Robert C. Peckham, P.E. - Concantenated Page
VEHICULAR ACCIDENT RECONSTRUCTION
As a mechanical engineer/accident reconstruction expert, I have worked
on cases involving automobiles (tiny to very large), motorcycles of various
types and sizes, trucks (pickup, van, conventional and cabover with single and
multiple trailers, mixers), busses, various farm equipment, construction
and mining equipment (scraper, dozer, large trucks (to 120 tons), forklifts,
earth drills, scissors lifts, scaffolding, etc.), and railroad accidents.
In addition to the common time, speed, distance and vehicle
dynamics reconstruction cases, I have been involved in vehicular cases
involving powertrains (internal engine components, turbochargers,
transmissions, etc.), suspension systems and components (axles, brakes, wheels
and tires, springs, steering components, etc.), liquid and gaseous fuel
storage and delivery systems, accessory systems, and interior components. I
have worked on a number of accidents involving modified vehicles (lift kits,
large diameter and wide wheels, "oversize" tires, etc.)
I have worked on many pedestrian/vehicle cases. My work on
pedestrian cases has usually involved vehicle impact velocity and
subsequent pedestrian motions based on throw off distance and injury pattern
as reported and described in the SAE/STAPP and AAAM literature.
I read the literature concerning vehicle crash testing and driver
expectations and performance in emergency situations (i.e., perception/
reaction and analysis times). My involvement in automobile racing has given
me a unique perspective on textbook/handbook/literature "expected" driver
response compared to the actual response of experienced, and inexperienced,
race drivers. This is particularly important now that a growing percentage of
accidents involve vehicles with ABS brakes and "stability control" systems.
Many cars and trucks now continuously record many operational parameters
(speed, braking, seat belt use, etc.) which may be downloadable after an
accident.
Our library includes many books, papers, and compendiums from
organizations such as DOT/NHTSA, SAE, SAE/STAPP, ASME, etc.. Our library
also contains many NCAP MVSS compliance test reports.
PRODUCTS AND EQUIPMENT - RECONSTRUCTION AND FAILURE ANALYSIS
As a mechanical engineer, I have worked on cases involving various
machines and machinery including, for example, cranes (tipover, cable failure,
structural failure, etc.), presses and brakes (hand operated to hundreds of
tons), injection molding machines (small bench to hundreds of tons), rubber
extruders and calendaring rolls, laminating machines, ribbon blenders, screw
conveyors, roller and belt conveyors, as well as gravity and air material
feed/conveyor systems, grinders, oil field rigs, piping and equipment,
slitters, printing presses, box folding/assembling machines, routing machines,
industrial sanders (to 60"), blow molders, bottle trimmers, electric hoists,
earth drills (stability, structural failure), elevators (controls, cables,
safety devices), dairy equipment, chairs (various structural and dynamic
problems), ladders (structural and dynamic problems), refrigeration system
compressors and piping, pumps (turbine, peristatic, piston) pumping various
fluids such as air, freon, blood, gasoline, ammonia, water, etc. as well as
general structural failure of parts of machinery and equipment, and, of
course, cases involving guards, interlocks and lockout stations.
General failure types on cases I have worked on have included, for
example, simple overload, fatigue, poorly manufactured sheet metal, poor
quality castings, degraded parts due to incorrect machining/fabrication,
material damage due to finishing processes (i.e. hydrogen embrittlement,
etc.), structural failure due to corrosion (both anticipated and
unanticipated). Unfortunately many chain and wire rope ("cable") failures
are caused by poor rigging, or incorrect use, rather than an actual problem
with the chain or wire rope.
Our library contains many ANSI, UL, OSHA, CFR, ISO, etc. standards
and regulations.
FABRICATION METHODS AND EQUIPMENT
I have design and personal experience with the forming and fabrication
of many carbon steels, alloy steels (4130, 4340, 6150, etc.), and stainless
steels (303, 304, 316, 321, 347, 17-4PH, etc.), copper (OFHC, tellurium,
beryllium), nickel (Inconel 600), and many aluminum alloys (1100, 2024, 5052,
6061, 6063, 7075, etc.). I have experience with joining techniques such as
coated electrode arc welding, tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding, spot welding,
brazing, soldering, bucked and mandrel type rivets, and adhesive bonding
(anaerobic, hot melt, epoxy, polyester, polyurethane, and RTV(both alkoxy and
acetoxy)). I have experience with various elastomers and plastics, both
thermoplastic and thermoset (unfilled, filled, and reinforced "fiberglas").
I have experience with a variety of "paints" (epoxy, catalyzed enamyl,
wash primer, lacquer, powder coat epoxy and polyurethane).
Half of my graduate units were in metallurgy. Race car parts
I designed and used tended to be just strong enough. Designing parts with
almost no safety factor that may kill you if they fail tends to make you a
very careful engineer.
I have owned and/or used standard machine tools such as a lathe,
mill, drills, surface grinder, disk grinder, die grinder, band saw, punch,
brake (hand, box and power), acetylene torch, electric welding, various
soldering irons (solder pot and electric (down to 15w)) etc..
I have experience with plating including copper, nickel, cadmium,
chrome, zinc, electroless nickel, sulphuric anodize (water and acrylic seal),
and stainless passivation. I have had parts plated with decorative chrome.
ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONIC
I have designed various electrical equipment (amplifiers, switching
circuits, logic) with voltages ranging from 10's of micro volts to 120 ac
volt line. I have designed equipment with TTL, LSTTL, ALS and CMOS
logic. I have designed various low noise and/or high-speed analog
circuitry using op-amps (both bipolar and FET) and comparators, as well as
individual transistors (bipolar and FET), resistors, capacitors, etc..
I have used high power electrical equipment to generate high
temperature plasmas (argon at about 6,000 degrees F).
I have worked on a variety of cases involving damage to commercial
computers, boards, cages, memory and power supplies as well as cases involving
embedded computer systems (analyzers, IV pumps, ultrasound, telephone
switching, vehicular control, etc.).
This experience has proven very useful as industrial machine control
systems have changed from banks of relays to computers (PLC's or single
board). Most consumer products now contain microprocessors with ROM, RAM
and/or FLASH memory containing software that may have bugs, or the computers
may not be adequately protected from the consumer, commercial or industrial
environments.
One modern "field service" technique is simply downloading new firmware.
GAS SYSTEMS AND LIQUID FUEL EXPERIENCE
I have personal use, research, and/or case, experience with gasses
including hydrogen, helium, methane, propane, butane, acetylene, argon,
nitrogen, air, nitrous oxide, methyl bromide, carbon monoxide, chlorine,
ammonia and various Freons, as well as various liquid fuels such as methyl,
ethyl, and isopropyl alcohol, isooctane, hexane, nitromethane, toluene,
gasoline, diesel fuels and kerosene, and miscellaneous other hydrocarbons
such as oils (petroleum based, castor, whale, and synthetic), acetone, MEK,
etc..
I have experience with several chlorinated solvents.
MEDICAL
Based of my experience with gas dynamics, electronics, materials, and
mechanisms in general, I have been fortunate to work on a number of
interesting cases involving heart pumps, perfusion disposables, large
automatic blood analyzers, respirators, transportable respirators, anesthesia
machines, infant incubators, IV pumps and certain prosthetic devices, as well
as various hospital general patient and physical plant equipment.
OVERSEEING EXPERT
I have worked as a "consulting/overseeing expert" on complex
cases with several engineering/scientific experts.
I have helped attorneys coordinate the activities of mechanical
engineers, civil engineers, chemists, chemical engineers, electrical
engineers, metallurgists, and vehicular accident reconstructionists.
SOFTWARE
We have two computer software experts available who have each spent
over 30 years writing realtime and commercial code in various languages using
several operating systems on a variety of hardware platforms.
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