Hill employees get down to details

  • Published
  • By Beth Young
  • Ogden Air Logistics Center Public Affairs
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah (AFPN) --  Just like investigators tracing threads back to the source of a crime, science and engineering laboratory employees use science to solve mysteries here. However, instead of dark overcoats, they wear lab coats.

The laboratory is divided into four main sections: chemical science, material science, quality verification, and specialized science and engineering services. Together, they find answers to questions that range from “has this glue really gone bad?” to “what caused a B-52 Stratofotress’ wheel to break?”

"It definitely has a detective feel to it," said Steven Kmetzsch, materials and chemicals section chief. "We have to piece together what happened through the information we have."

In the chemical science section, employees analyze hydraulic fluid, aircraft engine oil and even hazardous waste. They do this with high-tech equipment, some of which can analyze samples down to the smallest atom, officials said. And they are always presented with new challenges.

"I enjoy my job. It's never the same," said Bill Comeau, an engineering technician. "Just when I think I've seen it all, I'll get a sample in (to analyze) that just drives me nuts, and that's a good thing."

This lab also saves available resources with shelf-life analysis by testing products to see if their usability can extend past their expiration date. So, sometimes the glue has not gone bad yet.

As for the broken B-52 wheel, the material science section does failure analysis to determine the cause, which can be unseen to the naked eye. Using a scanning electron microscope that can magnify surfaces more than 300,000 times, employees can see the topography of the fracture surface, helping to determine what went wrong, officials said.

Many of the employees deal with big issues on very small scales. In the quality verification center, a machine provides three-dimensional measurements of complex parts within a millionth of an inch.

Whether they are doing a chemical breakdown of an unknown sealant on an F-16 Fighting Falcon or finding a minuscule crack on a landing gear bolt, these examples are only a small sampling of the riddles that these behind-the-scenes sleuths solve.

"We can find unknowns," Mr. Kmetzsch said. "We are a catch-all laboratory; we do tons of stuff."