The Future of Green Engineering

Figure 1: One of the world's first sustainable engineers

In recent years, focus has been shifting towards changing our behaviour to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly (read: greener). You may have surmised that land development and construction have not been spared from this new initiative. So how does this new mindset change the way we design, construct, and operate new buildings?

One of the main goals of sustainable design is to improve on efficiency [1]; this efficiency can manifest itself in different aspects of a building. For example, it may change the way building design, construction, and day-to-day building operations are approached. When talking about efficiency, we generally refer to how effectively resources are used.

Green Roofs

Some features seen on sustainable building include green roofs, which reduces the amount of water run-offs, solar panels and solar water heaters, which help harness renewable energy and reduce dependence on fossil fuels, reflective building surfaces, which reduces the amount of energy absorbed by the building and thus energy expended into controlling building temperatures, and high quality insulation which also help on reducing energy consumption.

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Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Citations

In this amazing bridge demolition blog post there are several references that were studied that helped compile this post.

They are listed below.

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Complete Bridge Demolition

Shoring Towers to OWSJ

“Blow’d up real good.” – John Candy

Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Citations

Common Bridge Demolition Processes for Entire Removal

When a bridge is to be replaced, the original bridge must be removed so that the new one may be constructed. Various methods exist for the removal of large structures, inclusive of heavy impact breaking, hydraulic shearing, staged removal, and explosives.

Heavy impact breaking [2] is a common method for demolishing large portions of a structure. This type of demolition is commonly used by either large scale pneumatic drills (Figures 7 and 12), or a ball-and-crane set up (Figure 13), where a large mass is swung or dropped onto the structure to break it up into pieces (helicopter mounted balls and rig mounted “whiphammers” also exist, which involve a restrained arm attached to a spring, that releases blows onto a structure at high speeds). Ball-and-crane demolition in specific is very dangerous because if the crane misses the ball may swing wide enough to tilt the crane over (Figure 14). Heavy impact breaking is popular because it is simple and can do massive damage, however it is not effective for structures surrounded by people or attached to other structures because it can create large clouds of dust, loud noise, and large vibrations. In addition, for structures with stressed tendons, heavy impact breaking is dangerous because uncontrolled dislodging of the tendons can be hazardous when they lose their anchorage and snap. Furthermore, impact breaking may have difficulty cutting reinforcement, thus requiring cutting in sequence with the breaking.
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Selective Bridge Demolition

Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Citations

“Do not remove a fly from your friend’s head with a hatchet.” – Ancient Chinese Proverb

Diamond Cutting Saw

Common Selective Bridge Demolition Processes

Selective demolition involves removal of part of the structure which is to be replaced. This process may take the form of cutting or mini-blasting. Cutting bridge sections is a measure of demolition in which parts of the bridge are cut out for replacement and many methods for doing so exist. Mini-blasting involves dislodging parts of the structure with small explosives. Depending on demolition requirements, wire cutting, diamond sawing, splitting, jack-hammering, abrasive water jetting, or mini-blasting may be used.

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Never play cards with the Joker

A Beginner’s Guide to Bridge Demolition

Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Citations

Introduction

“I’m a simple man. I like dynamite, and gunpowder, and gasoline!” – The Joker.

With the growing number of engineering services available today, it’s easy to do some realistic comparisons. This article provides some great tips and helpful hints as it applies to why using an engineer is the safest way to demolish bridges. Whether its complete bridge demolition or selective demolitions complete control and predictable outcomes is synonymous with safety. This article will be published in 3 parts for you to enjoy. It will include some pretty wild videos that illustrate demolition done properly and demolition gone bad. Here is the introduction.

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Access Scaffold to Steel Structure

Initiatives for Women in Engineering and Construction

Woman, Science, and Engineering

More and more woman are trying to get started in science and engineering, since it’s easy to do and a great career to build. However, most people don’t know too much about engineering, or how to get started. Here’s some information on Woman in science and engineering that you’ll definitely want to know before you get started.

Woman Engineering Statistics

We in the industry have heard it again and again that there are less and less qualified workers on construction sites. The construction sector has seen a shortage of skilled labor across Canada [and the rest of North America] largely related to the retirement progression of the ‘baby boomers’, and the natural decrease in population stemming from decreasing birth rates. Employers recognize that recruiting nontraditional groups such as women is crucial as compensating shortage with Immigrants and temporary workers is just not enough. Statistics Canada recognizes 47% of workforce to be women in 2006, although only 4% are in construction and 12% are engineers.

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What is Construction Engineering?

Construction engineering is the ability to obtain construction operation through engineering. A Construction engineer’s work involves planning/scheduling, management of structures, and plays a big role on site. This work requires a wide range of knowledge and skills.

Construction Engineering Saves Time, Money and Maintains Deadlines

Planning

The planning and scheduling for a construction engineer is the most crucial to the success of a construction project. It involves understanding and delivering the requests of the client. In order to accomplish these requirements, the construction engineer requires a strong sense of comprehension whether it is verbal, in written form, illustration or documentation. Also, the planning includes budgeting and scheduling so that the project does not exceed the client’s budget, at the same time being able to comply with the client’s pre-requisite.

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Why is Construction Engineering Important?

There are three main reasons a construction engineer is important. The project team can save money, save time, and management can save on stress that may add the needed expense of aspirin.

How a Construction Engineer Benefits You

Saves Money

Construction Engineering Saves Time and Money

All three reasons are linked but should be discussed separately. This is because they may all affect the project in different ways. The most important reason to have a construction engineer is that, in the end, it will save the owner and the general contractor money. Many contractors believe that hiring an engineer will be costly, nothing is further from the truth. Many of the same contractors don’t understand that there are net gains in savings. Examples of this are “typical” temporary structures that do not require engineering are usually over designed. This is done to protect the manufacturer. If a construction engineer is hired many times the excess materials saved will exceed the cost of the engineering.

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Tilt-up Concrete Construction

One of the best ways to assemble a building safely and efficiently

What is Concrete Tilt-up Construction?

Tilt-up Concrete Construction, also known as tiltwall, is a method of constructing concrete buildings where the walls are poured on the slab then lifted into place. Once the slab has been poured and cured, workers create the forms for the walls directly on the slab. Door and window openings are built into the forms. Then workers tie the reinforcing steel grid inside the forms. Inserts and embeds are installed for lifting the panels and connecting them to the footing, roof and other components. Cement is poured into the form.

Once the concrete has cured the formwork is removed. Cables are connected to the inserts and the wall sections are lifted into place using a crane. Temporary braces connect the wall panel to the slab until all walls and the roof have been installed. The process is repeated until all of the wall panels have been installed. A finish is applied to the walls and the joints are caulked.

The Tilt-Up Construction and Engineering Manual – 6th Edition published by the Tilt-up Concrete Association is a great resource for more information.

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