Meet Geoffrey O. Rhodes - Corrosion Group Manager

Geoff Rhodes, Corrosion Group Manager, has a diverse background involving production, research and development aspects of specialty steels with special emphasis on powder metals and high-performance corrosion resistant alloys. Since coming to MATCO, he has conducted several projects involving corrosion investigations, failure analysis and materials characterization. In addition, he has spearheaded MATCO’s expanding cathodic protection services, managing projects involving cathodic protection close interval surveys, trouble shooting, design and repair.

Particular areas of expertise include metallographic, mechanical and physical property evaluations of materials including mechanical, corrosion and oxidation assisted failure analysis. He is familiar with the metallurgy of carbon, alloy and stainless steels, superalloys, exotic materials, and with ASTM, ASME, API, SAE and NACE material standards and specifications, and with both destructive and nondestructive test methodology. He is an expert resource for identifying defect morphology in processing of specialty steels, and has significant practical experience involving technology transfer from R&D and pilot scale development to commercialization. He has coordinated, planned and overseen internal and contract R&D programs, and is accomplished as a customer liaison, program manager, publishing and public speaking.

Geoff has worked both in the mill and in R&D. Before coming to work with MATCO, he was a supervisor of production and maintenance employees in all aspects of electric furnace melting, AOD refining and bottom pouring of 50-ton heats of stainless, alloy and tool steel ingots, and acted as the AOD melter. At the start of his career in materials, Geoff worked in melt shops, rolling mills, heat treat departments, weld mills and metallurgical laboratories of companies manufacturing carbon and stainless steel bar products and welded stainless steel tubular goods.

In the R&D lab, he supervised a powder production group operating induction melting and gas atomization units producing NdFeB, nickel, cobalt, and copper base, stainless and tool steel powders. He was also responsible for sales, marketing, cost analyses and product/process development. Particular projects he conducted include P/M high-strength high-nitrogen corrosion resistant austenitic stainless steel development (a 4-year mutli-million dollar development conducted with partial funding from NIST/ATP), and hot/cold work, process and property evaluations of net and near-net shapes and finished product forms of stainless steels, nickel-base and exotic alloys for commercial introduction. He has planned, conducted and overseen projects involving process and product development of stainless and specialty steels and their processing related to wrought products, mill forms, near-net shapes and welded pipe and tube, failure analysis, mechanical properties, machinability, hot workability, oxidation/corrosion resistance, development and evaluation of stainless and clad welded pipe and tube, bar and tubular drawing and degreasing evaluations.

PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS

G. O. Rhodes, J. J. Eckenrod, and K. E. Pinnow, "A New High Manganese Free-Machining Austenitic Stainless Steel," High Manganese Austenitic Steels, Ohio, ASM, 1987, pp.53-59.

G. O. Rhodes and J. P. Beckman, "HIP P/M Stainless and Ni-Base Components for Corrosion Resistant Applications", Advances in Powder Metallurgy and Particulate Materials - 1994, Vol. 7, New Jersey, Metal Powder Industries Federation, 1994, pp. 283-298.

G. O. Rhodes, J. P. Beckman, and J. J. Eckenrod, "Particle Metallurgy (P/M) High-Performance Duplex Stainless Steels." Presented at the Fourth International Conference,
Duplex Stainless Steels, Glasgow, Scotland, November 13-16, 1994. UK, Abington Hall, 1994, Paper 128.

G. O. Rhodes, J. J. Eckenrod, and F. J. Rizzo, "High Nitrogen Corrosion Resistant Stainless Steels Made by Hot Isostatic Compaction of Gas Atomized Powder," Presented at Corrosion '96, Texas, NACE, 1996, Paper No. 416.

G. O. Rhodes and J. J. Conway, "High-Nitrogen Austenitic Stainless Steels with High Strength and Corrosion Resistance," JOM, Vol. 48, No. 4, April 1996, pp.28-31.

G. O. Rhodes, "Fully Dense Near Net Shape Stainless Steel Parts; Production, Properties and Corrosion Resistance." Presented at P/M Stainless Steel/Corrosion Resistant Materials and Coatings Seminar, Raleigh, North Carolina, April 23-24, 1996.

G. O. Rhodes, "Rapid Solidification P/M for High-Nitrogen Stainless Steels." Presented at Materials Processing for Heavy Manufacturing, NIST ATP Public Meeting, Maryland, September 24, 1996.

G. O. Rhodes and W. B. Eisen, "High Nitrogen Austenitic Stainless Steel Powder Produced by Gas Atomization," Presented at the TMS Conference, Orlando, Florida, February 9-13, 1997.

G. O. Rhodes, U. Habel, J. J. Eckenrod and J. J. Conway, "Development, Properties and Applications of High Strength Corrosion Resistant High-Nitrogen Austenitic Stainless Steels Produced by HIP P/M," Advanced Particulate Materials and Processes - 1997. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Advanced Particulate Materials and Processes. F. H. Froes and J. C. Hebeisen, editors. New Jersey, Metal Powder Industries Federation, 1997, pp. 295-308.

G. O. Rhodes, "Development of Stainless Steel and Copper Alloy HIP P/M Near-Net Shapes for Rocket Engine Combustion Chamber Applications," Advanced Particulate Materials and Processes - 1997. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Advanced Particulate Materials and Processes. F. H. Froes and J. C. Hebeisen, editors. New Jersey, Metal Powder Industries Federation, 1997, pp. 347-355.

G. O. Rhodes and W. B. Eisen, "High Nitrogen Corrosion Resistant Austenitic Stainless Steels Produced by HIP P/M Processing," Presented at the Fifth International Conference on High Nitrogen Steels, May 24-26, Espoo, Finland and May 27-28, 1998, Stockholm, Sweden.

PATENTS

U.S. 4,613,367
Eckenrod, J. J., K. E. Pinnow, G. O. Rhodes, and W. Royer, "Low Carbon Plus Nitrogen Free-Machining Austenitic Stainless Steel."

U.S. 4,769,213
Haswell, W. T., K. E. Pinnow, G. O. Rhodes, and J. J. Eckenrod, "Age-Hardenable Stainless Steel Having Improved Machinability."

U.S. 4,784,828
Eckenrod, J. J., G. O. Rhodes, K. E. Pinnow, and W. Royer, "Low Carbon Plus Nitrogen Free-Machining Austenitic Stainless Steel."

U.S. 4,797,252
Eckenrod, J. J., G. O. Rhodes, K. E. Pinnow, and W. Royer, "Corrosion Resistant Low-Carbon Plus Nitrogen Austenitic Stainless Steels with Improved Machinability."

U.S. 4,933,142
Haswell, W. T., K. E. Pinnow, J. J. Eckenrod, and G. O. Rhodes, "Low Carbon Plus Nitrogen Free-Machining Austenitic Stainless Steels with Improved Machinability and Corrosion Resistance."

U.S. 5,841,046
Rhodes, G. O., J. J. Eckenrod, F. J. Rizzo, M. W. Peretti, U. Habel, and W. B. Eisen, "High Nitrogen Austenitic Stainless Steel."

Carnegie-Mellon University
Bachelor of Science Degree
Metallurgy and Materials Science

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

ASM International (ASM) Pittsburgh Chapter Past Chairman
National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE)