Practical testing is underway at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) on a ten-storey building made of cross-laminated timber, the tallest full-scale building ever to be constructed and tested on an earthquake simulator, or shake table. The shake table will simulate earthquake motions recorded during prior earthquakes covering a range of earthquake magnitudes from … [Read more...] about Earthquake testing underway on ten-storey mass timber building
Construction
New sensor lets concrete do the talking
An innovative new sensor that allows concrete to ‘talk’ is increasingly being used to monitor US highways. Embedded directly into a concrete pour, the sensor sends engineers more precise and consistent data about the concrete’s strength and need for repair than is possible with currently used tools and methods. ‘Traffic jams caused by infrastructure repairs have wasted four … [Read more...] about New sensor lets concrete do the talking
New method developed for optimising structural design
A study carried out by researchers at the Universitat Politècnica de València’s Institute of Science and Technology of Concrete (ICITECH) and Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden promises to revolutionise the structural design of wind turbines, offering solutions that are up to 15 per cent more sustainable than traditional designs. The study presents an innovative and … [Read more...] about New method developed for optimising structural design
Blast furnace adaptation could reduce steelmaking emissions by 90 per cent
Researchers from the University of Birmingham have designed a novel adaptation for existing iron and steel furnaces that could reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the steelmaking industry by nearly 90 per cent. The radical reduction is achieved through a ‘closed loop’ carbon-recycling system that could replace 90 per cent of the coke typically used in current … [Read more...] about Blast furnace adaptation could reduce steelmaking emissions by 90 per cent
Integrating humans with AI in structural design
Researchers at MIT have demonstrated that by combining an automated design system with regular evaluations by human engineers produced results that performed better than those designed by the automated system alone. The process was also completed more rapidly than a fully manual approach. Modern fabrication tools such as 3D printers can make structural materials in shapes … [Read more...] about Integrating humans with AI in structural design