Expert witness services, litigation support, and forensic engineering – investigating product liability, structural failures, construction issues, fire/explosions, industrial and other accidents.
Keywords: Accident Causation; 5th Wheel not Locked O’Donnell Consulting Engineers, Inc. was retained to investigate and determine the cause of the separation of a trailer from its tractor. In January …
Truck 5th Wheel Evaluation and Accident Causation Analysis Read More »
International Chamber of Commerce ($ 560 M) binding arbitration, performing the evaluation of the design, engineering and performance of heat recovery coke oven batteries in Brazil.
We performed a forensic investigation on a fifth-wheel failure which caused separation of a trailer from its tractor. Shown above center is the excessive wear on the ID of the …
Failed Hunting Bow Forensic failure analysis on a hunting bow incident that resulted in an injury. The draw weight, like most hunting bows, is adjustable, and typically determined by hooking …
Tullio Lombardo’s Adam is one of the greatest Venetian 15th-century works of art.
We were asked to perform a root cause investigation of a forklift accident, which resulted in serious injuries. Metallurgical and chemical evaluations were performed on the forklift’s parking brake wire …
Root Cause Forensic Investigation of Forklift Accident Read More »
Longer than two football fields and 80 feet wide, a large steel paper rack storage facility was constructed with 110 foot tall hollow steel columns to hold over 100 million pounds of pallets of paper products. After two months in service, the automated facility collapsed and sparked a fire that burned over three weeks
Finite element engineering analysis was used to calculate temperatures, deflections, strains, and stresses using time-dependent creep analysis methods to evaluate the long term integrity of coke oven battery roof and heating walls
Premature weld cracking had occurred in exhaust ductwork. The cracking occurred in corner weld joints and in stitch welds used to secure the shell to stiffening angles approximately 3 weeks after it was placed in service.
Investigation of aircraft stabilizer trim motor bearing
Engine on Barge We performed an extensive forensic investigation of a barge that had collided with a docked leisure paddle-wheeled ship in Pittsburgh. The accident involved failure of the air …
Forensic Investigation of a Barge Involved in Collision Read More »
A West African bauxite company was awarded $16 million in a U.S. District Court after a tippler building collapsed and suffered sustained severe structural damage. Bauxite was dropped twenty-two feet …
$16 Million Award for Collapsed Bauxite Conveyor System Read More »
For hot-side precipitator designs, ductwork designs included temperatures exceeding 700 F, which allow for “thermal breathing”. When these movements are restrained, large forces are created.
An insurance company retained O’Donnell Consulting to perform a root cause fire investigation on a commercial grain dryer, which is used to dry soybeans. The dryer is a cylindrical, …
OCE performed a forensic investigation on a steel tube chair that had failed when a 180 pound individual sat down. The evaluation was accomplished using generally accepted engineering design calculations …
Forensic Investigation of a Failed Steel Tube Chair Read More »
We investigated a fire/explosion at a pipeline LPG Dehydration facility. The explosion and fire apparently occurred during a periodic draining operation whereby water was removed from the system by “blowing …
Fire/ Explosion Investigation of LPG Dehydration System Read More »
We performed a root cause investigation of a gas well pipe rupture at a plant north of Pittsburgh. A well tender was initiating a “post-fracking” procedure-blowback operation to release pressure …
Root Cause Investigation of Gas Well Pipe Rupture Read More »
O’Donnell Consulting performed a fire investigation of a Shipboard Compressor System that occurred on the USS Eisenhower. We perform engineering design and analysis – as well as Forensic Engineering …
Forensic Fire Investigation of Shipboard Compressor Read More »
We were asked to perform a root cause forensic investigation of a propane pump explosion that had killed one worker and injured three others at a central Ohio factory. The …
Forensic Investigation of Propane Pump Explosion Read More »
A Plaintiff general mechanical contractor with a prior history with a larger petrochemical company was involved in a capital improvement turnaround project. One part of the turnaround involved the replacement …
$98.8 M Award in Litigation over Refinery Engineering Issues Read More »
Failed Gearbox We performed a failure analysis of elevation gearboxes used to control an earth-station antenna. It was found that 3 gearboxes had failed at three separate locations, with less …
Failure Analysis – Gearboxes Controlling an Earth-Station Antenna Read More »
Remains of Building Fire We performed a forensic engineering investigation (fire cause and origin analysis) on a commercial building fire. We have performed numerous fire/explosion investigations in residential, commercial and …
Forensic Fire Investigation on a Commercial Building Read More »
We performed a forensic investigation of a pressure vessel explosion which caused serious damage to the manufacturing plant. The vessels operate under extreme conditions to create crystals for use in …
Forensic Investigation of a Pressure Vessel Explosion Read More »
