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How Flood-Resistant Buildings Work

How Flood-Resistant Buildings Work

Picture this: you’ve just moved to a nice little cottage by the sea. You’ve got some beautiful views, and you’re literally steps away from the beach. It’s almost like a dream. And then a hurricane hits, and suddenly you’ve woken up from your dream as your little cottage is destroyed by a devastating cocktail of wind, rain, and flood.  Instead of moving somewhere a bit further away from the coast,…

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How to Safely Travel with Your Pets

For avid travelers who happen to also be pet owners, a common problem faced is what to do with your furry family members while you are on the road. Many tend to seek kennels for their pets to stay in during their time away, but for others, bringing them along for the journey is crucial. If bringing your dog, cat, rabbit, or any pet with you for your traveling excursions is a must, take the following considerations into account to guarantee they are properly taken care of during such times.

Know Before You Go

The most obvious consideration beforehand is making sure your pet is allowed into the country you’ve chosen to travel to. Many countries require strict screenings for pets visiting from foreign countries, including vaccinations, behavioral tests, and sometimes microchips; a surgically implanted device to monitor your pet’s location at all times, which should be done well before planning to travel. The consulates of each country all have the information needed to ensure you meet their requirements, and more information can be found at the U.S. Department of State’s website.

Be Mindful When Flying

If your travel plans involve flying, your pet’s well being is crucial, ensuring his or her safety and comfort. After choosing an airline, check their pet policies beforehand. Some may allow smaller cats and dogs in the cabin of the plane, while others require that you have them stored below the cabin. If your pet must be below cabin, it is vital that you consider the temperatures during your time of travel. The summer and winter months will yield extremely hazardous temperatures to pets in an uncontrolled environment.

Some airlines have pet health requirements that should be considered as well. Visiting a veterinarian before your trip will not only give you a certificate to ensure your pet’s health upon arriving, but let you know whether or not your pet is healthy enough to travel in the first place. If you have sick, ill tempered, or physical impaired pet in any way, it may be wise to either leave them with a friend, or postpone the trip entirely.

Another thing worth noting is the fact that certain breeds of dogs should never be brought on planes. Pugs, Pekingese, Chows, and other short-snouted breeds already have limited breathing passages, and are therefore more prone to oxygen deprivation and heat stroke at higher altitudes.

The Ins and Outs of Coastal Engineering

Coastal engineering is a field of civil engineering that covers exactly what the name implies: coastlines and the protection of surrounding areas. As something that may commonly be overlooked, rising levels of water can directly affect our society in a number of harmful ways. Erosion, pollution of agricultural soil, and flooding can all be caused by ill-managed coastlines, thus amplifying the importance of coastal engineering.

This field covers a surprisingly broad spectrum, with areas including the maintenance and improvement of harbors, channels, and seawalls. The goal of this is to protect nearby structures or communities from possible floods, tsunamis, and even prevent oceanic pollution. All of these are extremely important considerations seeing as 39% of the United States’ population lives lives along a coastline of some sort. Though these homes may provide stunning scenery, they are prone to the hazardous effects of coastal weather, which can cause erosion of the ground around and underneath these structures. This is where coastal engineers step in to save the day. Seawalls and groynes are just two of many structures that can effectively prevent erosion, which form slopes that can block waves or bodies of water from reaching homes or impressionable parts of land.

A common natural disaster that has prompted civil engineers all over the world to rethink their approaches in prevention is flooding. As many remember, Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst examples of flooding in U.S. history. Levee walls designed to prevent rising waters from overspilling failed, leading to thousands of homes being pushed away from their foundations. The storm’s damage was catastrophic, easily breeching every levee the city had in place, forcing local coastal engineers to revamp their methods of flood prevention. Billions of dollars have been spent since to attempt to better protect the city, with stronger barriers and seawalls put in place all around.

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What We Can Learn from the Grenfell Tower Fire

A week ago, the 24-story apartment building Grenfell Tower in North Kensington of London caught fire after responders were called to deal with a small fridge fire, at which point it had already escalated and spread to the exterior of the building. After many hours of attempting to settle the blaze, which had spread extremely quickly, nearly every floor from the 4th up had suffered immense damage, and an estimated 79 lives were lost, with many still having not been found.

In the wake of this tragedy came controversy, as residents had reported safety concerns long before the fire took place. Aside from numerous maintenance failures, those living within the building only had one escape route in the event of fire, which was a single staircase down the center of the complex. Though it had been recently renovated, several residents still felt unsafe within the walls of Grenfell Tower, of which their voices went unheard. Moving forward, there are a number of factors we can take into consideration in order to prevent anything like this from ever happening again.

What has been surprising to many is the fact that Grenfell Tower was a high rise building. These are specifically designed to withstand fires, and properly contain them within the area in which started, should something spark. However, firefighters and professionals have stated that the materials used to refurbish the building were to blame. Developers used aluminum back in the 1970’s, which is highly combustible, and could be the main reason why the fire was able to spread so quickly.

As mentioned before, residents only had one escape route. This should have been an obvious concern for developers from the start. Being a high rise, in the event of a fire, elevators no longer become a safe option, so several escape routes should be added. These can include staircases throughout the building, and exterior fire escapes in the form of stairs or ladders.

Many residents who called local authorities were advised to stay in their homes, as they felt that was the safest option. However, Grenfell Tower was not divided up into many sections and areas, so being that it was essentially a tall, single-sectioned building, those who followed that advice may have perished. This stresses the importance of having buildings compartmentalized, and divided in order to allow residents to move to a different area, should leaving the building not be an option.

Some of the most crucial components that were missing from Grenfell Tower was a sprinkler system, and a central fire alarm. Many people within the building didn’t even know a fire had started on the fourth floor until the flames reached their windows. Once they did, there was no system within the tower to douse the flames. Being a 24-story building, fire hoses from the ground were only able to do so much, and only to the exterior.

The faulty design of Grenfell Tower has led to outrage all over England, especially among the families of the victims. Basic design necessities were ignored, and lives were lost because of it. The United Kingdom is currently looking into more detail as to why the tower failed as terrible as it did, and engineers and developers should use this as an example of what can happen when buildings are not constructed properly.

The Most Innovative Ideas in Construction

As I have discussed in past blogs, construction and the materials used in this field are constantly changing in order to keep up with the modern world. Materials created to conserve energy, provide innovative forms of design, and just make society as a whole easier for citizens around the world have been at the forefront of the construction industry. With that said, below are some of the most innovative materials developed in recent years that have the potential of reshaping civil engineering.

Energy-Driven Roads

Harnessing the powers of kinetic energy, Underground Power of Italy is attempting to develop roads made of rubber paving that converts the energy produced by cars driving over top of it to electrical energy. Should these amazing breakthrough become a standard for roads around the world, the amount of energy these could produce is immense. Collecting the energy produced by moving vehicles would be as simple as storing it in an electricity grid for anytime use.

Self-Restoring Concrete

Concrete is the most widely used material in construction due to its sturdiness and affordability. However, cracking and damage to the foundation of structures containing this material poses a serious threat, and can cost a great amount of money to repair. Today, researchers are attempting to create a type of concrete that can actually repair itself through bacteria that will spread upon being touched by water. Cracks begin to heal themselves before the structure can become weathered by wind or excess water.

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5 Tips when Traveling Alone

Flying solo, both literally and metaphorically, can be a daunting experience. Without a companion alongside you on all of your adventures, traveling can feel quite lonely. Embrace any feeling of loneliness in a positive way, and make the most out of your individual vacation. Here are a few things to consider when visiting foreign countries, states, or provinces by yourself.

Practice proper safety

With traveling alone comes a little less security. Study the area you are visiting before reaching said destination. Be wary of neighborhoods or areas that may have higher crime rates than others. Sticking to well-lit, public areas is a good way to prevent making yourself a target. With that said, don’t be flashy with expensive clothing or jewelry. This is a dead giveaway that you’re a tourist, which may make you an easy target for theft or scams. Don’t give out any personal information about yourself to anyone other than those you trust. Unfortunately, you cannot trust everyone.

Learn the local language

Making an effort to learn the native tongue of the area you’re visiting will show locals that you respect their culture, and are eager to learn. This is almost always met with appreciation, and can benefit you greatly in certain situations. For example, if you’re lost or unsure of the location of somewhere you intend to go to, speaking the language of those around you will most likely receive an answer better than just English.

Don’t be a recluse

A common urge of those who travel alone is to stay inside and avoid interaction. This will only create missed opportunities of meeting friends, trying new things, and experiencing the culture as a whole. Participating in local tours, visiting coffee shops or restaurants, and sightseeing are all ways to meet new people, and make the most out of your trip.

Go off the beaten path

While participating in touristy activities can be fun, don’t limit yourself to just that. Look into less popular hiking trails, museums, or small towns. These could provide some of the truest cultural experiences available in the country you’re visiting.Travelers who meet in environments like these will be more inclined to talk to one another as well.

Have fun

A basic tip that goes without saying, but don’t be afraid to enjoy the little things just because you are by yourself. Consider going to a dinner and a show. These typically have scheduled seating; another opportunity to meet new people. Having a drink or two won’t hurt. Bars are some of the most social environments in cities around the world. Comfortably setting yourself up on a bar stool alone isn’t something to be ashamed of. More often than not, exuding confidence in a situation like this will attract others.

Traveling alone is a considerably admirable thing to do. Always remind yourself that you bravely chose to visit a destination without any help, and be sure to embrace all cultures at your expense in order to experience a truly remarkable vacation.

As a civil engineer, I’ve always had this weird obsession with bridges. The ability for mankind to design a solid structure that’s basically a shortcut across a span of land or water and hold tons of weight is still a shocking concept even if all of the science and math add up. It’s the same as massive jets being able to fly and huge boats that don’t sink in the water. Yes, I understand the science but when you step back away from the paper, its an amazing feat. Now on top of the engineering side, even more impressive is when an engineer steps outside of the box and decides to build a structurally sound bridge that also evokes artistic design. What is the one thing all of these bridges have in common? They aren’t in the USA. Sure we have the Golden Gate which yes is impressive because we built it without computers way back in 1937 but man, look at all the design possibilities we can create today?! Why aren’t we designing more bridges like the ones above? Our suspension and arch bridges are so boring. To the future civil engineers out there, instead of just building a bridge that works, let’s try designing something that makes a statement.

The Benefits of Civil Engineering Failures

Structural complications, disasters, and failures in general are inevitable in the world of engineering, and have occurred countless times since the development of the modern world. Though a failed project may seem like backtracking, there is perhaps no better field to benefit from the phrase “learn from your mistakes.”

When a building falls, a dam breaks, or a bridge deteriorates sooner than expected, the first step a successful civil engineer takes is going back and reviewing the blueprints, making note of any area where they may have miscalculated or misjudged. Looking back on some of the most infamous civil engineering failures throughout history, the projects that followed them almost always took note of why their precedents fizzled.

Most recently, The Oroville Dam in California experienced structural difficulties after going through heavy storms this past February. A hole in the dam opened up, causing water levels to rise tremendously. Almost 200,000 people were forced to leave their homes to avoid danger. However, thanks to the quick thinking of those in charge, the water levels were dropped before the storms hit in anticipation, leading to much lower levels of flooding.

What’s important to take away from this incident is the fact that much of our country’s structures are now outdated, most having been made in the early 20th century. Engineers now have the opportunity to take a step back and look at the main causes for the Oroville Dam’s failure. What materials can be used to repair and prevent the dam from experiencing another crisis? A question all will be asking, thus changing the way engineers look at dams in the future.

For example, in between the years of 1907 and 1916, the Quebec Bridge underwent several updates before finally being deemed safe. Upon its first completion, the bridge collapsed, killing 86 workers and calling for an overhaul. The second bridge, though much stronger, collapsed again, killing another 13. After their third attempt, engineers chose to use nickel alloy rather than steel, which proved to be the safest, most sound option.

Whenever a structure fails, whether it be a building, dam, or bridge for whatever reason, these should be taken as opportunities for innovation. The reasons for why they were unsuccessful give engineers the chance to reassess the structures, and potentially develop newer, safer means of maintaining their stability.