2016 Frank Spragins Technical Award Recipient
This award is presented to an APEGA member or permit holder that has implemented innovative engineering or geoscience technology that has improved the lives of Albertans.
Kamal Botros, P.Eng., Ph.D.
Dr. Kamal Botros, P.Eng., has spent more than 35 years solving fluid-flow problems. His contributions to his field have made him a leading authority on gas dynamics, particularly in the areas of compressor surge, pressure-flow transients, acoustics, pulsation and gas turbines.
Upon joining NOVA Chemicals in 1984, he primarily focused on the generation, transmission, and suppression of flow-generated pulsation. This culminated in the development of “PULS”, an industry-standard acoustic pulsation simulation program.
Dr. Botros was also involved in the construction of TransCanada’s Gas Dynamic Test Facility in Didsbury. It has since grown into a world-class, high-pressure, natural gas dynamic test facility that attracts international research interest.
In recent years, Dr. Botros has pioneered the development of a custom-built shock-tube test facility. His shock-tube research helps pipeline designers understand how to select the appropriate material to prevent a pipeline rupture, how to contain a pipeline rupture, and how to prevent its spread across a wider area. As the only type of this kind of equipment in the world, it has also drawn research interest around the globe.
His expertise has been applied in various other areas, such as pulsation suppression, compressor surge control, dynamics in heat exchangers following tube ruptures, optimization of pipeline-network designs, innovation of a two-stage supersonic ejector that captures 100 per cent of fugitive emissions from compressor stations, and noise suppression devices and techniques to manage ethylene decomposition in low-density polyethylene tubular reactors.
Dr. Botros has published more than 195 technical papers in journals and refereed conference proceedings. He has five patents and has co-authored two books: Pipeline Pumping and Compression Systems: A Practical Approach, and Pipeline Transportation of Carbon Dioxide Containing Impurities. These books are reference manuals in the pipeline industry and are the basis of university courses and international training seminars.