Airflow Sciences Corporation
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.
History
The company was formed as Business Aircraft Consulting Services in 1975 by Robert Gielow and James Paul, two Professional Engineers 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.
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 drop, 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.
Customer Base
ASC customers include manufacturing and processing firms from a wide variety of industries, including:
- Power generation
- Food processing
- Manufacturing (especially involving heat treatment)
- Home appliances
- Portland cement and chemical industry
- Pulp and paper industry
- Sports teams (bobsleigh, bicycling) and sports equipment manufacturers
- Steel producers
- Automotive industry and auto racing companies
- Class I railroads and railcar companies
- Biotechnology firms
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.