George Rawls
Proven Experience
Mr. George Rawls has over 38 years of experience designing, analyzing, and testing systems, structures, and components, including extensive experience in the seismic qualification of structures, systems, and components. He has demonstrated technical leadership in designing and developing unique components and systems for chemical and nuclear processing. He has technical expertise in structural mechanics and the application of codes and standards to pressure vessels and piping systems, with in-depth competency in stress, fracture, and fatigue analysis. He has provided direction for resolving issues related to aging management and fitness for service of components, including adapting commercial fitness-for-service guidelines to specialized laboratory systems to demonstrate their structural integrity. Mr. Rawls is actively involved in developing and applying codes and standards for metallic and composite materials for pressure integrity, supporting the Department of Energy in conceptualizing, developing, and implementing programs related to the safety of systems for a hydrogen economy.
Mr. Rawls has an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of South Carolina and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Clemson University. He is a registered Professional Engineer in South Carolina and a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Sustainable Results
Mr. Rawls supported Hanford’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) for the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of River Protection (ORP), resolving issues associated with the qualification of pressure systems and seismic qualification of mechanical and electrical equipment.
Development of a furnace module lid seal to meet stringent leak rate criteria. This construction required integration between design, fabrication, and testing. He was responsible for developing a technical baseline to support a Pressure Technology Standard addressing the structural integrity governing the construction of pressure-retaining equipment.
In support of the DOE high-level waste infrastructure, Mr. Rawls developed criteria for analysis and leak testing for pipe waste transfer line pipe, analyzed high-level waste tank fill limits for tanks in degraded condition, and provided consulting services as a technical expert for the equipment qualification in support of the WTP for the DOE Office of River Protection. The major portion of this effort involved resolving issues associated with the qualification of pressure systems and seismic qualification of mechanical and electrical equipment. He worked on developing a methodology to determine the leak rate for the Hanford connectors for the Savannah River Site. The work was successively defended to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) and peer review groups. This body of work has been applied to all the Hanford connectors at SRS where leakage is an issue and has been applied at the DOE Hanford Site for application in the River Protection Project.