Expert Refrigeration Engineering Team

The qualified refrigeration engineering team at Bruce V. Nelson Engineering is well-educated, experienced, and widely published. This kind of experience and recognition is available to you to help develop energy efficient, environmentally-friendly heating, cooling, and heat recovery system designs for your business.

Education:

1980

B.S. Agricultural Engineering, Cum Laude, Washington State University

Professional Experience:

1997 – 2021

President and C.O.O., Colmac Coil Manufacturing, Inc.

– Overall executive management responsibilities for Company operations.

– Implementation of Lean Manufacturing techniques and practices.

– In-house development of parametric product configuration software.

– Obtained patents related to the field of heat transfer and refrigeration.

– Pioneered the development of low charge DX ammonia systems.

1981 – 1997

Various Engineering Positions, Colmac Coil Manufacturing, Inc.

– Unique heat exchanger performance model developed in-house to effectively handle new Zeotropic refrigerant mixtures (CFC replacement refrigerants).

– Introduction of stainless steel tube/aluminum fin heat exchangers for industrial ammonia refrigeration systems.

– Introduction of aluminum tube and fin heat exchangers for industrial ammonia refrigeration systems.

Professional Licenses:

Registered Professional Engineer (P.E.), State of Washington, #22890

Society Activities/Honors:

IIAR (International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration)

• Past Chairman
• Life Member
• Member of the Year Award Recipient

ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers)

• Past Chairman, Inland Empire Chapter
• Member Technical Committee TC1.3 “Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow”
• Distinguished Service Award (2013)

IIR (International Institute of Refrigeration, Paris)

• Member

IoR (Institute of Refrigeration, UK)

• Member

AIRAH (Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air conditioning and Heating)

• Member

Selected Bibliography:

Nelson, B.I. 1990. “Design of Evaporators for Liquid Overfeed Systems” ASHRAE Transactions, 1990, vol. 96. Part 1, paper no. AT-90-21-1. pgs 1309-1315.

Nelson, B.I. 1998. “Designing Air Coolers for Direct Expansion (DX) with Ammonia”. IIAR Annual Meeting Proceedings, 1998, pgs 137-155.

2000. ASHRAE Standard 33-2000. “Method of Testing Forced Circulation Air Cooling and Air Heating Coils”, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE), Atlanta, GA.

Nelson, B.I. 2010. “Thermodynamic Effects of Water in Ammonia on Evaporator Performance”. IIAR Annual Meeting Proceedings, 2010, pgs 201-236.

Nelson, B.I. 2010, “Refrigeration Air Cooler Rating Methods”, ASHRAE Journal, August 2010, pgs 24-28.

Nelson, B.I. 2015. “Selecting Evaporators for CO2 Refrigeration”. RETA Annual Meeting Proceedings, 2015.

Nelson, B.I. 2015. “Optimizing Evaporator Runtime and Defrost Frequency”. IIAR Annual Meeting Proceedings, 2015, TP#4

Patents:

USA Patent No. 6,843,509, “Coupler For Use with Metal Conduits”

USA Patent No. 7,597,137, “Heat Exchanger System”

USA Patent No. 7,712,327, “Method for Defrosting Heat Exchangers”

USA Patent No. 7,958,738, “Direct Expansion Ammonia System”

Australian Patent No. 2013202295 “Heat Exchanger”

Canadian Patent No. 2,617,566 “Heat Exchanger System”

USA Patent No. 8,474,276 “Direct Expansion Ammonia Refrigeration System and a Method of Direct Expansion Ammonia Refrigeration”

USA Patent No. 8,783,057 “Refrigerant Distributor”

USA Patent No. 8,966,935 “Heat Exchanger”

Education:

2014

B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Minor in Materials Science, Washington State University

Professional Experience:

2021 – Present

Reliability Engineer, Eco-Services

– Provide guidance and repair strategies to maintenance department

– Size, select and manage installation of process equipment

– Troubleshoot equipment failures on the fly and implement corrective action

– Manage multiple projects simultaneously while maintaining budget and schedule

2014 – 2021

Various Engineering Positions

– Manufacturing engineer & project manager for Ascent Aerospace supporting delivery of custom aerospace tooling, structural weldments and assembly fixtures

– Fixed equipment reliability engineer for Engineering & Inspection Services utilizing ASME & API technical standards to ensure safe operation and reliability of multiple units in the Valero Refinery located in Meraux, LA

–  Project engineer for Bunge North America assisting installation of state-of-the-art ship loading facility on the Mississippi River

Professional Licenses:

Registered Professional Engineer (P.E.), State of California, #40599

Other Activities:

Army National Guard

– Served in Army National Guard from 2011 to 2019 as Non-Commissioned Officer and leader of a fire support team in the Field Artillery.

– Completed Basic Leader Course, Air Assault School and maintained a Secret Level Security Clearance.

Practical Heat and Mass Transfer Engineering Solutions
Our team is well-trained and well-regarded in everything from heating and cooling system and equipment designs, heat exchanger design and modeling, and training. We can help you identify, design, analyze, and/or specify engineering solutions which are practical, efficient, and cost-effective.

Qualified Refrigeration Engineering Team Offering Practical Solutions

Serving clients worldwide