Haining Dong, Ph.D., P.E.

Background

Mr. Haining Dong holds a B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, as well as a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering. He is a registered professional engineer in Texas and possesses extensive interdisciplinary knowledge across mechanical and structural engineering, human factors and ergonomics, mathematics, robotic control, and automation.

During his career at Rimkus, Mr. Dong has conducted extensive forensic engineering investigations involving tanks, piping systems for gas and liquids, steel structures, machinery failures, and industrial control and automation systems utilizing programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and variable frequency drives (VFDs).

Mr. Dong’s expertise in tank systems includes both bolted and welded tanks with fixed and floating roofs. His experience encompasses inspections, root cause analysis (RCA) of tank failures, and forensic investigations involving tanks used in tanker trucks, the oil and gas industry, wastewater treatment facilities, and chemical processing applications. He has performed comprehensive evaluations of tank damage and structural failures, including assessments of structural and mechanical design, environmental conditions, operational practices, installation quality, and maintenance history. He has also worked closely with clients and legal counsel to conduct on-site inspections, obtain and review project documentation, and provide technical support throughout the litigation process.

Mr. Dong has extensive forensic experience in the evaluation of piping systems, including natural gas transmission pipelines, compressor vent and blowdown piping, chemical plant ductwork, cooling water systems, lubricating oil and waste oil piping, and compressed air systems. His investigations include failure analyses based on structural integrity, fluid dynamics, sealing performance, process safety, and compliance with applicable industry standards and codes.

Mr. Dong has also performed forensic evaluations of engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) projects, including power plant construction. His experience includes the evaluation of engine mounting systems, lubricating and waste oil systems, cooling water systems, natural gas systems, compressed air systems, and exhaust gas systems. These investigations involve engineering design reviews, code compliance evaluations, installation assessments, operational analyses, environmental considerations, and maintenance evaluations.

Mr. Dong’s forensic experience in steel structures includes investigations involving radial stacker structures used in the coal mining industry and drilling and workover rigs used in the oil and gas industry. He has performed extensive root cause analyses of structural failures, including structural design reviews, operational assessments, analyses of loading conditions, and cost evaluations. His investigations address structural design, motion dynamics, environmental loading, and compliance with applicable industry standards and codes.

Mr. Dong has also conducted forensic investigations involving machinery failures. His experience includes the root cause analysis of a laser machine that caught fire, failure investigations of a pipe profile cutting machine, and failure analysis of a concrete pump truck outrigger system. His evaluations include engineering design reviews, component examinations, on-site inspections, and incident reconstruction. These investigations consider design, operation, installation, maintenance, and human factors that may have contributed to the failures.

Mr. Dong’s forensic expertise also includes industrial control and automation systems utilizing PLCs and VFDs. His experience includes failure analyses of boiler control systems employing PLCs and radial stacker systems driven by VFD-controlled motors integrated with PLC-based automation. His evaluations include automatic control algorithms, sensor feedback control loops, control logic sequences, motion dynamics, and functional safety analyses.

In addition to his forensic experience, Mr. Dong also has significant design and engineering experience, including work with drilling rigs for both onshore and offshore oil and gas, launch and recovery systems for offshore operations, and vehicle-mounted instruments as well as handheld instruments for natural gas leak detection. He is also familiar with instruments such as sulfur analyzers, mass spectrometers, and Coriolis mass flowmeters. His expertise extends to project management, scheduling, cost estimating, risk analysis, document control, procurement, and certification. In addition to his industrial experience, Mr. Dong has a strong background in academic research, focusing on human factors and ergonomics, automatic control of mobile robots, and manufacturing automation through computer numerical control (CNC) and PLC. He also has experience in residential HVAC and holds an EPA 608 certification.

Mr. Dong’s experience with drilling rigs in the oil and gas industry encompasses a range of areas, including mechanical/structural design and analysis using finite element analysis (FEA) and structural connection design employing welds and bolts. He has conducted design reviews in accordance with API and OSHA standards. His work also includes designing and analyzing mechanical components for lifting, installation, transportation, and load testing of rigs, as well as rig skidding and walking systems, hydraulic cylinders, shipping dollies, walkways, ladders, stairs, handrails, and fall protection systems. He has also performed seismic investigations using vibration and modal analysis and conducted environmental load analyses for wind and ocean waves. Additionally, Mr. Dong has provided engineering support by visiting fabrication yards and inspecting and evaluating drilling rigs during on-site surveys.

Mr. Dong’s experience with launch and recovery systems for offshore oil and gas includes machinery design for winches and parking brakes, as well as the design of masts and skids. His work also involves the design of electrical and hydraulic control systems. Key aspects of his contributions include material study and selection, surface hardness and heat treatment processes, the development of mathematical models for dynamic analysis, coating selection for anti-friction and anti-corrosion, motion analysis and interference checks, and design of transmission gears, seals, lubrication systems, tolerances, and bearings. Furthermore, he has performed design verification tests and root cause analyses, and he has conducted design reviews in compliance with DNV standards.

Mr. Dong’s experience in instrument development includes creating vehicle-mounted sensors for natural gas leak detection using tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS), as well as hand-held multi-gas sensors utilizing non-dispersive infrared spectroscopy (NDIR). He has developed online sulfur analyzers based on pulsed ultraviolet fluorescence (PUVF), Coriolis mass flow meters, and isotope-ratio mass spectrometers. His work encompasses prototype design and construction, algorithm optimization for calibration, fast response times, and noise reduction. He has conducted design verification tests and performed troubleshooting and root cause analyses. Additionally, Mr. Dong has coordinated with third parties for certification tests, including ATEX, IECEx, FCC, and EMC. He has also provided technical support by visiting customer sites.

Mr. Dong’s academic research in human factors and ergonomics primarily focused on evaluating human gait in virtual reality and partial gravity environments. He developed a mathematical model to quantify human visual tracking behavior as it relates to gait control in virtual reality, aimed at assessing training effects.

Mr. Dong’s academic research in robotic control includes the development of an image-based adaptive control algorithm, which he applied to the tracking control of wheeled mobile robots. This work aimed to enhance the accuracy of the robots in following planned trajectories.

Mr. Dong’s academic research in manufacturing and automation includes proposing a procedure for integrating CNC into traditional machinery using Siemens PLC/CNC systems. This approach aims to enhance manufacturing productivity and improve machine precision.

Mr. Dong has experience in residential HVAC systems, including installation, repair, and maintenance. He completed relevant HVAC training courses and passed the EPA 608 certification exam.

Back to top