Month: February 2017

Building a Quality System

by Adrian DeWald

As was previously discussed, Hill Engineering was recently awarded ISO17025:2005 accreditation for our Quality System. Developing a Quality System that is compliant with ISO is a significant effort, and at Hill Engineering we took it as an opportunity to improve the quality and documentation of our laboratory residual stress measurement services. Here’s a look back on some of the highlights in the development of our Quality System. Continue reading Building a Quality System

Cold expansion

by Adrian DeWald

Fatigue is one important failure mode that guides the design and engineering of aircraft structure. As we have discussed previously aircraft are often manufactured using rivets and fasteners, which require drilling many holes in the structure during assembly. The holes act as stress concentrations, which tend to be locations where fatigue cracks are found. Compressive residual stresses act to hold cracks shut and result in improved fatigue performance. This residual compressive stress can provide substantial benefits in terms of performance, safety, cost, and inspection requirements. To take advantage of the benefits of compressive residual stress, cold expansion is often applied to aircraft fastener holes. Continue reading Cold expansion

The Prime Room

by Adrian DeWald

Hill Engineering recently moved into a new facility in Rancho Cordova, CA. The new facility features a combination of laboratory, research and development, and office space; all of which are important as we work tenaciously to meet the needs of our current projects, while at the same time keeping an eye towards innovation and new opportunities. We have proudly named the primary conference room in our new facility the Prime Room, a fitting tribute to a special Hill Engineering collaborator, the inventor of the contour method, and inspirational figure, Mike Prime. Continue reading The Prime Room