Jeff Nichols

3A Charles Avenue
Arbroath
Angus DD11 2EZ
England

Phone: +44-1241-439676

Email: Nichols@TensionTech.com, jeffnTTI@aol.com

Jeff Nichols is a textile engineer with a wide experience in design, examination and testing of fibres, yarns ropes and fabrics. He has worked with technical textiles, primarily as used in the packaging industry, for over 20 years. His work has involved product development, sales, and manufacturing, from extrusion right through to finished products.  He  is now responsible for developing and operating TTI's testing facilities at Arbroath.

On-going projects at TTI

1. Optical Scanning Apparatus for Ropes [OSCAR], acting as Co-ordinator for this EC-funded CRAFT Project.
Project manager to develop an fibre optic NDT device for deepwater mooring ropes. Successfully completed, with the EC now wishing to use the Project as a model for other CRAFT projects

2. Long-Term Durability
Responsible for performing the testing of the yarn elements of the rope types being investigated in the course of this Project, reporting to the MD of TTI, Steve Banfield.

3. Review of retirement criteria for hawsers
Conducted studies for clients to visually inspect retired hawsers and establish rope residual strength by comprehensive tensile testing of rope elements. The objective was to provide the information to permit the clients to review their current retirement criteria

4. Forensic investigations of rope failures and associated marine accidents.
Again reporting to the MD of TTI, Steve Banfield, responsible for the on-site and laboratory investigations of rope failures and associated marine accidents. Recent clients include the Marine Accident Investigation Board [UK] and the Marine Casualty Investigation Board [Republic of Ireland]

5. Responsibility for testing at the TTI laboratory
This work covers tensile testing of ropes, cords and rope elements and the commissioning and managing of work by other laboratories where detailed chemical or microscopic analysis is required. Recent studies have involved the use of scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infra-red spectrometry to establish mechanisms of rope and rope element fatigue. Other work undertaken at the TTI laboratory is abrasion testing of rope textile yarns and other textile assemblies, using testing instruments designed and built by the company.

6. Small-scale testing co-ordinator and full-scale test inspector for MMS JIP ‘Damage to Poyester Ropes’
This project involved the co-ordinationg and participation in small-scale testing at the chosen Test House in the UK, and then witnessing the full-scale testing performed on their own ropes at CSL Brazil.

7. Examination and testing of ropes in CBOS ‘DISH’ JIP
The CBOS ropes were visually inspected and dissected at the TTI laboratory to establish fatigue mechanisms and their severity, followed by tensile testing of rope elements to establish rope residual strength.

Major accomplishments

Education

University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST): Textile technology, Bsc, MSc and PhD, 1975

Experience

Technical Director, Agritay Ltd, previous - 1998

Sales and Technical Consultant, Eurea GmbH, 1998 - 2003

Director, Offshore Technical Solutions Ltd, 1998 - 2003

Consultant, Tension Technology International Ltd, 1998 to date

Director, TexEng Ltd, 2004 to date