Future of Engineering

How India manages its fresh water and the populations’ response to water issues will determine whether it will be a giant civilisation, just another giant or a giant problem. Its river basin’s are not only catchments of precipitation or Monsoon but social, cultural and political needs and challenges of highland, lowland urban and rural citizens. India will only be a giant if it survives and prospers after this global environmental change.

Dam building and the National River Linking Project need further study and careful examination because of the lack of a comprehensive environmental and cultural information database. So too the building of mega infrastructure in a seismically sensitive area of the Himalayas needs careful planning even if this hinders economic development.

Full report from here

Keywords: India Hydrological Future, river basins, seismically sensitive area

Labels: Civil-Engineering, Energy-Environment-Engineering, Society

In light of today's suffering housing market, one solution to increasing the resale value of one's home may be through equipping it with the most up and coming technology available.According to Michael Milde, proprietor and systems integrator of Hunter Home Automation based out of Chicago, Ill., the home automation industry has been in place for more than two decades.However, only recently has it surfaced as an affordable means of revamping one's property to include what Ian Trible, operations manager at Intellihome Inc, a home automation company in Houston, Texas, refers to as "more qualities of life people look for.""Full automation in homes will become as common as cell phones are today," Milde said.With that being said, home automation services are destined to become accessible for every home dweller willing to think outside of the box."It used to be a custom standard…[now] it's becoming a standard," Trible said.One dimension of this current standard allows for the acquirement of reasonable "green" additions to the home, making it more energy efficient.

More from here

Keywords: Intelligent homes, future of home automation, housing market, Michael Milde, systems integrator, Hunter Home, Automation, Chicago, Ian Trible, Intellihome, Houston, Texas, cell phones, home automation services

Labels: Automation, Civil-Engineering, Design-Engineering

A patent has been awarded to Southeastern Louisiana University through one of its faculty that holds the potential to identify weaknesses in structures ranging from massive bridge construction to the tiniest elements of nanotechnology no larger than a speck of dust on a pinhead.

The patent is for a deformation prediction instrument developed by physicist Sanichiro Yoshida. The instrument uses the technology of optical interferometry to make precise measurements that identify weak spots in a wide range of materials, including metals, plastics and other products.

Interferometry uses multiple light paths -- typically two -- from a common source, in this case a laser. The light paths allow the operator to exactly measure the difference in the path lengths when the light waves hit an object. The light waves – measuring less than one micron or one millionth of a meter – intersect on the material under study, are carefully measured and compared by the interferometer. This determines displacements of all points on the object, and through analysis of the pattern of the displacements, reveals a point of weakness in the material.

More from here

Labels: Civil-Engineering, Material-Sciences

Lightfilm – which combines the “revolutionary lightweight concrete Luccon” and glass – exclusive windows and doors, security windows and doors are among the innovative products that LIP Middle East intends to promote when it makes its debut at the gulfBID next month.

“This invention throws up exciting possibilities for both designers and architects. You can use the material for vanity tops and have the light filter through from beneath. Or clad pillars with it or use it as a door for a changing room and watch the interesting interplay of diffused light and shadow as people move behind it,” continues Andreas. While its tensile strength, resistance and conductivity are similar to concrete, its unique structure is embedded with a specially-developed webbing of light fibres. Luccon is sold in panels cut to size. However, all common methods for processing concrete, such as sawing, grinding, drilling and polishing are also possible with Luccon. Custom-made products (different sizes, thicknesses and colours) can also be made available on request.

More from here

Labels: Civil-Engineering, Design-Engineering

Accidental inventor Gordon Thiessen hears a lot of "how come no one's ever thought of this before," when showing off his support arm for construction tools."This" is a gas-strut swing-arm that clamps to a vertical post, scaffolding or a tripod to hold heavy portable jackhammers, drills and other power tools aloft so construction workers don't have to strain and sprain their backs and necks holding them up manually for hours at a time.Thiessen, a research associate in automation and electronics at BCIT's technology centre, started work on developing the device in 2001 at the behest of Worksafe BC, then known as the Workers Compensation Board, which was looking for a way to ease the injurious strains of construction work.

The heavy-tool support arm that Thiessen came up with won some recognition as one of 75 technologies to be highlighted at a major U.S. innovation showcase at the end of last month.

More from here

Keywords: Swing-arm invention, Gordon Thiessen, jackhammers, drills, power tools, BCIT, Workers Compensation Board, Canadian federal government, Arlington, Las Vegas, Robert Duncan, James Wells

Labels: Civil-Engineering, Design-Engineering, Industrial-Engineering

Here’s an incredible piece of wartime engineering - the grand shaft in dover. Built between 1806 and 1809 during the napoleonic wars, this triple spiral staircase was used as a rapid route for soldiers making their way from the clifftop barracks to the town of dover and its harbour below. Without it the troops had to navigate badly maintained winding roads from top to bottom

A huge 140ft shaft was dug into the ground to house the 3 intertwined staircases, the inner shaft peppered with windows to ensure light from above reached the soldiers running down to possible battle. Engineer William Twiss was adamant that a single staircase wouldn’t provide a big enough route down for a huge volume of people so he wrapped 3 stairways around each other, the 3 exit points meeting at the bottom where a tunnel leads to the town of dover.

Here’s the direct link.

More from here

Labels: Civil-Engineering

Timber housing is the future for better homes

Timber housing can help the UK to catch up on the shortage of new homes, construction industry leaders have been told. A conference in North Wales, Sustainable Construction: The Business Benefits and Natural Materials in Construction, was told there is a need to use timber housing if Wales is to meet sustainability targets.

Greater collaboration is needed across the building sector to make the most of new techniques and practices, the briefing told. The Ty Unnos system of modular building, using standard section Welsh Sitka spruce, was cited as another example of systems which offer the opportunity to use locally-sourced timber to meet the construction needs of Wales.

Full report here

Labels: Civil-Engineering, Design-Engineering, Energy-Environment-Engineering

Wired Magazine published an article in 2004 about Dutch traffic engineer Hans Monderman, and a trend he started to improve roadway safety by making things appear more dangerous.

The theory goes like this. Putting up signs and designing to remove all possible things that interfere with traffic makes roads appear safer than they really are. Drivers react by becoming more relaxed and less vigilant, resulting in accidents. But if you make roads appear dangerous, for example, by removing signs, people pay more attention and there are less accidents.

Monderman has several real life examples. A quote:

"Riding in his green Saab, we glide into Drachten, a 17th-century village that has grown into a bustling town of more than 40,000. We pass by the performing arts center, and suddenly, there it is: the Intersection. It's the confluence of two busy two-lane roads that handle 20,000 cars a day, plus thousands of bicyclists and pedestrians. Several years ago, Monderman ripped out all the traditional instruments used by traffic engineers to influence driver behavior - traffic lights, road markings, and some pedestrian crossings - and in their place created a roundabout, or traffic circle. The circle is remarkable for what it doesn't contain: signs or signals telling drivers how fast to go, who has the right-of-way, or how to behave. There are no lane markers or curbs separating street and sidewalk, so it's unclear exactly where the car zone ends and the pedestrian zone begins. To an approaching driver, the intersection is utterly ambiguous - and that's the point.

Monderman and I stand in silence by the side of the road a few minutes, watching the stream of motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians make their way through the circle, a giant concrete mixing bowl of transport. Somehow it all works. The drivers slow to gauge the intentions of crossing bicyclists and walkers. Negotiations over right-of-way are made through fleeting eye contact.

It applies to things other than roads as well. Any system with extensive safety measures and procedures becomes at some point prone to catastrophic failure!"

Interesting perspective...

Mored from here

Labels: Civil-Engineering, Design-Engineering, Logistics-Transportation-Engineering, Safety

Pest control is often ignored by architects who design green buildings - those certified under the Leadership in Energy Environmental Design rating system, Merchant said. But it shouldn't.

As interest in green architecture grows, architects should consider including pest management features in their plans, said Michael Kawecki, chair emeritus with the U.S. Green Building Council North Texas Chapter, the group that certifies green buildings.

Some experts in pest management, architecture and engineering agreed at a three-day seminar recently hosted by AgriLife Extension in Dallas. These experts discussed how integrated pest management concepts could be blended with green-building designs.

Full story here

Labels: Civil-Engineering, Energy-Environment-Engineering

In Singapore, the Future is Underground

With land above ground exploited almost to the point of extinction, the only way for Singapore to grow is downwards.

Pressed by circumstances, the 21st Century Singaporean is spending more and more time underground – working, driving, eating and shopping – and the trend is for more of it. For years the government had been burrowing deep into the bowels of Singapore to squeeze out more use of its limited land area. From a simple car-parking idea long ago, the subterranean concept has rapidly expanded in scope to reach almost every aspect of life.

The convenience has become an urgent solution to over-crowdedness that is expected to worsen by the proposed future population of 5.5 million people, says this story

Labels: Civil-Engineering

Fabric Ducting - Fastest Growing Air Distribution Alternative in Open Ceiling Architecture

According to Randall E. Fromberg, president of Fromberg Associates Ltd., fabric duct is the fastest growing air distribution alternative in open-ceiling architecture designs, which include warehouses, industrial plants, big box retail, sports arenas, gymnasiums, and large lobbies.

While many architects and consulting engineers still don't specify fabric ductwork, the architect firm Fromberg Associates Ltd. of Austin has specified fabric duct in over 10 gymnasiums and cafeterias it has designed over the last eight years.

Fabric duct can easily be a green product in more ways than one. Fabric saves using precious earth resources. Although recycling metals is good, finding a plentiful alternative material is better, especially a more economical material. When the time comes for remodeling, retrofitting or razing, fabric ducts take less space in landfills.

Full report from here

Labels: Civil-Engineering, Energy-Environment-Engineering

The future of concrete

U of M develops revolutionary technique to mould concrete into a thing of beauty

Boxy, sterile and even ugly seem like more fitting descriptions for concrete. But it shouldn't be that way, says Mark West, an architecture professor at the University of Manitoba. Concrete can be beautiful. All that's needed is a little bit of fabric to bring out its hidden beauty.

The director of the Centre for Architectural Structures and Technology (C.A.S.T) and his students have been experimenting with a revolutionary technique using material similar to a "blue tarp found at Canadian Tire" to mould concrete into aesthetically-pleasing -- and useful -- new shapes for the construction of buildings.

Full report here

Related Blogposts
Hempcrete: The Future of Concrete?

Labels: Civil-Engineering, Design-Engineering

CCNtv highlights latest Civil Engineering Software Products

28 Jan 2008

CADCAMNETtv, the web-video news show produced by the publishers of CADCAMNet, the leading CAD industry online and print news resource, and Alkemedia Productions LLC, announced its newest webcast, covering the most up-to-date CAD industry news is available now.

This week's report highlights two of the leading Civil Engineering software products, from Autodesk and Bentley. The report includes details of Autodesk's Civil3D product, and PowerCivil from Bentley systems.

Full report here

Labels: Civil-Engineering, Design-Engineering