Airflow Sciences Corporation
Encyclopedia
Airflow Sciences Corporation (ASC) is an engineering
consulting
company based in Livonia, Michigan
that specializes in the solution of industrial fluid flow problems. While it is particularly known for work in Power generation, its customers come from many industries across a wide geographical regions, and problems are solved using a variety of engineering techniques. Thus, the company is best defined by the type of problems solved, rather than by traditional industry or consultant categories.
s with backgrounds in the aerospace
industry. They quickly realized that the knowledge they had gained working on projects such as the Apollo program moon rockets could be used to advance a wide variety of industries. Joining with Robert Nelson they soon changed the name of the company to Airflow Sciences Corporation to more closely reflect the services offered.
In 1994 ASC was purchased by Ricardo plc
, an automotive consulting firm based in Shoreham-by-Sea
, England. This arrangement proved less than satisfying to both sides, so, after two years, management repurchased the company. Since then, ASC has continued to expand its client base and diversify the tools it has on hand to solve a variety of industrial fluid flow problems.
, eliminating flow induced vibrations, or ensuring uniform flow through an equipment that processes elements of the flow (e.g., pollution reduction equipment such as a catalyst or an electrostatic precipitator
). Since fluid flow carries energy
, heat transfer
problems such as improving thermal mixing or heating/cooling characteristics are often solved. Similarly, ASC undertakes many problems involving the pneumatic transport of particulate. The chemical reactions in a flowing gas or liquid are also the subject of ASC studies. Methods used to solve these problems include: Numerical simulation (including Computational fluid dynamics
), Wind tunnel
testing, Laboratory modeling (including Scale models
), and Field testing
.
Customers include Fortune 1000
companies, such as Ford Motor Company
, Duke Energy
,
Norfolk Southern
, Kellogg
, Southern Company
, Goodyear
, and hundreds more.
While primarily serving the U.S. Market, the company has worked for firms in other countries in North
and South America
, Europe
, and Asia
.
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
consulting
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
company based in Livonia, Michigan
Livonia, Michigan
Livonia is a city in the northwest part of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Livonia is a very large suburb with an array of traditional neighborhoods connected to the metropolitan area by freeways. The population was 96,942 at the 2010 census, making it Michigan's 9th largest...
that specializes in the solution of industrial fluid flow problems. While it is particularly known for work in Power generation, its customers come from many industries across a wide geographical regions, and problems are solved using a variety of engineering techniques. Thus, the company is best defined by the type of problems solved, rather than by traditional industry or consultant categories.
History
The company was formed as Business Aircraft Consulting Services in 1975 by Robert Gielow and James Paul, two Professional EngineerProfessional Engineer
Regulation of the engineering profession is established by various jurisdictions of the world to protect the safety, well-being and other interests of the general public, and to define the licensure process through which an engineer becomes authorized to provide professional services to the...
s with backgrounds in the aerospace
Aerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
industry. They quickly realized that the knowledge they had gained working on projects such as the Apollo program moon rockets could be used to advance a wide variety of industries. Joining with Robert Nelson they soon changed the name of the company to Airflow Sciences Corporation to more closely reflect the services offered.
In 1994 ASC was purchased by Ricardo plc
Ricardo plc
Ricardo plc is a British publicly listed company named after its founder, Sir Harry Ricardo and founded on 30 June 1927 in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex. The company is a leading global multi-industry engineering provider of technology, product innovation and strategic consulting...
, an automotive consulting firm based in Shoreham-by-Sea
Shoreham-by-Sea
Shoreham-by-Sea is a small town, port and seaside resort in West Sussex, England. Shoreham-by-Sea railway station is located less than a mile from the town centre and London Gatwick Airport is away...
, England. This arrangement proved less than satisfying to both sides, so, after two years, management repurchased the company. Since then, ASC has continued to expand its client base and diversify the tools it has on hand to solve a variety of industrial fluid flow problems.
Problems Solved by ASC
ASC works with its customer's internal engineers to solve problems involving the flow of fluids (gases or liquids) in or around a wide variety of equipment or goods. Some problems include simply the flow itself. These include such things as reducing pressure dropPressure drop
Pressure drop is a term used to describe the decrease in pressure from one point in a pipe or tube to another point downstream. "Pressure drop" is the result of frictional forces on the fluid as it flows through the tube. The frictional forces are caused by a resistance to flow. The main...
, eliminating flow induced vibrations, or ensuring uniform flow through an equipment that processes elements of the flow (e.g., pollution reduction equipment such as a catalyst or an electrostatic precipitator
Electrostatic precipitator
An electrostatic precipitator , or electrostatic air cleaner is a particulate collection device that removes particles from a flowing gas using the force of an induced electrostatic charge...
). Since fluid flow carries energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
, heat transfer
Heat transfer
Heat transfer is a discipline of thermal engineering that concerns the exchange of thermal energy from one physical system to another. Heat transfer is classified into various mechanisms, such as heat conduction, convection, thermal radiation, and phase-change transfer...
problems such as improving thermal mixing or heating/cooling characteristics are often solved. Similarly, ASC undertakes many problems involving the pneumatic transport of particulate. The chemical reactions in a flowing gas or liquid are also the subject of ASC studies. Methods used to solve these problems include: Numerical simulation (including Computational fluid dynamics
Computational fluid dynamics
Computational fluid dynamics, usually abbreviated as CFD, is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical methods and algorithms to solve and analyze problems that involve fluid flows. Computers are used to perform the calculations required to simulate the interaction of liquids and gases with...
), Wind tunnel
Wind tunnel
A wind tunnel is a research tool used in aerodynamic research to study the effects of air moving past solid objects.-Theory of operation:Wind tunnels were first proposed as a means of studying vehicles in free flight...
testing, Laboratory modeling (including Scale models
Scale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
), and Field testing
Flow measurement
Flow measurement is the quantification of bulk fluid movement. Flow can be measured in a variety of ways.Positive-displacement flow meters acumulate a fixed volume of fluid and then count the number of times the volume is filled to measure flow...
.
Customer Base
ASC customers include manufacturing and processing firms from a wide variety of industries, including:- Power generationElectricity generationElectricity generation is the process of generating electric energy from other forms of energy.The fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered during the 1820s and early 1830s by the British scientist Michael Faraday...
- Food processingFood processingFood processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans or animals either in the home or by the food processing industry...
- Manufacturing (especially involving Heat TreatmentHeat TreatmentSecond album by rock and roll singer-songwriter Graham Parker. A close follow-up to the debut album, Howlin' Wind, Heat Treatment was well received by critics and contains signature Parker songs like the rollicking title track, "Pourin' It All Out", and "Fool's Gold"...
) - Home appliancesMajor applianceA major appliance, or domestic appliance, is usually defined as a large machine which accomplishes some routine housekeeping task, which includes purposes such as cooking, or food preservation, whether in a household, institutional, commercial or industrial setting...
- Portland cementPortland cementPortland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world because it is a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco and most non-specialty grout...
and Chemical industryChemical industryThe chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, it converts raw materials into more than 70,000 different products.-Products:... - Pulp and paper industryPulp and paper industryThe global pulp and paper industry is dominated by North American , northern European and East Asian countries...
- Sports teams (BobsleighBobsleighBobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of two or four make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sled that are combined to calculate the final score....
, Bicycling) and Sports equipmentSports equipmentSports equipment is a general term for any object used for sport or exercise. Examples of sports equipment include:-Exercise equipment:Examples for exercise include swiss balls, weights, equipment for the gym...
manufacturers - SteelSteelSteel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
Producers - Automotive industryAutomotive industryThe automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....
and Auto racingAuto racingAuto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
companies - Class I railroadClass I railroadA Class I railroad in the United States and Mexico, or a Class I rail carrier in Canada, is a large freight railroad company, as classified based on operating revenue.Smaller railroads are classified as Class II and Class III...
s and RailcarRailcarA railcar, in British English and Australian English, is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach , with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railways, e.g., the Great Western...
companies - BiotechnologyBiotechnologyBiotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
firms
Customers include Fortune 1000
Fortune 1000
Fortune 1000 is a reference to a list maintained by the American business magazine Fortune. The list is of the 1000 largest American companies, ranked on revenues alone...
companies, such as Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
, Duke Energy
Duke Energy
Duke Energy , headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is an energy company with assets in the United States, Canada and Latin America.-Overview:...
,
Norfolk Southern
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
, Kellogg
Kellogg Company
Kellogg Company , is a producer of cereal and convenience foods, including cookies, crackers, toaster pastries, cereal bars, fruit-flavored snacks, frozen waffles, and vegetarian foods...
, Southern Company
Southern Company
Southern Company is a public utility holding company of primarily electric utilities in the southern United States. It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with executive offices also located in Birmingham, Alabama. The company is currently the 16th largest utility company in the world and the...
, Goodyear
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover machinery....
, and hundreds more.
While primarily serving the U.S. Market, the company has worked for firms in other countries in North
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
.