Thomas Russell

Dr. Russell is a tribologist and mechanical engineer who investigates the effects of lubrication, friction, wear, and fatigue on the performance of machines across various industries. He specializes in the analysis of rolling element bearings, seals, gears, and other critical machine components. Dr. Russell applies his expertise through performing failure investigations, component analysis, and designing custom test fixtures. He also has experience investigating machinery safety by inspecting and analyzing workplace accidents and developing proactive risk assessments. 

Failure Investigations

Dr. Russell has conducted failure analyses on various machines across the energy, transportation, consumer products, and marine industries. He has experience in the analysis of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) data, the interpretation of complex assembly drawings and technical documentation, and the investigation into the effects of lubricant supply on system performance. Dr. Russell has used his experience in the analysis of plain and rolling element bearings to assist clients in identifying causes of failure in large gearboxes, train wheelsets, wind turbines, compressor pumps, and other machines. 

Component Analysis

Dr. Russell analyzes individual machine components to determine relevant performance characteristics and potential failure modes. Experimentally, he uses optical microscopy, surface profilometry, and other non-destructive analysis methods to identify evidentiary features on components which help reveal their operational history and potential reasons for failure. Analytically, he investigates the effects of hydrodynamic, elasto-hydrodynamic, and hydrostatic lubrication on component behavior. Dr. Russell has conducted such analysis on ball and roller bearings, gears, crankshafts, valves, and seals in a variety of applications. 

Custom Test Fixture Design

Test stands constructed by Dr. Russell have ranged from relatively simple fixtures for the evaluation of mechanical properties of materials to fully custom apparatuses for the evaluation of in-situ component behavior or the characterization of material durability through highly accelerated lift testing (HALT). Through the construction of custom test stands, Dr. Russell assists clients by collecting experimental data on specific, often previously unmeasurable, phenomena. Additionally, Dr. Russell has experience operating manufacturing equipment including manual and CNC mills, lathes, waterjet cutters, laser cutters, and 3D printers. He is experienced in using LabView, Matlab, Python, and C for data collection, data analysis and custom test operation.

Machinery Safety

Dr. Russell has performed investigations related to machinery safety in the construction, logistics, manufacturing, healthcare, agricultural, and consumer product industries. He has examined cases involving mobile cranes, tunnel boring machines, material handlers, factory assembly lines, loading docks, tractors, and gym equipment. He also has expertise identifying and evaluating potential hazards for machines through the development of task-based risk assessments in accordance with industry standards. 

Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Russell was a Research Assistant in the Mechanical Engineering Tribology Laboratory (METL) at Purdue University. His Ph.D. research was focused on experimentally and analytically characterizing the lubrication mechanism of ball bearing cages. He constructed a one-of-a-kind test rig for the investigation of ball bearing cage friction and developed a series of models of cage performance including cage pocket lubrication, external drag force, and dynamic motion in a full bearing. In addition to his thesis research, Dr. Russell assisted with projects studying lubricant viscosity at high pressure, lubricant behavior in anerobic environments, and the friction and wear behavior of nickel-based superalloys at elevated temperatures. Experimental techniques employed by Mr. Russell include single and multi-axis sensing, thin-film pressure sensing, high-speed videography, computer vision, optical profilometry, viscometry, and the operation of various commercial tribological test stands. Dr. Russell's hands-on and analytical experience with bearings includes deep groove ball bearings, angular contact ball bearings, tapered roller bearings, spherical roller bearings, cylindrical roller bearings, and needle roller bearings.

Dr. Russell also served as a Journal Assistant to the Editor in Chief of the ASME Journal of Tribology from 2022-2023, where he provided production support to the journal and aided in the distribution of articles to a worldwide network of technical experts across the field of tribology.