Following a hail storm, a homeowner’s roof damage was reported to their insurer. An ACS engineer investigated and found small regions of lighter-colored aggregate amongst the three tab composition asphalt shingles as well as other regions in which the asphalt protection in the layer below the aggregate was exposed. Other indications of hail damage were … More From the Archives: Hail damage to roof shingles
This month’s (February 2019) Plumbing Engineer magazine featured an article discussing insulation engineering considerations. The general topics covered are the major points that need to be addressed: (a) the basics (b) history of thermal insulation (c) how heat transfer works and (d) applicable codes and standards. This makes it a great reference article. An expert … More “Thermal Insulation for Buildings, Pipe and Mechanical Equipment”, a Complication
A swivel office chair failed while in use causing injury. ACS engineers studied the damage to the chair and found that it had separated between the seat support assembly and the supporting pedestal. Inspection of the insert portion of the seat support assembly showed that the failure occurred on the bottom side of the insert’s … More From the Archives: Chair Failure
A residence in the Gulf Coastal Plain’s Quaternary deposits of sand- and clay-rich soil experienced a variety of structural damages including plasterboard fractures, mortar separation, bulging windows, and foundation fractures. Examination of the upper structure damage, the foundation, and the soil was undertaken. The western portion of the residence was less damaged than the eastern, … More From the Archives: Foundation Damage
Recently, Colonel Hanavan wrote a series of volumes on the C-7A Caribou in Vietnam. First Lieutenant Jensen (at the time) worked in safety as well as piloting cargo. His service included being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Assigned to investigate a residence fire, the effort was made to determine if an active appliance caused the fire. Electrical components of the residence consisted of the circuit breaker panel, the electrical wiring in a pile of debris, and an air handling unit. The circuit breaker panel showed no evidence of malfunction. The appliances formerly … More From the Archives: Indeterminate Fire
A tractor operator was injured in the groin area when the machine’s seat clamps failed, releasing the seat. The seat was improperly installed using single bolted electrical straps (image below). The tractor was operated for a significant amount of time with this hazard, long enough for the electrical straps to rust. New electrical straps were … More From the Archives: Seat Installation Failure
Dr. Jensen recently published a ground-breaking research article in Astrophysical Journal, “Plasma Interactions with the Space Environment in the Acceleration Region: Indications of CME-trailing Reconnection Regions”. Read More!
When prosecutors present the results of a piece of evidence analyzed in the lab, a question often comes up: how good is the measurement? It’s an important one to ask, because the error bars tell you how good the measurement is. If a Breathalyzer measurement was collected by police, and the result was near the … More Erroneous Drug Quantity Measurements using Uncalibrated FTIR/ATR Instruments
Dr. Elizabeth Jensen’s presentation to the American Society of Safety Engineers (soon to be Safety Professionals) Energy Corridor meeting is linked below. Practical Cybersecurity: Where You Fit into the Big Picture
