A Forensic Engineering Consultancy, specialising in expert witness assignments in failure analysis of materials & mechanical components. James has many years of forensic experience working in industry. He also lectured in fracture & metallurgical failure analysis in academia for over two decades before setting up Dwan Forensic Engineering. James is a member of the Forensic Engineering Group in Dept Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering in Trinity College Dublin. Assignments include the provision of expert witness reports for legal & insurance professionals as well as personal injuries litigation purposes. Assignments have included aerospace components, pressure vessels, marine applications, pharmaceutical autoclaves, mechanical components & welded structures. Other material investigated include polymeric & building materials. Laboratory testing facilities are available for materials & metallurgical analysis including optical & SEM microscopy. Mechanical property assessment of materials & stress analysis of mechanical components are also covered.

Research & Forensics Engineering Consultant specialising in Materials Failure Analysis. Has carried out Failure Analysis in numerous engineering components, ranging from jet engine hot section parts, e.g. blade & vanes; automobile engine components & general engineering materials. Research includes diamond impregnated materials, & bioengineering materials & components.

Lectured materials engineering, manufacturing processes at various levels of mechanical & manufacturing engineering, ranging from technician, ordinary degree to honours degree up to master's degree in research. Lectured also in bioengineering and supervised bioengineering projects. failure analysis at honours degree level. Fracture & failure along with mechanical properties of materials played a strong element in his research projects & lectures. Research interests cover diamond impregnated metal matrix materials as used in diamond tools, fracture mechanics & fatigue, wear of metals & heat treatment of metals & alloys. Other interests include Bioengineering Materials & Fracture related aspects of implants. Published over 30 papers in the diamond tools research area. Presented at numerous international conferences & seminars.

A multinational diamond tool company, conducted & managed R & D work on different projects & competitor analyses. Developed new metal matrices for substitution of cobalt due to high cost & environmental issues. Liaised with senior personnel in group companies abroad regarding projects & technology transfer. Deputised as General Manager for Technical Centre. Monitored developments & seek opportunities in diamond products that the facility serves, liaising closely with operating companies to understand their needs. Kept abreast of relevant technologies, generated new project ideas. Formulated plans for new projects & executed them. Acted in an advisory capacity to Group companies on all technical matters ranging from the Constructional/Industrial to Mining Diamond products manufacture.Conducted competitor analyses of diamond products and report to the business. Actively involved in new equipment products which were important for the mining of an effective R&D centre. Carried out failure analysis on components.

Successfully managed technical process team in major diamond synthesis production line. Designed the high temperature & high pressure process synthesis profiles. Researched & introduced new developments in diamond synthesis using state-of-the-art technologies. Liaised with senior management & process engineering personnel in USA. Awarded GE Management Award for exceptional engineering development of analysis of diamond ‘run’s previously unknown. Awarded GE Cost Improvement for materials substitution in diamond synthesis. Lead & supported many projects for quality improvement. Optimization & development of Metal Bonded Sawing (MBS) diamond by increasing yield & quality of existing processes & the development of new processes & the development of new processes, work methods & materials by the application of ‘state of the art’ technologies to the business.I initiated a development project which radically changed Process Control methods & gave a deeper insight into diamond synthesis. Supervised engineering technician, assign duties, troubleshoot existing processes on-going basis, report key variables to the business. Responsible for providing technical support to the business, regarding all aspects of metallurgical and materials engineering for the processes & local sourcing of components. Provided technical training to all personnel working closely with the processes. Managed all the MBS diamond synthesis processes which included process control engineering, maintenance of databases for the optimization of the processes & reporting key variables to the business, Was responsible for the management of a committed process control technician group. Also the provision of technical support to other areas of the business, the initiation & development of new processes & other aspects of diamond pressing.

Directly involved in design & development of ESA Next-Generation Ariane 5 Main Cryogenic Engine HM60 Vulcain design components. Materials Selection, Stress Analysis & Design Reviews, Reliability & Design Quality. Participated in design reviews in SEP Main Engine Contractor in France. Directly involved in the design & development of the cryogenic/high temperature engine supports with the following responsibilities: Overall Quality plan, developing the necessary quality procedures, the reliability (RAMS) plan & Failure Mode Effects & Criticality (FEMCA) analysis. Responsible for establishing the materials selection programmes specifying the material types & the appropriate manufacturing processes to be used. Developed materials specifications for the use-in-house. Carried out classical stress analysis evaluation on the components. My responsibilities also included the participation in Design Reviews & managing with other ESA partners in France.

Successfully managed metallurgical lab and responsible for all materials aspects for the re-manufacturing of Hot Section Jet Engines including: heat treating, weld repairs, high temperature coating process, Ni & Cr Plating processes & Over-Temperature microanalysis. Also sub-contracting heat treating & weld repairs. Participated in the successful establishment of Pratt-Witney Aircraft (PWA) 252 aluminide coating process & totally in its effective control. Established metallurgical laboratory services microstructural analysis including over-temperature analysis, wet chemical analysis, nickel & chrome plating & Selective Plating. Quality & process control procedures for satisfaction to CAA, FAA & Pratt & Whitney Jet Engine Specifications. Supervised ‘work-experience’ technician in metallurgical lab. Acquired licence from Local Authority & established chemical waste disposal procedures. Managed & trained new technicians in metallurgical laboratory environment. Following extensive investigation of chemical analysis procedure, totally changed Wet-Chemical analysis to AA method for accurate assay of chemical constituents of high temperature coating process.

Marine Engineering Cadet, 4 years, included academic & Experience at Sea on Coasters & Deep Sea Foreign Shipping assignments. From Years 1979 to 1980 Cadet CaptainFirst three years academic training in Nautical College CIT Cork & coaster vessels with final year training on ‘Deep Sea’ Foreign-Going Vessels. Promoted to Cadet Captain for last two years of cadetship ('79 - '80). Besides B Eng Marine engineering, successfully achieved as extra-curricular work, passed Junior (DOE 1979) & Senior (DOE 1980) Trades exams, hands-on experience totalling 1,000 hours, including welding, marine engineering, practice & electrical practice. Re coaster vessels, carried out engine room watch at sea, various duties & reported to the chief engineer. Re Deep-Sea gained valuable experience as cadet at-sea in Heavy Engineering working on 30,000 DWT Bulk Carrier carrying out various duties, assisting in engine room surveys, major main engine repairs, piping systems.