RICHARD J. SCHREIBER, P.E.
Mechanical Engineer

SPECIALIZED PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE

EQUIPMENT

INDUSTRIES

RECENT WORK

Failure Analysis –Mechanical and electro-mechanical equipment, including appliances, industrial boilers, materials handling, padlocks, float valves, pumps, sealing methods, pressure regulators, food machinery, milling machinery, chillers, paper machines, oven doors, truck tire rims, cooling water piping, ammonia cylinders, feed mills, hydro plants, airport transportation, insulation, milk homogenizer, water tanks, and welding equipment.

Thermal Systems Instrumentation and Testing – Testing and evaluation of the thermal performance of water heaters, residential furnaces, ammonia chillers, and windows.

Fire and Explosion Accident Investigation – Evaluation of failures of equipment, devices and appliances that cause accidents, injuries, fires, and explosions. Including gas furnaces, heaters, ranges, water heaters, water tanks, deep fat fryers, copper smelters, industrial boilers, pump seals, refineries, forklifts, air filter units, tanks, vessels, and oil wells.

Accident Reconstruction – Evaluation of accidents involving machinery breakdowns, personal injuries, building explosions, chemical process plants, machine guarding, rocket fuel chemical storage magazines, buried gas pipelines and the underground migration of combustible gas.

Earlier Work

Earlier work in combustion research and development included flame propagation and stabilization, flame modifications to reduce emissions, and optimized burner/heat exchanger systems. In the area of energy systems engineering, experience has included pilot-scale coal-fired utility boiler design, testing burners for advanced fired-heaters for oil refineries, high-efficiency residential and commercial furnaces, unit heaters and water heaters, fuel piping and delivery systems, and engineering and economic analyses for fossil utility boilers. In the fields of applied heat transfer and fluid mechanics, experience has included the
evaluation and design of high-efficiency heat exchangers for industrial aluminum melters and residential and commercial furnaces and appliances.

EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

• M.S. (Mechanical Engineering), University of California, Irvine (1973)
• B.S. (Mechanical Engineering), University of California, Irvine (1972)
• Registered Professional Engineer, Mechanical, California No. M20112, Montana
  No. 16640, Nevada No. 014786
• Office of the California State Fire Marshall, State Fire Training, Investigation 1B
  Techniques of Fire Investigation.
• Mechanical Seal Maintenance Training Seminar, 32-hour course, John Crane Co.
• BATC Refinery Process Safety Orientation.
• Investigation of Gas and Electric Appliance Fires, 16-hour Course, Fire Findings
  Laboratories.

Member:

• American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
• National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI)
• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
• American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers
  (ASHRAE)

SELECTED REPORTS, PUBLICATIONS, AND INVITED LECTURES

Lesiuk, J., R.J. Schreiber, Origin and Cause Evaluation of a Hydrogen Explosion in a Lube Oil Tank at TVA Widows Creek 8, APTECH Report Number AES 08016716-24-1 (February 2008).

Paterson, S.R., M.T. Cronin, R.J. Schreiber, J.G. Burton, S. Porter, D.E. Hubbard, B. Dooley, Root Cause Evaluation of Corrosion Fatigue of Waterwall Tubes in Drum Boilers, Presented at the EPRI Boiler Tube Failure Conference, Calgary, Canada (October 2007).

Fractured Water Filter Housing and Flood, APTECH Report AES 07086595-4-1 (October 2007).

Freezing of a Fire Sprinkler System in Cold Storage Plant, APTECH Report AES 07086573-4-1 (October 2007).

Water Piping Failure and House Flood, APTECH Report AES 07066507-4-1 (September 2007).

Cold Storage Warehouse Refrigeration System Malfunction, APTECH Report AES 07086571-4-1 (September 2007).

Evaluation of Fire-related Damage to Sheet Metal Products, APTECH Report AES 07086565-4-1 (August 2007).

Pump Piping Connection Failure and Flood, APTECH Report AES 07066528-4-1 (July 2007).

Piping Dismantling Joint Failure and Flood, APTECH Report AES 07036422-4-1 (June 2007).

Evaluation of Vandalism Damage to Commercial Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Equipment, APTECH Report AES 07036428-4-1 (April 2007).

Cooling Water Valve Failure and Damage to a Silicon Ingot Grower, APTECH Report AES 07036408-4-1 (April 2007).

Failure of a PVC Pipe Joint and Flood, APTECH Report AES 07026393-4-1 (March 2007).

All-Terrain Vehicle Rollover, APTECH Report AES 06096265-4-1 (September 2006).

Delayed Ignition Explosion in a Package Firetube Boiler, APTECH Report AES 06086246-4-1 (August 2006).

Fire in a Rice Farm Tractor, APTECH Report AES 06066192-4-1 (August 2006).

Fire in a Clothes Dryer, APTECH Report AES 05115981-4-1 (July 2006).

Textile Card Machine Failures, APTECH Report AES 06026080-4-1 (May 2006).

Tractor Trailer Hitch Failure and Accident, APTECH Report AES 06036104-4-1 (March 2006).

Role of a Bench-top Centrifuge in a Laboratory Fire, APTECH Report AES 06026084-4-1 (March 2006).

Fire in an Air Compressor, APTECH Report AES 06026074-4-1 (February 2006).

Fire in a Road Striping Truck, APTECH Report AES 06016053-4-1 (February 2006).

Compressor Failure, APTECH Report AES 05085889-4-1 (December 2005).

Resin Mixing Loss, APTECH Report AES 05105957-4-1 (December 2005).

Failure of Sink Tubing Connection and Flood, APTECH Report AES 05075856-4-1 (July 2005).

Spurious Sprinkler Head Activation Incident, APTECH Report AES 05045764-4-1 (June 2005).

Resin Mixing Kettle Damage, APTECH Report AES 05015629-4-1 (February 2005).

Failure of a Compression Coupling and Flood, APTECH Report AES 04105557-4-1 (February 2005).

Failure of Osmosis Machine Tubing and Flood, APTECH Report AES 04125604-4-1 (January 2005).

Tubing Connection Failure and Flood, APTECH Report AES 04105559-4-1 (December 2004).

Residence Fire Caused by Power Company Dropping Neutral Cable, APTECH Report AES 04095527-4-1 (November 2004).

Underground Electrical Cable Failure at Water Pumping Plant, APTECH Report AES 04065443-4-1 (July 2004).

Spurious Sprinkler Head Activation Incident, APTECH Report AES 04055409-4-1 (May 2004).

Examination and Testing of a Propane Gas Grill, APTECH Report AES 03115228-4-1 (December 2003).

Bacterial Contamination in a Milk Processing Machine, APTECH Report AES 03095179-4-1 (October 2003).

Tubing Connection Failure and Flood, APTECH Report AES 03095174-4-1 (October 2003).

Investigation of Turbine Blade Failures, with R. Moser, APTECH Report AES 03065098-4-1 (August 2003).

Residential Water Heater Relief Valve Failure, APTECH Report AES 03055075-4-1 (July 2003).

Ammonia Coil Connection Failure in a Table Grape Storage Warehouse, APTECH Report AES 02114911-4-1 (December 2002).

Turbine Overspeed and Generator Gear Slippage Incident, with M. Cronin, APTECH Report AES 02064794-4-3 (November 2002).

Examination and Testing of Gas Supply Components for a Hydronic Boiler, APTECH Report AES 02064786-4-1 (September 2002).

Protocol for Metallurgical Examination of Row 12 Steam Turbine Blades - Rosebud Power Plant - Colstrip, Montana, with E. Sullivan, APTECH Report AES 02064794-4-1 (August 2002).

Refrigerator Fire, APTECH Report AES 02044723-4-1 (June 2002).

Failure of Internal Coating on a Concrete Water Tank, APTECH Report AES 02034687-4-1
(May 2002).

Fire in a Health Salon, APTECH Report AES 02044718-4-1 (April 2002).

Explosion of a Spent Sulfuric Acid Tank at the Motiva Refinery, Delaware City, Delaware, July 17, 2001, APTECH Report AES 01084463-4-1 (April 2002).

Padlock Malfunction, APTECH Report AES 02014600-4-1 (January 2002).

Failure of a Water Well Screen, APTECH Report AES 01094500-4-1 (October 2001).

Fire in a San Francisco Apartment Building, APTECH Report AES 01084480-4-1 (August 2001).

Fiberoptic Transfer Take Up Machine Accident, APTECH Report AES 01034335-4-1 (May 2001).

Failure and Melting of a Generator Stator, Unit 3 Main Generator, Orion Power Midwest v. MD&A, et al., APTECH Report AES 01024303-24-1 (March 2001).

Serial Malfunctions of an Indoor Swimming Pool Dehumidifier, APTECH Report AES 01014270-4-1 (February 2001).

Mobile Home Water Heater Fire, APTECH Report AES 99093792-4-1 (August 2000).

Emergency Electrical Generator Bearings Failure, APTECH Report AES 00033939-4-1 (March 2000).

Explosion in a Portable Hot Mix Asphalt Plant (June 21, 1997), APTECH Report AES 99113846-4-1 (February 2000).

Delayed Ignition Explosion in a Gas-fired Utility Boiler, Pacific Gas & Electric Company Hunter’s Point Power Plant Unit 4, Boiler 7, with K. Hara, S. Paterson, S. Nelson, APTECH Report AES 99073749-4-1B (January 2000).

Propane Migration and Explosion in the Humberto Vidal Building, San Juan, Puerto Rico, with K. Clark and A. Parra, APTECH Report AES 97073121-4-4 (March 1999).

Underground Gas Migration Test at the Site of the Explosion in Humberto Vidal Building San Juan, Puerto Rico, with K. Clark, APTECH Report AES 97073121-4-4 (January 1999).

Water Tank Explosion from Infiltration of Natural Gas, Hawthorne, California, APTECH Report AES 98103546-4-1 (December 1998).

Testing of a Cleaning Fluid Container Involved in a Welding Accident, APTECH Report AES 98093501-4-1 (September 1998).

Failure of a Float Valve in a Water Storage Tank, APTECH Report AES 98083464-4-1 (August 1998).

Fire in an Air-Over-Oil Accumulator Tank, with E. Sullivan, APTECH Report AES 98023324-4-1 (July 1998).

Fire in a Bagel Oven, APTECH Report AES 97083147-4-1 (January 1998).

Electrical Cable Failure, APTECH Report AES 97063094-4-1 (July 1997).

Explosion in Portable Refinery Chiller, APTECH Report AES 97063088-4-1 (June 1997).

Examination and Testing of Gas-Fired Wall Furnace, APTECH Report AES 97032999-4-1 (June 1997).

Residential Electric Fireplaces--Review of the State-of-the-Art, EPRI Final Report TR-108013 (April 1997).

Potential Origins of Fugitive Natural Gas that Fueled a Building Explosion in San Francisco, with K. Clark, APTECH Report AES 94062217-4-1 (October 1996).

Estimating the Total Cost of Cycling Operations at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Haynes Generating Station Unit 5, Presented at the EPRI Fossil Plant Maintenance Conference, Baltimore, Maryland, with S. Lefton (July 1996).

Estimating the Total Cost of Cycling to Optimize Power Plant Costs, Life and Reliability, Presented at the ASME Pressure Vessel and Piping Conference, Montreal, Canada, with S. Lefton (July 1996).

Estimating the Total Cost of Cycling a Fossil Power Plant, EPRI Final Report (December 1995).

Electric Motor Failure, with P. Wheeler, APTECH Report AES 95102571-4-1 (December 1995).

Electrical Service Cable Failure, Community College, with P. Wheeler, APTECH Report AES 94112332-4-1 (December 1994).

Electrical Service Cable Failure Regional Medical Center, with P. Wheeler, APTECH Report AES 94082281-4-2 (December 1994).

Cycling Cost Assessment Project, Presented at the 1994 EPRI Fossil Plant Cycling Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana (October 1994).

Poultry Feed Machinery Accident, APTECH Report AES 94042162-4-1 (May 1994).

Evaluation of Patent and Systems for Semiconductor Fluid Filtering and Dispensing, with K. Clark, APTECH Report AES 94042160-4-1 (May 1994).

Failure of Poultry Chiller, with J. Bratspies, APTECH Report AES 93081992-4-1 (January 1994).

Assessment of Residential Fireplaces, APTECH Report AES 93031888-5 (May 1993).

Assessment of Residential Ultrasonic Dishwashers, EPRI Final Report RP 2597-34 (December 1992).

End-Use Technologies Desk Book, EPRI RP 2034-35, Multimedia Software Product (December 1992).

Federal Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Products, EPRI RP2934-38 (October 1991).

Residential Electric Radiant Heating (Electric Power Research Institute), APTECH Report AES 89111159-6-2 (February 1991).

Electrical Shock Caused By Modular Electrical Distribution Equipment, APTECH Report AES 90041232-4-1 (April 1990).

Fire-Damaged Residential Cooking Range, APTECH Report AES 90031208-4-1 (March 1990).

Assessment of Residential Microwave Dryer, APTECH Report AES 89081092-5-1, Rev. 1, EPRI Final Report RP 2034-35 (February 1990).

Fire Caused by a Gas-Fired Floor Furnace, APTECH Report AES 89101139-4-1 (October 1989).

Assessment of Line Voltage Thermostats, APTECH Report AES 8901994-2-1, Rev. 1, EPRI Final Report RP 2034-29 (July 1989).

Metal Milling Machine Accident, with S. Nelson, C. Perry, APTECH Report AES 89041047-4-1 (April 1989).

Effect of Rerating Five Illinois Power Company Fossil Power Plants, with S. Lefton (June 1988).

Advanced Refinery Process Heater, 14th Energy Technology Conference and Exposition, Washington, D.C. (with A. Minden) (April 1987).

Catalytic Radiant Tube, 1986 International Gas Research Conference, Toronto, Canada (with J. Lannutti) (September 1986).

Advanced Burner Development Program, First Workshop for the GRI Center for Advanced Materials, Pennsylvania State University (May 1986).

Catalytic Radiant Tube for Industrial Process Heating Applications, 1986 Symposium on Industrial Combustion Technologies, Chicago, Illinois (with J. Lannutti) (April 1986).

Radiant Burners for Application in a Gas Fired Immersed Ceramic Tube Aluminum Melting Furnace, Babcock & Wilcox Company, Alzeta Report 85-712-121 (November 1985).

Cost Effectiveness of Radiant Burners to Reduce NOX Emissions From Three Chevron/El Segundo Refinery Heaters, Chevron USA, Inc., Alzeta Report 85-711-118 (October 1985).

An Engineering Feasibility Study of Retrofitting a Refinery Heater with Radiant Burners, ESSO Petroleum Canada, Alzeta Report 84-611-109 (August 1984).

Industrial Applications of the Radiant Ceramic Fiber Burner, 1983 International Gas Research Conference, London, England (June 1983).

Infrared and Catalytic Burner Technology Assessment, Gas Research Institute, Report GRI-80/0019, with J. Kesselring and W. Krill (February 1981).

Economic Study of Coal-Oil Mixture Light-Off Fuel for the Cumberland Steam Plant, Tennessee Valley Authority, Second International Symposium on Coal-Oil Mixture Combustion, Danvers, Massachusetts (November 1979).

Environmental Control Technologies for a Northern California Coal-Fired Power Plant, Acurex, Final Report 79-325, California Energy Commission (June 1979).

Refinery Heater Screening Study, Environmental Protection Agency, Report EPA-450/3-79-007, with S. Ayraud (March 1979).

Feasibility Study of SOX Removal by Dry Limestone Based Sorbents, Electric Power Research Institute, Project 982-2, Final Report (May 1977).

Evaluation of Molten Scrubbing for Fine Particulate Control, Environmental Protection Technology Series, Report EPA-600/1-77-067, with G. Poe (March 1977).