Angela Wensley, Ph.D., P.E.,
Angela Wensley, Ph.D., P.E., is a corrosion expert in the pulp and paper industry.
She was hired by MacMillan Bloedel Research in 1977 to set up a laboratory to study the phenomenon of corrosion in pulp and paper environments and to perform failure analyses. She became an authority on corrosion and cracking in alkaline pulping liquors and fireside corrosion and cracking of recovery boilers. Her greatest joys were experienced when she was present during the discovery of new corrosion mechanisms while working in the field. Some of these included stress corrosion cracking of carbon steels in white liquors, balding of composite primary air port openings, transpassive corrosion of nickel base alloys in chlorine dioxide bleaching, corrosion and cracking of flash tanks, intergranular attack of stainless steel in continuous digesters, stress corrosion cracking of bottom scrapers in continuous digesters, and cracking of composite tubes at primary air port openings in recovery boilers.
In 1992, she left MacMillan Bloedel to start her own consulting engineering business, Angela Wensley Engineering Inc., finding there was a great demand for laboratory research into mechanisms of corrosion in alkaline pulping liquors. Her global clientele required both on-site inspections in Canada, the U.S., Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Scandinavia, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as quality assurance inspections during the manufacture of new equipment and components. She has also served as an expert witness for clients in legal matters.
A member of TAPPI since 1979, Wensley chaired the Digester Corrosion and Cracking Task Group for 21 years (1986-2006). She has authored over 100 peer-reviewed papers for various publications. Wensley was the recipient of the 2009 TAPPI Engineering Division Technical Award and Beloit Prize. She also received the TAPPI Engineering Certificate of Recognition in 2006 and the Certificate of Merit in 1997. Wensley received the Dennis Anliker Award in 1992.
She has chaired many TAPPI task groups: Weld Overlay of Digesters (1984-2005), Thermal Spray Coating of Digester Vessels (2000-2002), and Continuous Digester Inspection (1988-2005). Wensley was also the chair of NACE Unit Committee T-5H on Corrosion in the Pulp and Paper Industry (1985-1987) and Task Group T-5H-1 on Recovery Boiler Fireside Corrosion (1984-1986).
Unfortunately, Wensley’s career was cut short when she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2007, necessitating her retirement in 2011 for medical reasons.