To expedite removal of a key radioactive threat close to the Columbia River, the U.S. Energy Dept. hopes to dismantle a long-dormant nuclear reactor at the Hanford nuclear-waste site in Washington state with robotic technology instead of “cocooning” the structure for long-term storage, as has been done with five similar structures at the site. The multistory, 50,000-sq-ft K-East Reactor, which houses 240,000 graphite blocks that make up the reactor core, is a special case because of soil contamination around and under the structure, says Tom Teynor, DOE project director for the reactor. The agency and its contractors are testing new
The business of delivering software as a service over the Internet and sending heavy processing and collaboration tasks to high-speed computers in remote data centers is finding a home in construction. For example, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) product called SITEOPS applies the horsepower of cloud computing to its proprietary algorithms that will find the most cost-effective configuration, grading and drainage plan for development. It is a site optimization tool that approaches the issue the way a supercomputer plays chess: It thinks through every possible play and countermove to the end of the game to find the optimal solution. Sold on a
A hurricane is rising in the farmland of northwestern South Carolina, and it is going to stay there for the foreseeable future, ripping off roofs, driving rain through walls, shattering windows and shredding buildings. That’s the purpose of a $40-million building materials and assemblies test facility nearing completion in Chester County, S.C. It is designed to attack full- scale test structures with the swirling winds and rains of hurricanes, the pounding hail of severe thunderstorms, or the wind-driven embers of wildfires. The owner is the Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS), a Tampa, Fla.-based insurance industry group whose member
The Essential Element, a Hopewell, N.J.-based company, has put “off the grid” on the radar. The company’s combination of new technologies in water purification and energy generation has led to the creation of HYDRA, a 20,000-gal-per-day water purifier the company claims is the first self-sustainable, portable water filtration system. Photo: Essential Element The HYDRA features 12 solar panels that produce 2.88 kW to power the 16-ft-long assembly, which can be transported in a truck bed or on a utility trailer. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" In their regular jobs at Oil Free Now LLC, Woodbury, Conn., David Squires and
Heating, ventilating and air- conditioning systems are often invisible to the occupant. Hidden behind walls and snaking through ceilings, HVAC is noticed only when it breaks down. Photo: Jeffrey Rubenstone / ENR A live feed of McQuay’s testing facility in Staunton, Va., is the centerpiece of the Solution Plaza’s conference room, which also sports its own variable-refrigerant-volume system. Photo: Jeffrey Rubenstone / ENR At the Daikin-McQuay Solutions Plaza in Jersey City, N.J., mechanical systems—which normally are relegated to closets, rooftops and wall spaces—are the main attraction, highlighting the latest offerings in energy-efficient building design. (above/below) Photo: McQuay McQuay International, a
A U.S. computer data center located next to the Great Lakes is updating a traditional local method for cooling a building to reduce its energy consumption. Due for completion this June, the $150-million facility near Buffalo, N.Y., can turn an entire building into an air handler, powered by fans of the servers they house. “We are applying lessons that were learned during the industrial revolution in Buffalo to a modern data center, which is a new industry in Buffalo,” says Scott Noteboom, director, data-center engineering operations at Yahoo Inc., the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based owner. Like its industrial-revolution forbears, the data center
Traditional evaluation of structural soundness relies on measurements, calculations, observations and assumptions, but now engineers have a new tool that brings a far greater level of precision to the processes. Photo: STRAAM A utility had to cut cladding on a cooling tower and worried how far it safely could go. Analysis showed it danced in the wind but was safe. Formed in 2008, Easton, Md.-based STRAAM LLC—which stands for “structural risk assessment and management”—offers a service that records movement in any kind of structure, from buildings and bridges to cooling towers and wind turbines. Its instruments report the least tilt,
An industry consortium founded 10 years ago in Texas had a straightforward goal: to connect capital facilities owners and builders with the most promising emerging technologies for the improved delivery of their work.FIATECH begins its second decade with a sense that its mission is succeeding. Photo: Tom Sawyer A lot has been happening—fast, say FIATECH leaders, as innovation flows. Related Links: Construction Tech Group Milestone: FIATECH ReachesTenth Year Fully Integrated and Automated? Measuring Tens Years of Progress Technology's Home Team: FIATECH Pushes The Good Stuff The name, coined in 2000, stands for Fully Integrated and Automated Technology for Construction. The
Plans are moving forward for the first, $750-million, 25-mile section of the long-awaited $4.5-billion Baton Rouge Loop transportation project. Slide Show Photo: put photo credit here photo caption here The overall project includes an 80- to 90-mile controlled access toll roadway that will encircle Louisiana’s capital city metro area and alleviate congestion by providing additional capacity to Interstates 10 and 12 and alternate routes for local traffic. The first 25-mile section “has been broken out into an independent project,” which means it can advance ahead of the rest of the job,” says Bob Schmidt, assistant vice president and BR Loop
JLG has reinvented the aerial work platform with its new LiftPod, which sets up in about 30 seconds, offers 14 ft of working height and weighs just 145 lb. Last month, ENR tried out the featherweight lift while it made a stop near Chicago as part of JLG’s national road show. Related Links: The New Ladder? Featherweight Lift Introduced last year, the LiftPod is McConnelsburg, Pa.-based JLG’s answer to short-to-medium ladders. It hauls easily in a pickup truck and has few moving parts. A 63-lb base, 49-lb mast and 33-lb basket comprise the basic unit; it can be assembled by
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