July 16, 2019

Three Technologies to Watch in Fire, Life Safety

By: Joshua Greene

Many new fire and life safety technologies and innovations remain notable, and they may yet achieve greater use and application in the future. It is possible that some or all of them have achieved greater use in a specific market. There are...

Keywords:Fire Engineering
July 1, 2019

Revisiting Earthquake Lessons - Non-ductile Concrete

By: Keith Palmer

The Richter magnitude 6.7 San Fernando Earthquake occurred on the morning of February 9, 1971 in the San Fernando Valley north of the city of Los Angeles. Also known as the Sylmar Earthquake, it caused 65 deaths, 2500 injuries and an estimated $...

Services:Structural Investigation
Keywords:Codes & Standards, Concrete, Seismic Analyses
June 20, 2019

Opposites Attract

By: Christopher Hewitt, Alan Humphreys, Eric Twomey

Engineers and architects often encounter conditions where dissimilar metals are in contact. When these situations arise, it is appropriate to consider the corrosion susceptibility of the materials. Although the term corrosion can be broadly...

Keywords:Corrosion, Metal-Steel
June 7, 2019

A Probabilistic Assessment of PWR SNF Pinching Failure Considering Hydride-related Cladding Embrittlement

By: Ricardo Medina, Elmar Eidelpes, Luis F. Ibarra

A probabilistic methodology to investigate pinching failure of pressurized water reactor (PWR) spent nuclear fuel (SNF) rod cladding is presented. The considered accident scenario is a 9-m SNF transportation cask drop after long-term SNF dry...

Markets:Nuclear
Keywords:Nuclear Facility
June 3, 2019

Common Smoke Control Approaches in High-rise Buildings

By: Nathan Wittasek

Although the rationale for providing redundant automatic systems to manage smoke movement in tall buildings where manual fire suppression activities cannot be easily undertaken is clear, it is less clear why there is so much...

Keywords:Fire Engineering, Fire/Smoke, High Rise
May 28, 2019

Understanding Unitized Facade Systems and Mega Panel Applications

By: Peter Babaian, Christopher Grey
Prefabricated building enclosure systems can help project teams streamline construction schedules, reduce construction costs, and improve assembly quality.
Keywords:Facadism, Preengineered/Prefabricated/Modular
May 20, 2019

Undercut and Grouted Anchors as Post-Installed Shear Reinforcement

By: Anthony Dondrea, Oguzhan Bayrak

Research and experience has shown that given specific loading scenarios and reinforcement configurations, reinforced concrete members may experience nonductile shear failures that can occur in sudden and brittle modes, often leading to structural...

Services:Structural Design
Keywords:Concrete-Reinforced
April 10, 2019

Development of a New-Generation High-Strength Post-Tensioned Anchor Bar

By: Jared Brewe, Neal Anderson

The new signature, steel arch bridge for I-74 over the Mississippi River is connected to the abutments by high-strength, post-tensioned anchorage bars. To achieve a design 100-yr service life for the anchorage bars in an exposed condition, a...

Keywords:Corrosion, Materials Testing for Design, Metal-Steel, Research/Development
March 26, 2019

Considerations for Custom Facade System Design

By: Scott Bondi
Designing custom glazing systems – such as structural glass walls or unitized curtain walls – is a complex task that varies widely from project to project, often depending on architectural goals and logistical constraints.
Services:Building Enclosure Design
Keywords:Curtain Wall, Glass and Glazing
March 26, 2019

Passive House Design for High-Performance Building Enclosures

By: Cheryl Saldanha, Gert Guldentops

The building enclosure is at the core of Passive House (PH) design – it is the “passive” system that regulates energy transfer. The mechanical and other “active” systems supplement the enclosure design to maintain...

Services:Building Enclosure Design
Keywords:Building Science

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