Bolted Joints: The End-To-End Lifecycle

Kat Asvegren: Chair, Piping Systems and Pressure Vessels Committee, EEMUA

Chris Mellows: Director, Zulu Joint Integrity & Training Ltd

Zulu Joint Integrity & Training Ltd is a specialist joint integrity management and joint integrity training provider with a strong track record of providing solutions to the oil & gas, chemical, petrochemical, power, steel making and process industries. Working in partnership with our clients to identify, define and deliver innovative solutions to achieve regulatory compliance and a leak free operation.

Sam Bradley: Global Director of Strategic Sales, Flexitallic

Sam Bradley, Global Director of Strategic Sales at Flexitallic Group, a leader in the design and manufacture of gaskets and sealing solutions, has more than 16 years of sector experience, ranging from hands-on installations to sealing system design and manufacturing methodologies. He also pioneered a digitised system that collects and analyses data to overcome challenges faced by process operators. Sam, who is Treasurer of the UK Gasket and Sealing Association (UKGSA), remains focused on shaping industry best practice regarding safety and reliability by understanding the approach of process operators in managing critical connections and creating improved sealing platforms to deliver optimum operational performance.

Paul Smith: Chair, IMechE Pressure Systems Group

Paul is Chair of the IMechE Pressure Systems Group and a consultant specialising in nuclear codes & standards, design, manufacturing, conformity assessment and independent inspection and assessment of nuclear pressure equipment. Paul has a background in stress analysis, having worked in the Structural Integrity Team, where he was responsible for the design and analysis of engineering structures, systems and components, production of design justification reports, and presentation of results to clients and the nuclear regulator. Paul participates and chairs national and international committees for nuclear pressure equipment and regularly publishes work on comparisons of international codes, standards and working practices for nuclear pressure equipment. Paul was previously the Head of Profession for Structural Integrity & Materials, responsible for leading the development of the Structural Integrity & Materials Profession and representing the interests of the profession both internally and externally.

Prof David Nash: Professor in the field of Mechanics and Materials, University of Strathclyde

After spending several years with a vessel fabricator, Prof Nash joined the department as a researcher where he gained an MSc and PhD working on local load and saddle support contact problems. He has interests in bolted joints, buckling and impact analysis and broader applications of finite element design-by-analysis. He has written over 120 papers and six books on the subject. Professor Nash is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (2006) and has been an ASME member since 1987. He is Vice Chair of the Pressure Systems Group. He is the former UK national representative to EPERC, the European Pressure Equipment Research Council. He chairs the British Standards Design Methods committee for PD5500, the UK pressure vessel code and chaired the 13th International Conference on Pressure Vessel Technology ICPVT-13 in London 2012

Alex Berry: Lead Fixed Equipment & Welding Engineer, Phillips 66 Limited

Alex Berry holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and a Diploma in Welding Engineering from the TWI. A Chartered Engineer with the IMechE, Alex has 17 years petrochemical experience, he is responsible for mechanical integrity assessments on pressure equipment, undertaking engineering design and driving business improvement both at local and corporate level. Professional interests include Bolted Flanged Joints, Coke Drums, Weld repairs and mentoring younger Engineers.

Tom Osorio: Specialist Inspector (Mechanical Engineering), Health and Safety Executive

Tom joined HSE’s Chemical Explosives & Microbiological Hazards Division (CEMHD) in 2016 with 30 years’ experience in maintenance, engineering and projects. His career started in chemicals before moving to oil & gas. In different roles Tom was responsible for improving integrity management, following major incidents worldwide. To reduce bolted joint leaks, improvements included changes to design, construction, maintenance and management. As a regulator, Tom is now exposed to a wide range of different company’s approaches, as well as investigating incidents when bolted joints fail.

Dene Halkyard: Technical Director, Flexitallic

Dene qualified with a honours degree in Applied Chemistry in 1987 and has worked in the sealing industry, in various capacities for over 40 years.
 
His early years were spent as development technologist specialising in the development and commercialisation of various non-asbestos product groups; including building and friction materials, thermal insulation and sealing products. Following this Dene spent sometime in the United States
as a product development specialist working on glassy carbon sealing products used in the semi-conductor industry. Upon his return to the UK he took up production management roles overseeing the manufacture of various static and dynamic sealing products.
 
Following this Dene worked as product manager for a range sheet sealing products. After the unification of the Flexitallic and TBA sealing businesses Dene became a member of the Flexitallic Applications and Engineering team, promoting and providing bespoke technical sealing solutions across a broad spectrum of industries. He became the Applications Engineering Manager in 2013 heading up a team of 5 engineers with both technical and application related responsibilities for the eastern hemisphere, and in 2019 promoted to Technical Director.

Ian Mander: Technical Support & Product Sales Engineer, Nordlock

Ian Mander is a qualified mechanical design engineer having direct design and manufacture experience of key bolted joints in overhead cranes and steel processing equipment. In 2000 he was engaged by a major UK energy services company in delivering controlled bolting services on large capital power and process plant. Subsequently he has been engaged with a number of specialist UK controlled bolt tooling OEM’s involved in advising on customer bolting equipment requirements and solving customer bolting issues. Since 2016 he has been engaged with Nord-Lock, the Swedish bolting technologies group, responsible for their bolt tensioning product lines.

Dr Stephen Pitman: Principal Metallurgist, RINA