New U.S. Air Force Research Lab contracts aim to advance metallic-powder 3D printing for aerospace manufacturers. Related Links: An Enabler For Inspired Thinking: 3D Printing Metallic Printing Tested To Fabricate Structural Nodes The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory is awarding contracts to a partnership of aerospace and defense contractors and a 3D printing company to refine innovative 3D printing methods for use in manufacturing aerospace parts.The lab on Feb. 3 awarded $1 million in contracts to underwrite two projects aimed at enhancing intricate control during 3D printing. The awards were made through America Makes, an additive manufacturing innovation institute in
Courtesy Carnegie Mellon University A person's gait, weight and health are contributors to the specific vibration pattern they make as they walk. Related Links: Hae Young Noh assistant professor, Carnegie Mellon University explains her building sensor technology. A new structural-vibration sensor system inspired by scorpions’ predatory habits detects building occupants by their walking patterns. Walking vibrations produce a unique signature pinned to individual occupants.“It helps with building-energy management and to control the HVAC systems, based on occupancy,” says Hae Young Noh, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. The practical application of Noh and her team’s
Image Courtesy of Sefaira Systems Light Load Sefaira Systems compares peak loads and mechanical system size between several building models or iterations to find the best fit. Image Courtesy of Sefaira Systems Related Links: Sefaira Systems Sefaira Releases Energy Analysis Plug-in for Revit A new web-based tool, Sefaira Systems, combines the U.S. Dept. of Energy's building-energy- modeling simulation program, EnergyPlus, with 3D models to quickly analyze mechanical systems and building-envelope options during a project's early stages."Our chief engineers used to calculate all these loads and would crunch through processes and make their best assumptions," says Brian McGuire, director of building-information-modeling
Photo Courtesy of NASA SpaceX's CRS-5 Dragon arrives at the International Space Station on its fifth supply run on Jan. 12. Related Links: SpaceX CRS-5 Mission Elon Musk on Twitter As January comes to a close, 2015 already has been a busy year for Elon Musk, president of Space Exploration Technologies. Musk's SpaceX rocket manufacturing company secured $1 billion in financing from Google and Fidelity Investments for a shared 10% stake. Musk also announced his intention to build a five-mile test track for his pet high-speed land-transportation project, known as the Hyperloop.The Google-Fidelity announcement came days after Musk's Jan. 16
Image-making technology improves every year and ENR's annual The Year in Construction photo contest is one way to track how that improvement is contributing to improving the construction process, itself.Less than a decade ago our judges started seeing images shot by the then-new GoPro camera. GoPro cameras are now becoming commonplace tools on jobsites and have made it possible not only to capture photo documentation easily, but even to capture inspection photos in difficult-to-reach areas with relative ease. Such photos can reduce risk and improve performance.When the contest began in 2002, film and digital photos sent in by mail on
By AutoCASE A new web-based evaluation tool works via a plug-in available to Autodesks infrastructure design tools. It automates calculation of a proposed projects net present value based on its likely social, environmental and financial impacts. Related Links: Free Preview of AutoCASE AutoCAD Civil 3D A cancer diagnosis changes your life, says John Williams, chairman and CEO, Impact Infrastructure. When Williams learned he had the disease, he retired from his role as principal owner of an architecture and engineering firm on his 25th anniversary with the company.He then chose a new quest: Supporting the industry's growing commitment to the creation
Photo Courtesy of WindEEE Research Institute Hexagonal wind chamber is designed to produce tornadoes using its 106 individually controllable fans and adjustable floor. Related Links: Researchers Generate Tornadoes On Demand The Top 25 Newsmakers of 2014 When crossing the border of Colorado and Wyoming in his truck, Horia Hangan once found himself in the eye of a tornado. "Because nobody talks about tornadoes in winter, I think it was classified as a high-intensity storm," says Hangan. He says it was one of his scariest drives, with icy roads and cars and trucks being tossed into ditches around him. Somehow, he
Related Links: Pong Radiation Case Pong Radiation Case Pong Radiation Case Danalock ENR’s final gadget-review list for 2014 presents three smartphone additions that claim to extend user capabilities. One protects communication data, one amplifies range, a third locks dead bolts.See slideshow for full reviews.
Related Links: Video Explanation of Slab Heave (Cornell Engineers) SoilVision's Site Software designers claim their new release makes predicting house footing and slab movement so intuitive that geotechnical engineers will be more prone to do it.“Some practicing engineers don't actually compute potential heave,” says Geoff Chao, senior engineer and vice president of Engineering Analytics Inc., Fort Collins, Colo., a geotechnical engineering firm that partnered with SoilVision Systems Ltd., Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to make SVHEAVE, a software designed to be user-friendly and to simplify heave calculations, even in multilayered soil profiles.If these tedious calculations, as Chao calls them, are ignored, builders and
The American Society of Civil Engineers is reminding the nation of its standing D+ infrastructure rating by updating the data and design of its IOS and Android app.The 2013 Report Card for America's Infrastructure, updated on Dec. 11, gives users access to the most recent ASCE data on the nation’s infrastructure, parsed out by segment—Water and Environment, Transportation, Public Facilities and Energy—and state.“What we did was updated as much of the state-level facts and data as possible,” says Brian Pallasch, managing director of government relations and infrastructure initiatives at ASCE. The design and usability of the app, originally released in
