Professional Experience

Resume

Seaspan Shipyards

Coastal Pacific Crane and Hoist Engineering LTD.

GrandPipe Manufacturing Inc.,

Professional experience in IRAN

Farassan Group / Farabard Factory Manager, Shiraz, Iran 2007 – 2010

Executive Manager 2004 – 2007

Mechanical Engineer – Fan Department (Oil and Gas Industry)

Seaspan Shipyards

Vancouver Shipyards 2020 - Present

Specialist II, Structural

Provides structural design support by preparing calculation packages to ensure compliance with Seaspan's standard design requirements. Develops material specifications and bills of material in accordance with Seaspan's material standards.
Performs foundation design using first-principle calculations, engineering hand calculations, and 2D beam analysis software (Multiframe). Applies structural design principles in ship applications, considering static and dynamic forces, lifting and turning, docking, and undocking operations.
Conducts structural analysis using first-principle calculations and finite element methodologies (Femap, SolidWorks) to evaluate and optimize designs. Performs structural reviews and prepares detailed design drawings for shipyard projects.
Designs heavy lift and transport solutions for all shipyard programs, including bracing, jigs, workstations, lift points, and lift and transport arrangements. Provides technical advice on structural issues that arise during shipbuilding and maintenance processes.
Checks material definition and ensures configuration control through functional, production, and built baselines. Supports shipyard operations by delivering efficient and structurally sound lifting and turning solutions.

Coastal Pacific Crane and Hoist Engineering LTD.

Surrey, BC 2015 - 2020

Designed heavy-duty industrial cranes, including single girder, double girder, jib, and gantry cranes, with spans up to 100 feet and capacities up to 120 tons, following CMAA standards.
Designed industrial hoists, including under-running, top-running, and foot-mounted hoists, with capacities up to 120 tons.
Applied CAN/CSA-S16-01 standards to design columns and runways for crane installations.
Utilized SolidWorks FEA stress analysis, engineering hand calculations, and simulation methods to design critical components, optimize product configurations, and ensure structural safety.
Performed SolidWorks dynamic motion analysis to calculate dynamic loads, collision forces, and reaction forces.
Developed complete engineering documentation packages, including shop drawings, GD&T, BOMs, and assembly sequences, using SolidWorks and the NTS Apollo ERP system.
Used ERP (NTS Apollo) to define items and BOMs, generate work orders, track items and drawings, and manage purchase orders and inquiries.
Evaluated customer requirements (POs and bids) and prepared general arrangement drawings.
Researched and selected gearboxes, motors, and standard components in coordination with manufacturers.
Detailed custom modifications of standard equipment and designed specialized components for unique applications.
Assisted management in production scheduling and purchasing job-related components.
Implemented dozens of new assembly and manufacturing solutions to improve efficiency.
Managed multiple projects simultaneously by establishing goals, schedules, and timelines using Microsoft Project.
Administered and implemented SolidWorks PDM to streamline design and data management.

Gantry Crane , FEA Stress Analysis

Gantry Crane 3D CAD Model

Jib Crane

GrandPipe Manufacturing Inc.,

Vancouver, BC 2011 – November 2014

Management

Managed several design projects at any given time by establishing goals, plan, schedule and timelines
Conducted meetings with engineering departments at municipalities in greater Vancouver area to introduce fiberglass pipe and find new markets
Prepared technical presentation for meetings at engineering department of municipalities and several pipe contractors In BC
Applied for CSA Standard for new products

Engineering

Prepared engineering detail drawings, assembly, explode view drawings, and shop drawings
Used FEA analysis & simulation methods to design parts and 3D assembly models
Used Motion Analysis for accurately simulating and analyzing the effects of motion elements of an assembly
Selected proper gearmotor, gearbox and electrical motor for machine design projects
Designing 3D assembly models of products using SolidWorks
Utilized GD&T and tolerance analysis/stack-up in SolidWorks to analyze the final assembly and develop drawing packages, assemblies and BOMs
Designed drive systems using chain drives, belt drives, gear reducers, drive shafts and stainless steel drive shafts (long spacer-type flexible couplings)

Main projects

Collaborated with the engineering team and the R&D department to design one of the world’s largest hydrostatic pressure test machine for fiberglass pipes of up to 4000mm in pipe diameter
Worked closely with manufacturing staff to design an isolated sound room for grinding machine to reduce noise pollution from 120dB to 80dB by simplifying an equation to identify the thickness of wall resulting in improved factory safety
Designed heavy mobile steel structures (up to 30 tons) which tolerate large dynamic loads (up to 2500 tons) and used FEA methods to reduce weight by 25% thus lowering costs
Designed feeding unit to improve the production line for hydrostatic test machine which reduced manual labor to one person resulting in increased test speed and reduced pipe damage and costs
Improved lifting unit to prevent oil leakage by replacing hydraulic jack to jack screws(for lifting) and rack and pinion (for horizontal moving)
Designed a new flexible length drive shaft

Designed the largest hydrostatic pressure test machine for fiberglass pipes of up to 4000mm in pipe diameter and 15m in pipe length:

Used SolidWorks to design more than 300 parts and managed the large assembly
Designed heavy mobile steel structures (up to 30 tons) which tolerate large dynamic loads (up to 2500 tons) and used FEA methods to reduce weight by %25 thus lowering costs
Designed specific flexible length drive shafts to easily and accurately install drive system
Designed racks and pinions, chain drives, and gears for the hydrostatic test machine
Designed specific jigs and fixtures to weld and install parts accurately on the production site
Completed hand calculations, documentation packages and shop drawing sets, exploded and assembly view drawings, part list, Bill of Material, and assembly sequence
Selected appropriate gearbox , gearmotor, standard parts and hydraulic jack through coordination with various manufacturers
Utilized GD&T and tolerance analysis/stack-up in SolidWorks to analyze the final assembly

Professional experience in IRAN

Awards and Achievements

Designed the world’s largest hydro-test for GRP pipes for Alkas Company in Turkey, 2010
Commendation Certificate for “Outstanding Industrial & Exporting Unit ” issued by Organization of Industries and Mines of Fars Provicne, 2010
2 special tokens of appreciation for outstanding annual performance from the General Manager and Board Members of Farassan Industrial Group and Farabard Company, 2006 & 2010
7 Commendation Plaques for outstanding successful experiences (33 experiences) in Farassan Industrial Group, 2006 – 2010
3 tokens of appreciation for good annual performance from the General Manager of Farassan Industrial Group and Farabard company, 2001, 2004 & 2005
Commendation Certificate for “Outstanding Working Group of Fars Province” issued by Labor and Social Affairs Organization of Fars Province, 2003
Ranked 1st in National Machining Competition (Universal Lathe Machine), Certificate of Achievement from Education Organization of Fars Province, 1990

Projects

Contributed significantly to the establishment of Farabard Industrial Factory, oversaw the manufacturing floor and monitored various stages of production and production techniques, developed and executed efficient plans to meet production targets
Designed and supervised the production of 4 Hydrotest machines that are used to carry out hydrostatic tests on GRP and steel pipes. The last Hydrotest designed in 2010 was the largest in the world.
Design consultation and supervision of the production of 4 GRP pipe manufacturing machines (CNC continuous Filament Winder)
Designed a new Auto Variable Hub for air cooler fans which changes blade angle while the fan is operating.
Designed long spacer-type flexible couplings that are used in cooling towers to transmit power from the motor to the gear box. Possible maximum pipe bend was determined using ANSYS software.
Created a big Universal Lathe Machine which can perform machining in a 4 meter diameter. This machine was created by applying certain changes to an old Universal Lathe Machine.
Designed and supervised the production of 2 grinder machines to make slots in GRP pipe couplings. The main shaft of the spindle drive was 1100mm in length, 100mm in diameter and 3000 RPM.
Designed and supervised the production of 5 grinder machines for GRP pipe chamfering.
Designed and manufactured a fully pneumatic sand conveying system (Dilute Phase) with its additional devices including vibrator, bag filter, and cyclone separator.
Designed a new pneumatic feeder in Dilute Phase pneumatic conveying systems.
Designed and supervised the production of several hydraulic presses.

Designed and supervised the production of 6 Hydrotest machines that are used to carry out hydrostatic tests on GRP and steel pipes. The last Hydrotest designed in 2010 was the largest in the world.

Contributed significantly to the establishment of Farabard Industrial Factory, oversaw the training of employees in the use of new equipment and production techniques, developed and executed efficient plans to meet production targets, corresponded directly and effectively with clients and customers.

Design consultation and supervision of the production of several GRP pipe manufacturing machines (CNC continuous Filament Winder)

Designed a new Auto Variable Hub for air cooler fans which changes blade angle while the fan is operating.

Designed long spacer-type flexible couplings that are used in cooling towers to transmit power from the motor to the gear box. Possible maximum pipe bend was determined using ANSYS software.

Created a big Universal Lathe Machine which can perform machining in a 4 meter diameter. This machine was created by applying certain changes to an old Universal Lathe Machine.

Designed and supervised the production of 2 grinder machines to make slots in GRP pipe couplings. The main shaft of the spindle drive was 1100mm in length, 100mm in diameter and 3000 RPM.

Designed and manufactured a fully pneumatic sand conveying system (Dilute Phase) with its additional devices including vibrator, bag filter, and cyclone separator.

Designed and supervised the production of several hydraulic presses.

Farassan Group / Farabard Factory Manager, Shiraz, Iran 2007 – 2010

Executive Manager 2004 – 2007

The following were implemented during my time as manager of Farabard Factory in collaboration with my engineering team

Supervised a 60-member team to manufacture several CNC continuous filament winder machines and all their accessories, including saw, calibration and chamfering, angle cutting, coupling milling and packaging all machines to export them to South Korea and Turkey; successfully completed projects on time
Contributed significantly to the establishment of Farabard Industrial Factory
Oversaw the training of employees in the use of new equipment and production techniques
Developed and executed efficient plans to meet production targets
Corresponded directly and effectively with clients and customers
Oversaw the manufacturing floor and monitored various stages of production
Worked closely with manufacturing staff to identify and resolve issues
Created Farabard’s organizational chart
Created a job evaluation system for Farabard employees
Improved the means of managing Farabard personnel through a new system of Management by Objective (MBO)
Implementation of a quality management system according to the ISO 9001-2008
Prepared job descriptions for all factory personnel
Assessed the capabilities of all Farabard staff and personnel in three levels of self-assessment, assessment by direct supervision and indirect supervision
Provided a time sheet system for manufacturing personnel for the purpose of evaluating working hours and estimating project costs
Found out the roots of “NOT-OK” in Production line and decreased 25% of “NOT-OK” after two months
Decreased production costs by starting an Internal Factor System
Systematized planning and project management through the use of MSP (Microsoft Project)
Evaluated working times of workstations and designed corrective action toward its improvement

Farabard Factory in 2007

Farabard factory in 2010 , When I left the Factory

Farabard Factory 2010 - When I left the factory

Farabard Factory

In 2006, the management committee members decided to establish a professional Machine Factory to design and produce Hubs, FRP Fans, and GRP Pipe Production Lines.

After 6 months of constant search, I found a 10,000 square meters land with a 1,000 square meters building in Gouyom, which is a small town near Shiraz.

Only ten employees worked in my team when the CEO bought the place. We moved in the cold season without having proper facilities. There was lots of work needed to be done and we had to overcome many problems.

The first problem was a huge 2000 tons hydraulic press which was located inside the building of the Factory. We helped the previous owner to move this giant press out of the factory.

The second step was to order a 10 tons overhead crane. We had to move all machine shops section by section in the workshop to prepare a solid foundation for the floor.

The next step was hiring new professional machinists, technicians, and welders. We also needed to buy new machine shoes and equipment. I traveled to North of Iran where there are machine producing factories to buy new or used machines.

My team and I worked very hard to create a professional Machine Factory. After three years we accomplished the followings:

Creating jobs by hiring about 100 employees from local and nearby cities
Constructing another 1,000 square meters workshop with 600 square meters side rooms for new machines, storage and facilities,
Constructing a 400 square meters building for painting and sandblasting,
Constructing a 400 square meters building for FRP Fan production,
Constructing a 600 square meters office area,
Creating the Organizational Chart,
Creating a job evaluation system for employees,
Moving towards obtaining the Quality Management System (ISO 9001-2008),
Preparing job description for employees,
We were awarded the “Outstanding Industrial and Exporting Unit” in 2009 by Iran Ministry of Industries and Mines.

Mechanical Engineer – Fan Department (Oil and Gas Industry)

Farassan (Farabard) - Shiraz, Iran 2000 – 2004

Designed numerous industrial fans up to 40 feet and drive shafts for various industrial complexes, refinery plants , petrochemical plants, and oil and gas projects
Used reverse engineering method to design and manufacture fiberglass fans and specific industrial parts for the Oil and Gas Industry
Reduced the unbalanced mass of drive shaft from 400 grams to 20 grams by changing the production method, resulting in improved quality of dynamic balancing
Used fan performance curves and fluid dynamic hand calculations to improve the efficiency of air cooler and cooling tower fans in the summer by 5% and reduce their power consumption in the winter by calculating the best angle of fan blades
Performed considerable improvements on the original design of various industrial fans and hubs based on feedback from end users; improved customer satisfaction by 20%
Used Motion Analysis Software (Working Model) to solve the main problem of an Automatic Variable Pitch fan and designed a 50% lighter fan resulting in easier installation and energy saving
Used CAD tools (AutoCAD and Inventor) to design three dimensional assembly models of products and create shop drawings

Drive Shaft

Long spacer-type flexible couplings are used on cooling tower applications to transmit power from the motor to the gear box and accommodate the misalignment that takes place between these two shafts during operation. These long spacer couplings require unique design and manufacturing considerations to assure proper operation on these applications. The center spacers are usually fabricated of tubular construction to minimize weight on the connected shafts and provide adequate lateral rigidity.

Designed long spacer-type flexible couplings that are used in cooling towers to transmit power from the motor to the gear box. Possible maximum pipe bend was determined using ANSYS software.

Reduced the unbalanced mass of drive shaft from 400 grams to 20 grams by changing the production method, resulting in improved quality of dynamic balancing
Used FEA stress analysis to determine the max allowable deformation in a long spacer-type flexible couplings driveshaft

About 400 g balance weight

20 g balance weight

Max deformation

Fig 1

Fig 2

Fig 3

Fig 4

Fig 5

Fig 6

Fig 7

Fig 8

Fig 9

Fig 10

Design and Manufacturing an Auto-Variable pitch hub for air-cooled heat exchangers

B.Torabi1, B.Gharesi Fard2

Abstract

This paper presents the design and manufacturing of an automatic hub for air-cooled heat exchangers, in presented model air pressure is used to maintain the desired blade’s angle. New AV (auto-variable) hub piston-cylinder or diaphragm actuating system has not been used as in pervious works. The actuating rods are in tension instead of compression in other usual automatic hubs, so buckling will not occur in rods. Furthermore new AV hubs permits easy, fast and time consuming procedure for changing blade’s angle with out running air-cooled heat exchanger out of work.

Introduction

Air would seem the best choice for coolant, instead of water, because of the fact it is around us in unlimited quantities. In our country most of petroleum and chemical industries use air-cooled units on a large scale. The successful performance of the air-cooled units encouraged engineers to consider the use of air coolant, and several works have done to have higher performance in air-cooled units. An air cooled unit consists of there basic parts; tube bundle, the structure and the mechanical drive system as shown in Fig (1). Mechanical drive system is made up of fans, transmission and drivers. The most common fan-blade materials is aluminum, but in presented work, fiberglass reinforced plastic is considered. V-belts or gear can be used as transmission parts with electrical motor as driver, but V-belts are most popular. Fan speed is set by using a proper combination of sprocket or sheave sizes with timing belts or V-belts, and by selecting a proper reduction ratio with gears. Fig (2) provided a breakdown of the mechanical equipment. Two different categories of hubs can be fitted to fan shafts, fixed and automatic pitch types; the second has several advantages, for example in temperature control. In fixed hubs as shown in Fig (3) changing fans pitch require reinstalling system. As we know, air temperature in comparison with water is subjected to greater and more rapid fluctuation, particularly as a result of sun and showers and variations in weather. Several methods can be used to control temperature in air-cooled heat exchangers. By pass, Louvers, motor control and variable-pitch fans are some of usual methods. The last is considered in this paper. In most common variable-pitch fan models the pitch of each fan may be altered manually to suit the prevailing operating conditions. In new AV hub, air pressure is used to change blade’s angle and operator only push a switch to have desired blade’s angle. Previous models as shown in Fig (5) used diaphragm and piston cylinder, so hub lubrication with synthetic lubricants should be done at least every year; it needs reassembly of the apparatus and so cause damage. In new model simple service procedure and avoiding possibility of errors during disassembly, reassembly and start up was considered in design of different parts.

Selecting fan pitch angle

1. Positive pitch (thick edge of blade down) is usually determined from specifications of heat exchanger. That is related to hot air temperature on induced draft units or ambient air temperature for forced draft units. Usually draft pitch angle will be exceeded in order to use all available motor amperage.

2. Negative pitch, is normally set to attain minimum ‘zero’ air flow. This will be about minus 13o for induced draft units or minus 8o for forced draft units. If full reverse flow is desired, the negative pitch setting will be usually -30o to -35o.

Automatic Hub modeling

As mentioned before new AV hub changes blades pitch with changing air pressure in an air-spring. Air-spring is designed by assuming the required pressure to rotate blades.This will force the top plate to move. Then the connecting rods transform the up-down plate’s motion to cause rotation in blades housing.Auto variable hub consists of 6 main parts as shown in Fig (4).

1. Steel structure

Hub structure is constructed from materials selected to fight corrosion to insure many years of service. Plates are made from ST37 and then epoxies.CK45 has been used for bushes and GGG45 for bearing’s housing.MO40 and hot dip galvanize steel is used and finishes carefully where needed.Then hub is fitted to fan shafts using a standard tapered bushing and place into the clamps. This structure can be used for other types of blades only with changing clamps.

2. Taper bearing, housing and bushes

Taper bearings are designed after obtaining drag and lift forces in blades from their drag and lift curves. Then by considering induced centrifugal forces, appropriate SKF taper bearings with reliability 0.9994 and safety factor 2.31 selected.

3. An air-spring to pressurize the moving plate

Air-spring is the main part in rotating procedure. This instrument consists of a tube part and two caps as shown in Fig (6) and should maintain the required force for moving top plate and also it should be appropriate vibration isolator and maintain the required stroke. The instrument has been provided from a German company; it is from WBE 400 series and can handle internal pressure up to 10 bars.

4. Springs

The function of the spring is to overcome the pressure instrument which tries to feather the blade. The designed spring has 1 mm space between coils in compression mode and 8 effective coils. Because of the distinguish pressure lines available in different petroleum industries the instrument should be able to adjust with line pressure. This can be achieved in new model, since its spring permitted to be changed easily if needed. This spring is shown in Fig (7).

5. Connecting rods and joints.

As mentioned before one of the advantages of new AV model is that rods should maintain tension instead of compression force, so no buckling will occur in rods. Connecting rods and their joints designed manually and by Ansys software to ensure the required safety factor.

6. Central Tapered Bush

This part of instrument’s duty as shown in Fig (8) is to connect hub with transmission part. Because of taper shape of this bush its installation is easy and no heat processing is required.

Results

The assembled model performance has been tested in working model 3D software. It is shown in Fig (10). Clamp rotation is plotted against time in Fig (9) and it shows that the apparatus can rotate the blades up to 44 degrees and the practical experiments on the instrument verify this results. This project’s primary design and research takes 4 months and about 6 months for manufacturing different parts, assembly and providing air-spring device. New Instrument has been tested in Bandar Amam petroleum industry and shows great performance.

Conclusions

A new automatic hub for variable-pitch fans presented here. New model has several advantages in comparison with its similar models, like easy and clean mounting and lighter weight.

In the design point of view using tension mechanism instead of compression ones used in other models, permitted higher safety. No diaphragm and piston cylinder mechanism used so the offered mechanism is cost consuming and has simple inspection and service procedure.

We believe that this mechanism is suitable for automatic temperature control approach, because it works with pressure, so fully automatic air-cooled heat exchanger may be achieved by using these AV hubs.

References

1. Heat exchangers ‘Selection, Design and construction’, E.A.D Sanders.

2. Heat exchanger Design, M.Kahrom, 1370.

3. Hudson Company, Hub and Fan Standards.

Material handling

Designed and supervised the manufacture of belt conveyors, pneumatic chutes, and mechanical conveying equipment
Designed fully pneumatic sand conveying system (Dilute-Phase) with its additional devices including rotary valve, vibrator, bag filter, and cyclone separator
Designed a new pneumatic feeder in Dilute-Phase of pneumatic conveying systems

Designed a new pneumatic feeder in Dilute-Phase of pneumatic conveying systems

Designed and supervised the manufacture of belt conveyors

Designed fully pneumatic sand conveying system (Dilute-Phase) with its additional devices including rotary valve, vibrator, bag filter, and cyclone separator

Rotary valve and feeding unit

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