Meet Kevin Groll, P.E. - Mechanical Engineer

Kevin Groll, Manager of Matco's Field Inspection Services, is a Professional Engineering and NACE Certified Corrosion Technician.  He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from West Virginia University and advanced studies in materials and corrosion engineering.  He is an expert in the methods that are used to identify corrosion concerns at the below grade level on utility transmission line structures, including tubular shaped structures (poles), lattice, H-Frames and towers, as well as the methods used to evaluate the above grade portions of these structures as well.  This expertise is extended to a variety of other industries where metal structures are utilized that are subject to atmospheric or subgrade environments telecomunication towers, anchor rods, and shipping containers.   

Included in Mr. Groll's cache of projects are a wide variety of projects where a root cause failure analysis was required including the following examples: water treatments systems, jet engine components, structural steel structures, medical devices, and others.  He is an expert in the analytical methods that are used to determine cause and mode of failure including scanning electron microscopy, electrochemistry, metallographic microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.

Mr. Groll is a NACE Certified Corrosion Technician, and has performed studies on microbiologically induced corrosion, galvanic corrosion resistance of coatings, and chloride and sulfate induced types of corrosion on different metals. He has also performed onsite evaluations of custom mechanical testing for a variety of mechanical structures, and is currently involved in the investigation of causes and corrective actions of weld cracking on structural steel poles used for traffic signal and street light mounting. He also co-managed a major government agency project that resulted in the development of an electrochemical sensor to be used in the titanium manufacturing industry.

For the past several years Mr. Groll has also established a satellite office and mini-lab that is equipped with an scanning electron microscope and elemental dispersive X-ray analysis system.  This facility is also used as Matco's main training facility for field technicians that are tasked with the inspection and assessment of above and below grade structures for a variety of industries including the electric power industry and telecommunications industry.   

Examples of some of the field inspection projects that Mr. Groll has led:  

• Telecommunication – Multiyear inspection project involving nationwide inspection for corrosion on buried telecommunication guy anchors.  Project involves inspection, periodic monitoring, corrosion mitigation through cathodic protection and assessment to determine need for anchor replacement.  Approximately 4,000 guyed towers have been assessed during the course of this project.

• Electric Power Utility Company / Canada - Multiyear transmission structure corrosion evaluation.  Project has included circuit prioritization pilot study and subsequent above and below grade corrosion evaluations for steel transmission structures.  Structures vary in material type, coating and geometry.  Recommendations are provided for corrosion mitigation, repairs and replacements. 
 
• Electric Power Utility Company / West Coast - Large-scale inspection project of new structures with defective material.  Project involved evaluation of fracture toughness of new lattice steel structures and onsite non-destructive testing for cracking at the bolts. 

• Electric Power Utility Company / Lower West Coast – Inspection of tubular steel structures for internal corrosion and deterioration of concrete footers.  Structures with deficiencies were recommended for replacement. Inspection of lattice steel structures for corrosion metal loss of fasteners and structural members, evaluation of coatings, and focused evaluation of concrete footers. 

• Electric Power Utility Company / Southern States – Inspection of buried guy anchors on guyed communication towers.  Project involved assessment of below grade corrosion and recommendation of corrosion mitigation procedures.