Hill Engineering Blog

Residual stress analysis

by Adrian DeWald

Material fabrication processes like forging, rolling, extrusion, quenching, additive manufacturing, machining, and welding lock spatially varying residual stress fields into structural materials. These residual stresses can influence the way that materials perform (e.g., fatigue, fracture, distortion, and corrosion). Hill Engineering has developed expertise to support many different types of residual stress analysis, which we apply to help our customers manage residual stresses effectively in design. The following are some examples of residual stress analysis. Continue reading Residual stress analysis

Axes & Alloys mix metal with music!

by Robert Pires

Who says engineers don’t know how to have fun?

Axes & Alloys is a band comprised of six of Hill Engineering’s employees. Formed out of a shared love for all things rock n’ roll (or maybe pop, country, and some rock), the Axes got our start around three years ago, with original members Teresa (lead vocals), Adrian (guitar), and Brett (guitar). Their casual rehearsal format eventually welcomed Camille as the keyboardist, Robby as a second singer and keyboardist, and Justin as drummer. Continue reading Axes & Alloys mix metal with music!

Residual stress in welding

by Adrian DeWald

Welding is a very common manufacturing process that is used to join materials together to form assemblies and systems. In many cases the welded joints are large, have reduced material properties (e.g., stress corrosion cracking resistance, fracture toughness), and contain defects. The welded joints tend to be critical locations in terms of design and sustainment. For this reason, residual stress in welding is a primary concern. Hill Engineering has extensive experience with residual stress measurements and welding residual stress. Continue reading Residual stress in welding

AFGROW User Workshop

by Michael Hill

Hill Engineering is presenting about fatigue analysis as part of the AFGROW User Workshop 2016 in Layton, UT. The objective of the workshop is to provide a forum for AFGROW users to exchange information and ideas related to fracture and fatigue. Hill Engineering’s presentation will include a summary of recent work on the formulation and solving of benchmarking problems in the field of fatigue crack growth analysis. The abstract text is presented below. Continue reading AFGROW User Workshop

Welcome Frank Di Cocco

by Adrian DeWald

We would like to welcome Frank Di Cocco as Program Development Manager to Hill Engineering. Frank comes to Hill Engineering with more than 25 years of experience, most recently from Alcoa Technical Center. At Alcoa, Frank was the Manager of Alcoa Defense Aerospace, where he directed government and commercial aerospace programs focused on developing structures technologies. Frank brings valuable experience leading large, multi-year aerospace programs as a prime government contractor and managing diverse teams of OEM and technical specialists like Boeing, Airbus, Lockheed Martin, BAES, and Northrop Grumman. Continue reading Welcome Frank Di Cocco

Hill Engineering visits Sugar Pine Point State Park

by Camille Fowler

To me, nothing says “summer” more than camping by the lake, going for a hike, roasting marshmallows over a campfire, and fatigue analysis at bedtime. On the west side of Lake Tahoe, the Ed Z’berg Sugar Pine Point State Park hosted some of Hill Engineering and their families for a fun, nature-filled weekend. Continue reading Hill Engineering visits Sugar Pine Point State Park

Happy Birthday to the Contour Method!

by Adrian DeWald

Today marks a major milestone in the field of residual stress measurement. The contour method, one of the most useful and advanced residual stress measurement techniques, was first successfully implemented on this date (August 16th) in 1999 by Mike Prime at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The most significant feature of the contour method is its ability to generate detailed two-dimensional residual stress maps like the one shown below. Please join us in wishing the contour method a very happy 17th birthday! Continue reading Happy Birthday to the Contour Method!

Opening Up with the Interns

by Robert Pires

Every summer, Hill Engineering hires university students as interns; aiming to give them insight into industry jobs and provide them with the experience they’ll need to develop their careers post-graduation. We pride ourselves on involving interns in projects which utilize and further explore the concepts they have learned in school. In the past, we’ve had many positive outcomes from our internship program. The interns have delivered fresh perspective on our projects and a few have even transferred to full-time employment at Hill Engineering. This year, we welcome three students into our summer internship program. Continue reading Opening Up with the Interns

International Light Water Reactor Materials Reliability Conference

by Adrian DeWald

Hill Engineering is presenting about residual stress in welding as part of the EPRI International Light Water Reactor Materials Reliability Conference and Exhibition. The objective of the conference is to gather the leading domestic and international nuclear engineers, materials scientists, and vendors in a forum for discussing and reporting the latest research regarding the reliability of materials in Light Water Reactor Vessels and their components. Hill Engineering’s presentation will include a summary of recent work on residual stress measurement for an excavate and weld repair mockup. The abstract text is presented below. Continue reading International Light Water Reactor Materials Reliability Conference

We love planes

by Robert Pires

The dawn of the airplane changed the way we humans viewed the world. In a relatively short amount of time, travel across oceans was reduced from a month or more onboard a sea vessel to a few hours in the air. Getting from one side of the country to the other no longer meant spending days on a train, but a quick flight across state borders. It’s easy to see why planes were welcomed so eagerly into modern society.

But beyond convenience, have you ever taken the time to just consider the technology behind airplanes and what they are capable of? Continue reading We love planes