TEServices Experience

With Senior Level technical expertise in Turbomachinery Refurbishment, Hans van Esch is a metallurgical authority. His career at Hickham Industries and Elbar (both now part of Sulzer Turbo Services), and Chromalloy, coupled with his Bachelor Degrees in Chemical Engineering and Business Administration, have enhanced a long career in process development for gas turbine repairs. Specialty repair process knowledge includes heat treatment, HIPping, chemical cleaning and stripping, inspection, welding, high temperature brazing and coating.

• International Turbomachinery R&D Repair Projects
• Complete Gas Turbine overhaul and repair expertise including Component repair
• Metallurgical Inspection, Evaluation and Failure Analysis
• Trouble shooting and repair development
• Engineering and Production Staff Training
• Engineering Division Management
• Turbine Repair Production, Production Control and ISO 9001 Quality Implementation
• Sales, Marketing and Business development including creating business plans and SWO

Hans is a member of ASM, ASME and AWS, and has been active as session chair, member of several sub-commissions, wrote and presented papers and training sessions:

Manufacturing Materials & Metallurgical Committee
American Society for Metals (ASM)
ASM Thermal Spray Society
ASM Heat Treat Society
American Welding Society
Former member of I.I.W. sub-commission 1A brazing group

Hans is active in supporting EPRI with creating repair guidelines (Westinghouse 501 and GE MS7001 conventional and advanced components including fuel nozzles), technical reports (high temperature brazing and flow testing), international workshops (F-class and Frame 9FA) and component assessments (Frame 7FA 1st stage buckets extension).
Hans has been awarded with Turbine Component Manufacturing and Repair patents:

US 6,331,361 B1 Methods for manufacture and repair and resulting components with directionally solidified or single crystal materials

US 6,3575,349 B2 Method of applying braze materials to a substrate

WORK EXPERIENCE:

TEServices, Houston            2002 - current

In 2002, Hans van Esch founded TEServices by taking over the vendor verification from Natole Turbine Enterprises, (NTE). Hans further developed the vendor verification with a 6 step program, see Combined Cycle Article. In early 2003, he added metallurgical evaluations, lifetime assessment and extension, failure analysis and training to the TEServices program. Hans is presenting on yearly basis to GTUS, CTOTF and other end-users' groups, see Publications.

Hickham Industries (Sulzer Turbo Services Houston)        1994 - 2002

Component Repair Division Manager. Led the ISO 9001 qualification team with component division certification within 6 months and later, the HICoat, Hickham coating facility. Motivated engineering group to improve repair processes and develop new repair scopes. Trained and educated Hickham engineering and hand-on staff. Established clear functional procedures. Increased sales and profit margins while expanding into new markets. Started the HICoat Coatings Division for Hickham. Developed MCrALY High Velocity Oxygen Fuel (HVOF) and smooth Thermal Barrier Coating Air Plasma Sprayed (TBC). This division introduced air-sprayed compressor applications. Supported EPRI with creation of repair specifications for W501D and F and Frame 7EA and F components. Led cross department projects, including complete overhaul of Alstom GT10.Provided domestic and international technical and commercial sales support.

Turbine Support Europa (Chromalloy), the Netherlands     1990 - 1993

Repaired CF6-6/50/80, CFM 56, JT 8/9D and PW 4000 gas turbine components. Successfully introduced and integrated Laser Drilling, Low Pressure Plasma Spray, Robotic Thermal Spray and Electron Beam Welding Technology. Responsible for engineering and metallurgical laboratory. Investigated and resolved quality, process and production problems. Supervised production teams of 150 members.

Hickham - Elbar, Houston (Sulzer Turbo Services)                1986 - 1989

Technical transfer and quality control of Hickham-Elbar joint venture which repaired industrial gas turbine components. Metallurgical evaluation of all hot section components including turbine blade life assessment and heat treatment specifications. Introduced chemical stripping, vacuum and admospheric heat treament at Hickham-Elbar. Developed repair scopes for all gas turbine components. Responsible for production, inspection and engineering.

Elbar (Sulzer) and Xycarb, Interturbine, the Netherlands       1982 - 1986

Chemical Vapor Deposition coating processes for Siliconcarbide application on graphite semiconductor products at Xycarb. Engineering and production with metallurgical evaluation. Developed new repair processes. Led specialty processes. Improved Elbar Fluor cleaning (Daytone process) and high temperature brazing processes. Developed HICoat C4 and C7. This coating enhanced the efficiency of the compressor, while protecting the components against wet corrosion. Collaborated with Hispano Suiza (France) and H.I.P. (England) to improve HIP parameters for nickelbase-superalloys such as IN 738LC (Cost 501/NL6). Led the Cost 501/NL7 Project which improved diesel engine exhaust valves. Used hardface plating, thermal spraying and cobalt or nickel-base superalloy welding techniques.

EDUCATION

Financial Management 1992

Hogeschool West-Brabant, Breda, The Netherlands

Business Administration (Bachelor Degree) 1985/86 - 1990/91

Hogeschool Eindhoven, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Chemical Engineering (Bachelor Degree) 1978 - 1982

I.H.B.O. De Maere, Enschede, The Netherlands

Kyle Feagin

IGT Engineer / Metallurgist

Kyle Feagin was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on December 8, 1976 and moved to Houston, Texas in 1984. Except for a couple years studying in California, he has been in Houston ever since. Growing up, his focus was mainly on music and sports. He went to the University of Southern California in 1995 after graduating from Clear Lake High School in Houston. At USC, he double majored in Music Recording and Studio Guitar, but after a couple of years in music school, he became more interested in the physical fundamentals of music and decided to switch to Physics. After studying physics for two years at the University of Houston, he took a break from school and played music professionally for many years. Kyle also raced and worked on automobiles during that time, where he found that he had mechanical talents that complemented his love of math and physics.

In 2006, he returned to school and studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Houston and started working in the engineering department at Advanced Combustion Technology, an industrial gas turbine repair facility. Here he worked as the metallurgist from March 2008 until June 2010. At ACT, his duties included; performing metallurgical evaluations, setting up a metallurgical lab, being head of NDT inspection as an ASNT level II PT inspector, training of NDT inspection personnel, metrological inspection, vacuum furnace operation, vacuum furnace build-up and start-up, reverse engineering, computer aided drafting for engineering and repair forms, machining on lathes, mills, and large VBM s, Quality Assurance, weld and welder qualifications per ASME section IX, coating and vendor qualifications, and composition of repair specifications and procedures.
Kyle started working at TEServices in August 2010 and is currently performing the daily assessments and evaluations in our metallurgical lab, reverse engineering, composing specifications and procedures, setting up equipment, and vendor verification.

Fred is active at TEServices since March, 2004 as IGT (Industrial Gas Turbine) Inspector, see News. Fred performs vendor verification of the repair and overhaul facilities mostly in the Houston area. He follows the overhaul, stripping, repair and coating process, and verifies the quality records and NDT and dimensional inspection performed. Fred has more than 15 years of experience in inspecting gas turbine components at Hickham Industries (Sulzer Turbo Services Houston). As chief inspector, no parts left their component or coating division without the inspection and review of Fred.

WORK EXPERIENCE:

TEServices, Houston, TX                Since 2004

IGT Inspector

Hickham Industries (Sulzer Turbo Services Houston)                 1986 to 2002 (retired)

Chief Inspector component and coating division and guided 3 inspectors. Performed daily incoming, work in process, and final inspections on repairs and coating of IGT components. Responsible for heat treatments and materials used in repairs. Checked all components visually and all quality related paperwork prior to release of shipment.

Reeves Construction Enterprises, Bellaire, Texas                         1985 to 1986

Fabricating and Quality Assurance Manager monitored performance of supervisors and production schedules. Addressed problems in production, inspection and painting of components to maintain timetable.

Armco Steel, Houston                                                                       1970 to 1984

Utility Inspector - NDT Technician. Ultrasonic and Magnetic Particle inspection of steel plates, billets, drill collars and large diameter pipe.

Gulf Service Station   Houston, Texas                                              1968 to 1970

Co-owner and Mechanic

Graduated Stephan F. Austin High School in the year 1955-Houston

ASNT Certified Level 2 in Liquid Penetrant (PT), Magnetic Particle (MT), Ultrasonic (UT) and visual Inspection.

Charles (Chuck) Knowles

Chuck worked as the quality team leader at GE, Cincinnati where he was responsible for incoming inspections, liaison between vendors and GE quality assurance team when quality issues occurred. He checked parts to drawings using various measurement gauges such as verniers, all micrometers, calipers and comparator, verified raw materials using spectrometer, durometer, Brinel and Rockwell hardness testers, and performed NDT (PT and MT certified).
Since 2005, Chuck supports TEServices with quality verification in Northeast USA. Chuck performs incoming work and progress and final inspection on all IGT components such as rotors, liners, fuel nozzles, TP's, bucket, blades, nozzle and vane segments. Chuck is further active by volunteering at the GE Elfon Society Computer Lab Center which refurbished old computers and donates them to schools and charities.

Peter Schreurs retired in 2007 and has been active at TEServices since 2009 as European IGT (Industrial Gas Turbine) Inspector based in the Netherlands.
Peter has multiple degrees in Thermal Dynamics, Combustion Engines and Business Administration and spent his career as an entrepreneur, who successfully initiated needs for new, high-tech developments in the industrial market. He has Senior Level technical expertise in Turbomachinery Refurbishment.
He started his career in 1975 at Elbar (Sulzer Turbo Services Venlo), as one of the key ambassadors for new, revolutionary repair techniques, such as vacuum brazing, diffusion bonding, HIPing, hydrogen and Fluor Carbon Cleaning, different types of diffusion and thermal spray coatings and nickel-base superalloy welding techniques on buckets and turbine blades. Some of Peters involvements include:

• First weldrepairs on 1st stage inconel GE Turbine blades with the blessing and protection of the Allianz Insurance Company, in München, Germany (Dr. Leopold).
• First HIPing of 1st stage turbine blades (Siemens) at H.I.P. Sheffield, England together with Dr. Bernie A. Rickinson
• First thermal spraying trials on stationary turbine parts of Aramco, with Zirconium Oxide (Ytrium stabilized) at Plasma Technik, Wohlen, Switzerland (now also part of Sulzer) with Dr.Sc.Ing. Marcel Ch. Villat

At Elbar, Peter became responsible for the manufacturing of new parts, from GE Transition Pieces to Pratt & Whitney 1st stage turbine blades and complete production lines for the reverse engineering, developing and manufacturing of hot section replacement parts.
In the later part of his career, Peter was hired by Hauzer Techno Coating in the Netherlands, for the development and marketing of another new high tech application including equipment. The so called life time decorative and functional PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) and CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) and DLC (Diamond Like) coatings. In this part of the market Peter was responsible for introducing a new generation of life time coatings on all the of Moen, Kohler, Sterling, American Standard, Black & Decker, Kwikset, and Price Pfister bath and kitchen faucets.