Bill Davies, Ph.D., P.E., CFEI - Managing Engineer - Thermal Sciences

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Academic Credentials

Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2019
M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2016
B.A., Physics, Bates College, 2008

Licenses & Certifications

Professional Engineer Mechanical, California, #40299
40-Hour Hazardous Waste Operation and Emergency Response Certification (HAZWOPER)
Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI)

Professional Affiliations

ASTM International
- Metrology subcommittee member (E11.50)
National Fire Protection Association
National Association of Fire Investigators
Society of Petroleum Engineers
- SPE NYNE board member

Dr. Davies is a licensed professional mechanical engineer who specializes in solving failure analysis and design problems related to fluid flow and heat transfer. He has expertise in two-phase flow, industrial heat exchangers, and pipeline systems for liquids and gases.

Dr. Davies has designed and built experimental systems for the analysis of consumer electronics, utility piping, and power-plant components. His project experience includes the investigations of fires and explosions, pipeline failures, HVAC systems, consumer products, and power plants. He also has modeled natural gas systems using the Synergi Gas software. In addition, Dr. Davies has experience in the upstream oil and gas industry as a wireline field engineer.

Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Davies was a research assistant in the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Center (ACRC) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). His work focused on reducing water use in energy generation. He designed and built experimental facilities to analyze air-cooled condensers for power plants. The facilities included diabatic and adiabatic visualization of two-phase flow, as well as measurements of heat transfer, pressure drop and two-phase void fraction. He also designed and built an anemometer calibration facility.

Prior to graduate school, Dr. Davies was a General Field Engineer for Schlumberger Wireline. As a General Field Engineer, he led crews in acquiring petrophysical well and geotechnical reservoir data on both land and offshore rigs in Mexico and New Zealand. He designed and led data-acquisition operations using seismic, pressure-testing, coring, and other well-testing equipment. He was certified and led operations with radiation and explosives for international clients.

Dr. Davies' additional experience includes analysis of water hammer using the AFT Impulse software, analysis of flow-induced vibration in both single- and multi-phase flows, analysis of automotive radiators, analysis of injection wells, pressure testing, analysis of plate heat exchangers, and analysis and testing of kitchen blenders.

Davies III, William A; Hrnjak, P. Heat transfer and flow regimes during counter-flow steam condensation in flattened-tube air-cooled condensers. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020; 147: 118930.
Davies III, William A; Hrnjak, P. A correlation for heat transfer coefficient during stratified steam condensation in large flattened tubes with variable inclination and wall temperature. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020; 146: 118666.
Davies III, William A; Hrnjak, P. Local heat transfer coefficient during stratified flow in large, flattened-tube steam condensers with non-uniform heat flux and wall temperature. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020; 146: 118854.
Davies III, William A; Hrnjak, P. Effects of Airflow Profile and Condensation Pressure on Performance of Air-Cooled Condensers. Heat Transfer Engineering, 2019; 1-13.
Davies III, William A; Hrnjak, P. Heat transfer in a large, inclined, flattened-tube steam condenser. Heat Transfer Engineering, 2019; 41.
Abadi, S.M.A.N.R; Davies, William A; Hrnjak, P; Meyer, J.P. Numerical study of steam condensation inside a long inclined flattened channel. Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, 2019; 134:450-467.
Davies III, William A; Hrnjak, P. Thermo-hydraulic model for steam condensation in a large, inclined flattened-tube air-cooled condenser. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2019; 149:745-756.
Davies III, William A; Kang, Y; Hrnjak, P; Jacobi, A.M. Effect of inclination on heat transfer and flow regimes in large flattened-tube steam condensers. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2019; 148:722-733.
Davies III, William A; Kang, Y; Hrnjak, P; Jacobi, A.M. Heat transfer and flow regimes in large flattened-tube steam condensers. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2019; 148:722-733.
Davies III, W A; Kang, Y; Hrnjak, P; Jacobi, A M. Method for evaluating the effect of inclination on the performance of large flattened-tube steam condensers. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2018; 138:934-941.
Kang, Y; Davies III, W A; Hrnjak, P; Jacobi, A M. Effect of inclination on pressure drop and flow regimes in large flattened-tube steam condensers. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2017; 123:498-513.
Presentations
Davies W. Performance Comparison Between Co-current and Counter-flow ACC Tubes. Air Cooled Condenser Users Group Conference. October 12-14, 2021.
Morse TL, Wolf MI, Davies WA. Residential Fuel Gas Explosions. Oakland County Association of Arson and Fire Investigators, Inc. OCAAFII Quarterly Training. November 2020.
Davies W, M Wolf, M Barry, S O'Hern, T Morse. The Effect of Valve Closure Time on Water Hammer. Proceedings of the ASME 2021 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (IMECE2021), November 1-5, 2021.
Davies W, E Wikramanayake, M Wolf, A Hudgins. Transient Effects of Injecting Green Hydrogen into Natural Gas Pipelines. AIChE 10th International Congress on Sustainability Science & Engineering (ICOSSE2021), September 13-15, 2021.
Davies, William A; Hrnjak, P. Pressure drop in large flattened-tube steam condensers. Paper presented at the 25th IIR International Congress of Refrigeration. Montreal, Canada, Aug 2019.
Davies, William A; Hrnjak, P. Steam condensation heat transfer coefficient in large, flattened-tube steam condensers. Paper presented at the 25th IIR International Congress of Refrigeration. Montreal, Canada, Aug 2019.
Davies, William A; Hrnjak, P. Thermo-hydraulic model for steam condensation in a large, inclined, flattened-tube air-cooled condenser. Paper presented at Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Conference. Purdue, Indiana, Jul 2018
Davies, William A; Hrnjak, P. Effects of Airflow Direction, Air Velocity Profile, and Condensation Pressure on the Performance of Air-Cooled Condensers. Paper presented at Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Conference. Purdue, Indiana, Jul 2018.
Davies, William A; Kang, Y; Hrnjak, P; Jacobi, A M. Effect of Inclination on Heat Transfer in Large Flattened-Tube Steam Condensers. Paper presented at ASME 2017 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition. Tampa, Florida, Nov 2017.
Davies, William A. Effect of California's Carbon Cap-and-Trade Policy on Home Design. Poster presented at the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment Congress. Urbana, Illinois, Sep 2017.
Davies, William A; Hrnjak, P; Jacobi, A M. Advanced Air-Cooled Condensers with Vortex-Generator Arrays Between Fins. Presented at NSF-EPRI Power Plant Dry Cooling Science and Technology Innovation Program Annual Review Meeting. Palo Alto, California, May 2017
Davies, William A; Kang, Y; Hrnjak, P; Jacobi, A M. Heat Transfer and Visualization in Large Flattened-Tube Condensers with Variable Inclination. Paper presented at Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Conference. Purdue, Indiana, Jul 2016.

Bill Davies

Publications

Peer Reviews

Prior Experiences