UK engineers develop device for earthquake-proofing buildings
25th October 2017 10:58 am
UK developed structural engineering technology could protect buildings from the impact of earthquakes or blasts, preventing collapse and reducing the damage caused.
Developed by a group at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, the system makes use of stainless steel ‘sacrificial devices’ which are placed strategically in the structure so that they are the only damaged components during earthquake loading.
Current European ‘earthquake-proof’ buildings were designed to prevent collapse in the event of a strong earthquake. However, they do not prevent extensive damage that is difficult to repair, or the permanent deformation of a building after it has stopped shaking (also known as residual drift). Typically, If buildings experience one or both of these factors, the cost of repairs can become prohibitive, and demolition may be the only viable option.
The aftermath of the 2011 New Zealand earthquake
Dr George Vasdravellis, assistant professor in structural engineering at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, has used computer simulations to prove that his new system minimises the damage caused to buildings up to 10 storeys high in an area of high seismicity, with one in 475-year seismic events.
“The inherent properties of stainless steel results in the significant reduction of the residual drifts after a strong earthquake,” said Vasdravellis. “Through experimental testing and numerical simulations, we found that our system had negligible residual drifts under loading corresponding to the ‘design earthquake’, compared to conventional building designs, which experienced drifts that were four to five times larger.”
Vasdravellis said the that after a strong seismic event the device could simply be replaced, dispensing with the need to demolish the building. The technology could even be retrofitted to existing buildings he added: “In Greece and Italy, we’ve watched new areas become seismic, where previously there had been little activity. We must also consider, unfortunately, the impact of explosions or other attacks on buildings that could impose extreme loading conditions”
He and his team are now working with £140,000 of European Commission funding to take the technology to the next stage and adapt it for taller buildings.
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Last week’s poll: Protecting UK strategic industries
24th October 2017 10:30 am
Do new protections against foreign takeovers of strategic businesses go far enough?
Last week’s poll was predicated by government proposals to prevent manufacturers in strategic industrial sectors from being bought by foreign interests.
The proposals apply to manufacturers in two sectors: the ‘dual use’ and military sector, whose products are already subject to export controls; and companies involved in the design of computer chips and quantum technology.
The government can intervene when the annual turnover of the target company is above £70m — this limit will be reduced to £1m — and if the proposed takeover or merger increases the company’s share of UK supply to 25 per cent or over. More information on the proposals can be found here.
Of the 320 votes, just under half (49 per cent) thought that such protections are overdue, followed by a third of the vote who thought additional sectors should be afforded such protection.
Of the remaining 18 per cent of the vote, 11 per cent thought that the UK isn’t in a position to reject inward investment, four per cent thought the proposals to be sufficient and three per cent couldn’t find a fit with their view.
The debate that followed saw comments from those advocating government abstention in matters of takeovers, and others taking a more protectionist view.
Mohammed Amin Abdullah said: ‘This all seems wrong to me. People should be free to buy and sell companies as they please. Indeed, the UK should strive to be a paragon of laissez-faire capitalism, with one major caveat:...
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To all of Our Interesting-Supporters, -Sponsors; Meaningful-Producers; Ongoing-Highlighters; Informative-Producers; Conceptual-Influencers; Modernized-Informants; -Investigators; -Marketers; ...:
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To all of Our Interesting-Supporters, -Sponsors; Meaningful-Producers; Ongoing-Highlighters; Informative-Producers; Conceptual-Influencers; Modernized-Informants; -Investigators; -Marketers; ...:
The informational-mean (s), and supporting-way (s), of-quite and ought, of ourselves whence, and supporting-mean (s), of informing and-or, producing for people, as ourselves in all of our, globalized- and-or, meaningful- hence or, supporting-means, of ourselves and such: Modal-ways of-quite, and meaningful-intention (s); and productive- thence; supports of-quite; and informed-measure (s); through and ought; of all -others whence; as ourselves and-or; interesting- and-or; provisional-people; of our globalized-; and interesting-; and supporting-; of-quite and ought; and-or whenceforth; of our methodized- else; and informed-mean (s); and supporting-mode (s); of our regionalized-; and informative-; henceforth and such; of our contemporary-; and of-quite and whence; of our supporting-; and sponsoring- and-or; meaningful-needs; to of-quite hence or; by those -means else; of ourselves and others; of our globalized-; and informative- thus; economy (ies) and of-quite; supporting-measures; of ourselves and-or; interesting-means; whenceforth and ought; of our modernizing-; means of ourselves; and -others of much; of interesting- thus; world (s) of thence; of our commercial-; and productive- thus; necessities and-or of-quite; informative-disciplines; of our business-; information (s) and else; interesting-methods; of our supporting-; people and of-quite; provisional-ways; whenceforth and much; in all forts (es) and-or; by those -meanings; and of ourselves and-or; instantaneous-means; through and forth; and of much than quite; by all -feasiblities; and possible-awareness; would and could ought; of ourselves and -others; to shall hence or; to by of forth of much; to of our even-selves; to be able to continue; to inform people; and of especially; of our globalized-; henceforth and quite; trading-extremes; of our interesting-; world (s) of commerce; and commercial-principle (s). 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Irradiated flakes of pulverised plastic strengthen concrete
25th October 2017 10:00 am
Irradiated flakes of pulverised plastic have been used to create an aggregate that that makes concrete up to 20 per cent stronger.
Credit: Alan Levine (via Flickr)
If applied, the discovery by undergraduates at MIT could help cut carbon dioxide emissions associated with the production of cement and reduce the amount of plastic that goes to landfill.
“There is a huge amount of plastic that is landfilled every year,” said Michael Short, an assistant professor in MIT’s Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering. “Our technology takes plastic out of the landfill, locks it up in concrete, and also uses less cement to make the concrete, which makes fewer carbon dioxide emissions.”
Plastic has been introduced into cement mixtures before, but was found to weaken the resulting concrete. Exposing plastic to doses of gamma radiation, however, changes the material’s crystalline structure to make it stronger, stiffer, and tougher.
The students obtained flakes of polyethylene terephthalate — plastic material used to make bottles — from a local recycling facility and took them to MIT’s cobalt-60 irradiator, which emits the sort of gamma rays used commercially to decontaminate food.
According to MIT, the team exposed various batches of flakes to either a low or high dose of gamma rays. They then ground each batch of flakes into a powder and mixed the powders with a series of cement paste samples, each with traditional Portland cement powder and one of two common mineral additives: fly ash (a by-product of coal combustion) and silica fume (a by-product of silicon production). Each sample contained about 1.5 per cent irradiated plastic.
During compression tests the MIT team found that, in general, samples with regular plastic were weaker than those without any plastic. The concrete with fly ash or silica fume was stronger than concrete made with just Portland cement. And the presence of irradiated plastic strengthened the concrete even further, increasing its strength by up to 20 per cent compared with samples made just with Portland cement, particularly in samples with high-dose irradiated plastic.
After the compression tests, the researchers used imaging techniques to examine the samples for clues as to why irradiated plastic yielded stronger concrete.
The team took their samples to Argonne National Laboratory and the Center for Materials Science and Engineering (CMSE) at MIT,...
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Brexit uncertainty hitting UK manufacturing investment claims report
23rd October 2017 11:45 am
UK political uncertainty, particularly around Brexit, has dented British manufacturing’s appetite to invest in new plant and machinery, according to a study published by EEF and Santander.
The EEF/Santander Annual Investment Monitor – which is based on discussions with 328 companies – claims that while demand conditions should be spurring on investment just one third of companies say that Brexit has had no impact on their plans.
A similar proportion are only investing to satisfy current plans and waiting for clarity on any deal before investing further, while at the other end of the spectrum thirteen per cent of companies are holding off investment altogether until there is further clarity on a Brexit deal.
The survey’s findings are backed up by international data, which shows that the UK lags behind its European counterparts in investment in machinery and robots.
The survey’s spotlight on investment in automation shows that industry is making only slow progress on automating manufacturing processes, with industry being held back not just by caution but also by challenges from the cost of technology, uncertainty about returns and the capability to successfully implement change.
EEF’s chief economist Lee Hopley called on government to put investment and productivity at the forefront in the forthcoming Budget statement.
“Political uncertainty is adding to the hurdles of cost and lack of skills in holding back spending on ...
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