Kelly of Electrostatic Answers

Preventing Industrial Fires Ignited by Static Sparks
Kelly Robinson, PE, PhD
Electrostatic Answers 

Electrostatic discharges have likely caused fires and explosions since the late 1800’s as water and steam power transformed industrial and agricultural operations from hand production to mechanized production. After a review of ignition criteria, we will watch videos of three recent fires ignited by static electricity (Verla Cosmetics International 2017, Brazil Paint factory 2018, Gasoline Filling Station fire 2021). After viewing each incident, we will review common mitigations and best practices for preventing electrostatic ignitions of industrial fires

Biography:

Kelly Robinson founded Electrostatic Answers, an engineering consulting company dedicated to eliminating injury and waste from static electricity. He chairs the NFPA Static Electricity Committee and is an IEEE Life Fellow. He was named the 2023 Top Manufacturing Consulting Services Provider by Managing MFG Magazine and recognized as the 2023 Rochester (NY) Engineer of the Year by the Rochester Engineering Society. 

After receiving the PhD in electrical engineering from Colorado State University, he pursued a 25-year career at the Eastman Kodak Company before founding Electrostatic Answers. Dr. Robinson is a Professional Engineer (NYS), an inventor with 16 US patents, writes on static electricity for Paper, Film and Foil Converter (PFFC) magazine, serves on the Journal of Electrostatics Editorial Board, and is the Rochester Engineering Society 2nd Vice President. He has served as IEEE Rochester (NY) Section Chair, IEEE-IAS Electrostatic Processes Committee Chair, and Electrostatics Society of America President.

Email:

Address:Fairport, New York, United States, 14450

Isaac of National Grid

Damage Assessment of the Grid After a Storm
and the Future of Predictive Outage Modeling

Isaac Southwell, National Grid

 A resilient distribution system capable of withstanding major events can help keep the lights on when critical services need it the most. When outages do happen, how can teams within a utility (or educated public) help identify and locate the problem? This presentation will discuss key PSC reliability and resiliency metrics, electrical fault location on Delta and Wye systems, and advances in FLISR and distribution management systems that decrease restoration times.

Biography:

Isaac Southwell is a graduate of RIT and has been a distribution engineer at National Grid since 2024. Approaching his job from a Computer Engineering background has enabled process optimization for teams in Western New York. Outside of work, Isaac prefers to spend time with friends or go backpacking. He is currently enrolled in the Masters of Electrical Engineering program at Clarkson University.

Email:

Address:Rochester, New York, United States

Kelly of Electrostatic Answers

Electrostatic Fundamentals of Spray Coating and Air Filtration

Kelly Robinson, PE, PhD
Electrostatic Answers

Air filters (electrostatic precipitators) and spray coating are two commercially important, industrial applications of electrostatics. Electrostatic filters work by charging airborne particles. We will see how charging airborne particles depends both on ion flow and the electric field. Spray coating with charged droplets improves both the coating uniformity and deposition efficiency. Having more charge on droplets is better. After looking at three different charging methods, we will see that the maximum charge on a droplet depends on the droplet size and liquid surface tension.

Biography:

Kelly Robinson founded Electrostatic Answers, an engineering consulting company dedicated to eliminating injury and waste from static electricity. He chairs the NFPA Static Electricity Committee and is an IEEE Life Fellow. He was named the 2023 Top Manufacturing Consulting Services Provider by Managing MFG Magazine and recognized as the 2023 Rochester (NY) Engineer of the Year by the Rochester Engineering Society. 

After receiving the PhD in electrical engineering from Colorado State University, he pursued a 25-year career at the Eastman Kodak Company before founding Electrostatic Answers. Dr. Robinson is a Professional Engineer (NYS), an inventor with 16 US patents, writes on static electricity for Paper, Film and Foil Converter (PFFC) magazine, serves on the Journal of Electrostatics Editorial Board, and is the Rochester Engineering Society 2nd Vice President. He has served as IEEE Rochester (NY) Section Chair, IEEE-IAS Electrostatic Processes Committee Chair, and Electrostatics Society of America President.

Email:

Address:Fairport, New York, United States, 14450