Kelly has almost 20 years of international experience specializing in pipeline hydraulics transport. His portfolio of work covers the Americas, with particular focus in Peru and Chile. Kelly is Principal Pipeline Engineer in the Concord office, where he develops solutions for clients' slurry, water and sea water pipelines - from concept design to operation.
Kelly earned his Bachelor's degree in Metallurgy and Materials Science from the Colorado School of Mines in the USA Shortly after earning his degree, Kelly joined Ausenco's heritage company, PSI - and it was here that he had the opportunity to specialize in piping and hydraulics, a field that had held his interest since he began his degree.
During his first nine years with PSI, Kelly worked on numerous pipeline projects, including: Doe Run Cobriza (Peru), Los Pelambres (Chile), Pena Colorada (Mexico), Tintaya (Peru), and Volcan Andaychagua (Peru).
Among all the projects Kelly has been involved with, it is the Los Pelambres pipeline expansion he counts as his most memorable. The project involved moving large amounts of tailings as well as the tailings pond 50 km to the new impoundment. This proved challenging due to the technical issues of transporting coarse materials by pipelines, as well as doing this over mountainous terrain. The team overcame the challenge by controlling the pipeline slopes and by using a combination of high-pressure steel lines and concrete gravity-flow channels.
Other companies design pipelines, but where Kelly feels Ausenco differs, is that we have a profound understanding of how to make a long-distance slurry pipeline work, long-term. This encompasses not only pump and pipe selection but also understanding how flow rates and material characteristics can change over time, so that our design is perfectly suited to the present needs and able to adjust to future changes. With experts located across geographic regions, the team is able to explore a variety of solutions that have worked on various projects, dating back to the early days of pipeline slurry transport.
Contact Kelly here.