Civil Engineering Industry News
'Worrying' state for construction as output continues fall
The monthly measure for construction output has fallen for the twentieth consecutive month, with October figures showing further job cuts prompting fresh worries about the state of the industry. Monthly figures from the Chartered Institiute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) and research group Markit indicate construction output fell to a figure of 46.2 in October - the 20th consecutive month of decline, but the decline was recorded at a faster rate than in September.New designs for smarter buildings
After two years of design, experimentation, fund-raising and building, the University of Arizona's Solar Decathlon team has completed construction of its 800-square-foot solar-powered house on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The UA's team will compete with entries from 14 other states, Puerto Rico, Canada, Germany and Spain. The Solar Decathlon effort is but one of the UA's efforts to broaden the horizon of sustainable architecture and building.Want to Build Earthquake Resistant Houses? Take advantage of Bamboo!
Utilization of bamboo as a major component of housing construction in earthquake-prone areas think it’s time, given the durability of the earthquake. As stated in the discussion “Stanards and Oversight Earthquake Resistant Buildings”, in Jakarta, Monday (14 / 9). Discussion was attended by a number of experts and practitioners of architecture. Among the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, University of Danang Tarumanagara Priatmodjo, Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Architects (IAI) Subijono Endy, Professor of the Department of Architecture, University of Indonesia Gunawan Tjahyono, and businessman Arifin Panigoro.New Purdue Lab to Find Solutions For Aging Infrastructure
A new lab at Purdue University has been established to research aging highways, bridges and other infrastructure. Engineers will use the Charles Pankow Concrete Materials Laboratory to develop more durable and environmentally friendly concrete. The lab has been funded with $2 million from a $4.7 million donation from the family of Purdue graduate Charles Pankow.
Old American Dams Quietly Become A Multibillion-Dollar Threat
Last week, a Siberian hydroelectric dam failed when an explosion rocked the site’s turbine room, killing dozens and taking 6,000 megawatts of electricity offline. While the tragedy’s ultimate causes are unclear, Russian media has been questioning the state of the aging Soviet-made infrastructure. Dams are getting older in the United States, too. The average age of America’s 80,000 dams is 51 years. More than 2,000 dams near population centers are in need of repair, according to statistics released this month by the Association of State Dam Safety Officials
Project Pushes Innovation To Save Coast
The state has put up $16 million toward developing innovative coastal-restoration strategies, said Chris Macaluso, a spokesman for the Governor’s Office of Coastal Activities. The state’s primary interest, Macaluso said, is finding a company that would, with state investment, design, construct and use a dredge made specifically for coastal restoration. “We have an endless need for sediment from the river,” Macaluso said, “so anyone who did this and could make it cost-effective would have an endless supply of work.”
Wastewater Produces Electricity And Desalinates Water
A process that cleans wastewater and generates electricity can also remove 90 percent of salt from brackish water or seawater, according to an international team of researchers from China and the U.S. Clean water for drinking, washing and industrial uses is a scarce resource in some parts of the world. Its availability in the future will be even more problematic. Many locations already desalinate water using either a reverse osmosis process -- one that pushes water under high pressure through membranes that allow water to pass but not salt -- or an electrodialysis process that uses electricity to draw salt ions out of water through a membrane. Both methods require large amounts of energy.