Increased Flow Equipment Testing Spawns New Group at Alden

Fluid Systems Performance Group Created, Director Named

Alden Research Laboratory, Inc. (Alden) of Holden, Mass., has announced that it has added the Fluid System Performance (FSP) Group to its list of engineering service teams, and has named Ludwig Haber, Ph.D. as the group's director. The group will be focused on assessing the performance of industrial fluid flow equipment, as well as associated analysis, design and product development.

To date, Alden has had four groups charged with managing projects in the following areas: Hydraulic Modeling and Consulting (in Holden, Mass. and Redmond, Wash.), Flow Meter Calibration, Environmental and Engineering Services, and Gas Flow Systems Engineering. The Hydraulic Modeling and Consulting Group's work in supporting flow equipment testing, particularly for nuclear power plants, has grown substantially in recent years, to the point that it made sense to spawn a new group with a dedicated Director and staff who could focus on these clients, in particular. This new group will continue to work closely with the Hydraulic Modeling and Consulting group, which has a Civil Engineering hydraulics focus.

Major recent work of the FSP group has dealt with resolving Generic Safety Issue-191 for Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs) in the United States and assessing in-vessel downstream effects for Boiling Water Reactors. The work involves Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) strainer performance evaluation including: integrated chemical effects testing, development of predictive models for fibrous bypass, implementation and refinement of head-loss testing protocols.Other recent work includes qualification of a pulsation dampener for the Reactor Cooling System make-up at a PWR and root-cause evaluation and suppression of pressure oscillations in a feed-water system.

The growth of the business in fluid equipment testing is largely owed to the leadership of Dr. Ludwig Haber and a strong technical support team of engineers and technicians. Dr. Haber received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from Virginia Tech. Before coming to Alden, he worked on turbomachinery performance and aeroacoustics for General Electric's Global Research Center. His first years at Alden were in support of computational and scaled physical models for both gas and liquid flows. Eight years ago, he was put in charge of ECCS strainer performance testing. Under his tutelage, Alden's revenue and reputation associated with testing and analysis of other fluid systems for nuclear power plants grew, as well.

"Adding the FSP group allows us to refine our focus on executing experimental and analytical studies that assess and optimize fluid systems," remarked Stuart Cain, Ph.D., Alden President. "When this path became clear, there was no question that Ludwig Haber would lead the group, given the direct connection with his leadership and our success in this area."

"We continue to see Fluid Systems Performance analysis, testing and product development as key to our business strategy," said David Schowalter, Ph.D., Director of Business Development. "The investment in talented staff as well as capital equipment that we have made in recent yearswill allow us to meet an ever widening range of needs of the commercial nuclear industry as well as other industries in which performance and safety are a priority."