of infrastructure projects and specialized Engineering skills, in energy, Turbomachinery, corrosion, and environment related areas.

Areas of Expertise:

Aerodynamics

Automotive Engineering

Bio-Engineering

Cogeneration

Environmental Engineering

Fluid Mechanics

TurboMachinery

Heavy Fuels Combustion

Performance Evaluation of Combined Cycle Power Plants

Forensic Engineering and Expert Witness Testimony:

Combustion Turbines

Steam Turbines

Compressors