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We strive to make a positive difference in the world by consistently setting the standard in every key aspect of our business, starting with the extraordinary people we employ. Connect directly with an expert on our team.

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WJE is committed to sustainability in construction, applying a long-term lens to materials selection, performance testing, systems integration, repair design, and conservation.

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    Our team has investigated, tested, and innovated on more than 175,000 projects involving almost every type of construction material, structural system, and manufactured component. We take a hands-on, empirical, and investigative approach to every assignment. Although materials, technologies, and structures change, our basic philosophy doesn’t. Founder Jack Janney’s advice to “ask the structure” continues to guide our project work today.
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    Learn the “what” and “why” and “when” of facade and seismic ordinances in various cities throughout the United States, as well as our recent efforts with sustainable (low carbon) concrete.
    
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EXPERTISE // PEOPLE

Leonard L. Phelps

Associate Principal

Experience

Leonard Phelps often serves as a lead chemist on project teams that resolve construction-related materials problems. Mr. Phelps’s experience includes various coating projects, including failure analysis, condition assessment, laboratory and field testing, corrosion protection, specification development, remedial coating recommendations, coating characterization, performance evaluation, and long-term durability assessment.

Mr. Phelps consults with clients regarding material acceptability and selection, surface preparation, coating application, specification explication, resolution of disputes, and litigation. He has been a principal investigator in determining the cause of the failure of coatings applied to substrates of various commercial, governmental, and industrial structures.

Mr. Phelps has been a key member of project teams responsible for determining the cause of failure of other construction materials, such as adhesives, sealants, and roofing.

REPRESENTATIVE PROJECTS

Durability Studies

Anheuser Busch - St. Louis, MO: Long-term performance study of roofing membranes
Carlsbad Caverns - NM: Comparative study of coating candidate selections for elevator shaft structural steel
Federal Highway Administration: Long-term performance study of rebar coatings
Westmoreland County Courthouse Dome - Greensburg, PA: Long-term performance study of coatings on cast aluminum dome

Failure Investigation

Amazon Delivery Station - West Chicago, IL Coating delamination from ceiling deck
Denver International Airport - CO: Blistered lining of precast concrete cooling tower
Eiffel Tower II - Las Vegas, NV: Cracking of intumescent coating system
German Embassy - Washington, D.C.: Blistered intumescent coating on structural steel
Honolulu International Airport, Overseas Terminal Chiller Plant - HI: Poor coating adhesion and peeling from galvanized piping and supports
Pharmaceutical Facility - CO: Coating and drywall joint compound failure
Research Animal Laboratory - ME: Cracks at wallboard joints and ceiling deck peeled coating investigations
Zapata Academy - Chicago, I: Coating cracking/delamination of interior concrete masonry unit

Coating Condition Assessment

Aloha Stadium - Honolulu, HI: Coated weathering steel
Carlsbad Caverns - NM: Extant coating of 800-foot-deep elevator shaft structural steel in seepage environment
Chicago Skyway - IL: Coated structural steel
Bridge of the Americas - Panama City, Panama: Coated structural steel
Petco Park - San Diego, CA: Coated structural steel
Safeco Field - Seattle, WA: Coated structural steel
Westin Moana Surfrider Hotel - Honolulu, HI: Coated stucco surfaces

Construction Documents and Specifications

Aloha Stadium - Honolulu, HI: Design and specifications for coating salt-contaminated structural weathering steel
Boulder Recreation Center - CO: Coating specification for galvanized steel pool features
Carlsbad Caverns - NM: coating specification for elevator shaft structural steel
Denver International Airport – CO: Precast concrete cooling tower coating repair
Reeds Island Bridge - Hilo, HI: Specifications for coating new galvanized steel and existing structural steel in damp, wet environment
Sports Authority Field - Denver, CO: Specifications for coating weathering steel seating bowl stairs

Professional Affiliations

American Coatings Association (ACA)
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
Chicago Society of Coatings Technology (CSCT)

Registrations

AMPP/SSPC Certified Protective Coatings Specialist

Education

University of Illinois
Bachelor of Science, Biology, 1979
Bachelor of Arts, Chemistry, 1979

DePaul University
Master of Science, Chemistry, 1991

WJE Northbrook
330 Pfingsten Road
Northbrook, IL 60062
Tel: (847) 272-7400
lphelps@wje.com

Practice Areas

Durability Studies
Failure Investigation
Coating Condition Assessment
Construction Documents and Specifications
Chemical Analysis
Coating Analysis
Laboratory Testing

Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates is committed to helping our clients solve, repair, and avoid problems in the built world. Supported by unparalleled laboratory and field testing capabilities, our team of engineers, architects, and materials scientists brings an enthusiasm for problem solving and a hands-on technical approach to every challenge.

Ask the Structure and Solutions for the Built World are trademarks of Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.

© COPYRIGHT WISS, JANNEY, ELSTNER ASSOCIATES, INC., NORTHBROOK, ILLINOIS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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SeismicOrdinances.com

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