An efficient, low-cost catalyst could replace platinum in water-splitting for clean hydrogen production.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170531134324.htm
Land Engineering (Scotland) has gone into administration with the loss of 135 jobs.
Administrators said problems were centered on the construction division.
But 249 other employees at the landscaping and civil engineering business have now transferred to rival idverde Limited which swooped on some parts of the stricken contractor.
The deal was struck by administrators from EY’s Restructuring team shortly after their appointment.
Idverde have bought the services, responsive and winter divisions and the company’s interest in contracts at Grangemouth, Craighouse and Quartermile.
Land Engineering’s head office was at Skypark in Finnieston, Glasgow with several site offices throughout Scotland.
Andrew Davison, Joint Administrator, said: “The market has become increasingly competitive for the company and has impacted on its profitability, particularly in relation to the company’s construction business.
“Various options have been explored by the directors to address these challenges.
“Unfortunately none of these options were ultimately successful and the directors therefore took the decision to appoint Administrators to help safeguard elements of the business. This has been achieved through the sale we have completed to idverde.
“While it has been possible to save more than 60 per cent of the total jobs through this sale, it is with regret that redundancies had to be made in relation to the remainder of the company’s business.
“We are doing all that we can to assist these members of staff to make their relevant claims and are providing them with access to impartial advice to help them face the future.”
Latest filed accounts for the year to August 2015 show the firm made a pre-tax loss of £192,000 on turnover of £40m.
With the help of some mathematical wizardry borrowed from particle physics – plus around 30 pages of algebraic calculations, all done by hand – scientists have laid to rest a 30-year-old mystery about the nature of glass. New insights open up the possibility that some types of glass may exist in a new state of matter at low temperatures.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170530115019.htm
Linden Homes and Volkswagen are investing £100m in a major mixed-use scheme in Battersea.
Linden Homes is putting in £90m alongside £10m from Lookers Volkswagen Battersea to build new apartments at 98 York Road.
The Podium development will also contain a new Lookers showroom which will occupy the ground three floors of the 20-storey building.
Construction is scheduled to start towards the end of this year.
Claire Gibbins, Sales and Marketing Director at Linden Homes South East, said: “Battersea is undergoing a huge transformation and is going to be a great place to live.
“As well as new homes, the area is going to benefit from new parks, leisure and cultural spaces plus extensions to the transport network including the Northern Line extension, which is due to complete in 2020.”
A new study finds that drone deliveries emit less climate-warming carbon dioxide pollution than truck deliveries in some – but not all – scenarios.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170530154312.htm
The University of Cambridge has picked Bedford builder SDC to deliver an innovative new research building for the Department of Civil Engineering.
The three-storey building designed by architect Grimshaw will research and develop advanced sensor technologies for the monitoring of the UK’s existing and future infrastructure.
The Government, which is part funding the project, hopes advances in monitoring will improve resilience and deliver maximum whole life value.
The building will accommodate workshops, laboratories, and offices as well as informal social space and seminar facilities.
Sensors will be used through the construction and life of the building, to exemplify the possibilities of smart infrastructure technology
As the first major building to be constructed as part of the Department of Engineering’s masterplan to move all activities of the Department to West Cambridge, it is an important benchmark for the design of future new buildings on the campus.
Director of Research at the Department, Philip Guildford said: “The work of our civil engineers is of national importance, promising to help find new solutions and, in doing so, open careers for young engineers, address challenges in our own cities, and create export opportunities’.
“Ultimately, we hope to move all of our activities from the cramped central site on Trumpington Street to West Cambridge, so that all of our engineering disciplines can be together and work together in this expanding part of the City. Such collaboration is essential for modern engineering.”
A focus on the growing build to rent sector has seen profits power ahead at London focused developer Telford Homes.
Pre-tax profits hit £34.1m for the year to March 31 2017 from £32.2m last time as turnover grew to £291.9m from £245.6m.
Institutional build to rent investors now account for 77% of Telford’s sales with the balance made up of 20% individual investors and just 3% owner occupiers.
The firm currently has a development pipeline of £1.5bn with recent acquisitions including a £95m scheme planned for the former London Electricity Board building on Cambridge Heath Road, E2 and Stone Studios in Hackney Wick.
The firm said: “We are actively looking into establishing longer term relationships with build to rent investors.
“We anticipate that this type of partnership will enable Telford Homes to buy land with a secured build to rent sale already in place subject to any planning requirements.
“This will bring focus to our acquisition of build to rent opportunities allowing us to move swiftly to secure sites and to take advantage of an increased desire for purpose built rental homes from local councils and the Mayor of London.”
Telford is also adopting more modern methods of construction including off-site manufacture of brick cladding at its Manhattan Plaza development and the use of a lightweight metal frame structure at The Pavilions.
Chief executive Jon Di-Stefano said: “Since the start of 2016 we have swiftly established Telford Homes at the forefront of the London build to rent sector with over £230 million of combined contract value secured to date.
“Build to rent is a strategic focus for the Group and we expect to further increase our activity in the coming months.”
Tottenham Hotspur have shared a series of photos detailing construction work on the club’s new stadium.
Mace is main contractor on the £800m stadium being built alongside Spur’s old ground at White Hart Lane.
A 12-week demolition programme is currently underway at the former stadium while construction continues on the new 61,500-seater arena.
Spurs will play their home games at Wembley next season with the new ground scheduled to be ready for the 2018/19 campaign.
All pictures courtesy of Tottenham Hotspur/Twitter
Private builder Bowmer & Kirkland has delivered a record year of profit as revenue at the group rose towards the £1bn threshold.
Chairman John Kirkland said all divisions performed well including the group’s house building business Peveril Homes.
Latest accounts for the year to August 2016, show pre-tax profit leap 53% to £61.5m as revenue rose 10% to £931m.
Bowmer & Kirkland maintained a strong cash balance with £268m held at the bank at year end.
Kirkland said: “Our strong cash position provides a major advantage enabling us to provide equity funding to finance developments and invest in joint venture arrangements when they arrive.
“We are pleased with the contribution our property joint ventures have made and our actively looking for more opportunities.”
Over the year the firm’s headcount edged up by 3% to 1,337 staff, while the wages bill jumped 23% to give an average staff salary of £54,790.
The highest paid director saw his total package rise 18% to £6,479,166.
Research into a more energy-efficient catalytic process to produce olefins, the building blocks for polymer production, could influence potential applications in diverse technology areas from green energy and sustainable chemistry to materials engineering and catalysis.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170530140730.htm
Researchers have developed a way to place onto surfaces special coatings that chemically ‘communicate’ with bacteria, telling them what to do. The coatings, which could be useful in inhibiting or promoting bacterial growth as needed, possess this controlling power over bacteria because, in effect, they 'speak’ the bug’s own language.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170530115112.htm
A new interactive design tool enables both novices and experts to build customized legged or wheeled robots using 3-D-printed components and off-the-shelf actuators.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170530115035.htm
Researchers have developed a much faster, non-contact method of studying how materials change in a high-radiation environment, such as inside a nuclear reactor.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170530115030.htm
Researchers have pioneered a way to detect the interaction of light and matter on a single layer of atoms. It’s the first demonstration of an elastic scattering, near-field experiment performed on a single layer of atoms.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170530115025.htm
In quantum devices, frequency modulation is utilized in controlling interactions. A new article discusses the physics of frequency modulation in superconducting quantum circuits, ultracold atoms, nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond and nanoelectromechanical resonators.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170530082218.htm
Scientists have developed a new method of characterizing graphene’s properties without applying disruptive electrical contacts, allowing them to investigate both the resistance and quantum capacitance of graphene and other two-dimensional materials.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170530100148.htm
An environmentally friendly ink for 3D printing has now been created based on cellulose nanocrystals. This technology can be used to fabricate microstructures with outstanding mechanical properties, which have promising potential uses in implants and other biomedical applications.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170530082212.htm
Chinese developer Greenland Group has confirmed AECOM as its preferred construction partner for the £800m Spire London development.
AECOM will use the experience of its high-rise construction business AECOM Tishman on what will be the tallest residential tower in western Europe standing 235 metres high.
Work will start on the basement and main build by the end of this year.
Foundations specialist Bachy Soletanche is currently onsite with piling work set for completion by November.
Greenland has also signed a pre-construction services agreement with Permasteelisa Group for the cladding package.
Wenhao Qian, Managing Director of Greenland (UK) Investments Ltd, said: “Spire London is set to become one of London’s iconic, landmark buildings, and it is vital that we have the right team in place that can deliver a project of this scale.
“AECOM has been a trusted partner for Greenland on our extensive portfolio, and we are delighted to have awarded them the Pre-Construction Services Agreement for the main construction works.”
Dan McQuade, Group President of AECOM Construction Services, said: “We are very excited to work with Greenland on this iconic project in the heart of London’s Docklands.
“It will be our fifth project working together across the globe, and we look forward to further strengthening our relationship and helping Greenland to bring their vision to life”.
Spire London will be 67-storeys high, providing 861 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and penthouses, 765 of which are available for private sale.
It has been designed by architects Larry Malcic and Christopher Colosimo of HoK, along with leading interior designer Nicola Fontanella of Argent.
Spire London is scheduled for completion Q4 2020.
Battersea Power Station Development Company has confirmed the appointment of Sir Robert McAlpine as the new construction manager to complete Phase 3 of the project.
The developer said an “intensive handover process” is underway to takeover from Bouygues who announced in March they would be leaving the job during the pre-construction phase.
Work is understood to be unaffected on the site because the trade contractors are already directly appointed by the developer and their ongoing management has continued during this transitional period.
Phase 3 of the Battersea Power Station project will contain 1,300 new homes, a hotel, shops and restaurants and a new London Underground station.
It has been designed by architects, Gehry Partners and Foster + Partners.
Simon Jenner, COO of Battersea Power Station Development Company, said: “On behalf of the shareholders, we are pleased to welcome Sir Robert McAlpine to the project.
“Sir Robert McAlpine have demonstrated a comprehensive and robust understanding of our objectives; they have identified a strong, proven team with highly relevant experience and have shown a true desire and enthusiasm to work on this exciting and demanding project.
“This is another step towards the successful completion of this phase and we look forward to working with their team in due course. ”
Sir Robert McAlpine’s Managing Director for London, Paul Heather, said: “We are delighted to be involved at the Battersea scheme and look forward to working successfully with the developer and consultant team on the completion of Battersea Power Station phase 3a.”
The tender race has started for a £32m refurbishment deal to revamp the Burrell Collection museum in Glasgow.
The historic home of Sir William Burrell’s famous collection is due to reopen in 2020 following a two-year construction programme.
An OJEU notice has now been published inviting contractors to bid for the prestigious project.
Up to five firms will be shortlisted for the Burrell Renaissance project which includes a complete revamp of the building envelope, renewal of the building services and creation of a new entrance and central hub.
Contractor have until June 29 to express an interest and the buyers online profile can be found here
Private rented sector specialist Moda is linking up with taxi app Uber to cut the number of car parking places in its city centre developments.
Residents will receive up to £100 in Uber credits each month if they agree not to have a car parking space.
Moda will swap the space previously used for car parking for greater amenities within the developments like fitness centres and media rooms.
Moda, backed by Apache Capital Partners, is delivering more than 6,000 apartments across the UK with major city centre developments in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, and Birmingham.
Its first scheme, Angel Gardens in Manchester’s NOMA neighbourhood, is currently under construction and will house close to 900 residents when it completes in 2019.
Moda’s buildings are created only for rent, and include shared areas that mimic a high-end hotel.
Jo Bertram, regional general manager of Uber in the UK, said: “Cars are one of the most expensive assets most people own, but they’re used just five per cent of the time.
“Our mission is for everybody to have a reliable ride at the touch of a button so they don’t need their own car.
“These plans for what will be a unique partnership with Moda Living is a big step forward in making that a reality.
“By getting more people to ditch their own vehicles we can put some of the space wasted on parking to much better use.”
Johnny Caddick, managing director of Moda Living, said: “Our apartments are for rent rather than for sale so we need to consider how our customers will live in cities in the future.
“Embracing future technology is vital from day one and these plans for a partnership with Uber would not only give our customers an affordable ride at the touch of a button – it would also enable us to design better buildings with more space for social interaction.”
Keele University has been given the green light to go-ahead with a £17.5m Smart Innovation Hub.
Construction is expected to start by the end of this year with completion set for Spring 2019 following approval from Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council’s Planning Committee.
The project aims to create the first innovation centre in the UK to bring together a university management school and incubation space for new and developing businesses.
The Hub will also create an environment that enables ‘open innovation’ by encouraging sharing of ideas, knowledge and expertise between businesses, academic researchers, the public sector and consumers.
The 4,200m2 three-storey building will be located at the entrance to Keele University as part of the Science and Innovation Park.
It has been designed by architects BDP.
Professor Trevor McMillan, Keele University Vice-Chancellor, said: “This is a big step in our capacity to support our local economy, local businesses and local community by enabling closer interaction between the businesses and various parts of the University, in particular the Management School which will be housed in the same building.”
The creation of the Smart Innovation Hub will form part of the New Keele Deal – a plan for £70m of investment by Keele University, Staffordshire County Council, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust and the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership to exploit the potential of Keele University’s research and facilities.
There is less than a fortnight left to nominate potential winners of this year’s Construction Enquirer Awards.
And you don’t have to wait for your company marketing machine to click into action to put forward an entry.
Anyone can nominate a firm who is great to work for or do business with.
So if you really rate your employer, or have been impressed while working with a contractor, client or supplier put their name forward.
Top Ten winners in each category will be decided by an industry vote which attracted more than 11,000 voters last year.
But you have to be in it to win it so if you like the company you work for or someone in your supply chain has done a great job nominate them here
The online entry process takes just minutes and the deadline is June 12.
Sponsors are also lining-up to have their names associated with construction’s newest and most innovative awards.
Screwfix is the latest sponsor to sign up alongside Torsion Group, JLT and Hadley Group as a host of other firms look to join them.
Categories in this year’s awards will showcase the best firms to work for and the best companies to work with.
Main contractors, specialists, suppliers and clients can all win awards for being great firms to do business with as voted for by their supply chains.
Major contractors and specialists can also compete to be named best firms to work for as voted for by their staff.
Our Top Ten winners will be announced in the summer with the awards evening to be held on October 10 where everyone will receive their prizes and the firm with the highest number of votes in each category will also be revealed.
The awards night will again be held alongside UK Construction Week in Birmingham at the Vox venue.
For more details on how to enter the awards plus ticket details and sponsorship opportunities please click here
A cross-linkable spring-like polymer finishing agent inserted into calfskin leather for high elastic recovery performance.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170529142409.htm
Diversified construction group JRL has more than quadrupled profits after a strong year of trading at both the concrete and crane hire divisions.
The former concrete specialist established over two decades ago now includes more than 10 main businesses offering anything from specialist trades to main contracting.
Pre-tax profits soared to a record £16.2m in 2016 from £3.9m the previous year on revenue up 15% at £289m.
The expansion of workloads in the south east saw the group’s headcount jump 18% to just over 700 staff, split almost in halve between site-based staff and office administration.
JRL chief John Reddington said the strong growth in profitability had been achieved against a backdrop of price inflation and challenges securing quality labour.
He added: “The JRL group has established a number of new trading businesses which are at an early stage in their own life cycle, and as such contributed negatively to net margin.
A number of these businesses have been negatively impacted by cost inflation, which remains a key risk.
“The directors continue to work with the management teams within these subsidiaries and expect a positive contribution in coming years.”
The star performers in the group were the core concrete frame operations and its London Tower Crane Hire businesses, which both had bumper years.
JRL’s Thames Reinforcements rebar engineer also benefitted strongly from better trading and improved pricing.
The group’s Miller Piling arm was restructured during 2016, with headcount falling from nearly 60 in 2015 to around 20.
Its results were further impacted by an extra £3.7m in costs relating to a claim on a problem contract.
During last year JRL also set up a demolition business and Slipstructures, formed to provide advanced construction solutions to the group.
The group’s Midgard main contracting business maintained revenue at over £100m while delivering improved profits at £1.4m.
Reddington said: “Overall group margins are expected to improve as loss-making businesses close out these losses and achieve profitability within the next two years.
“In particular we are targeting operating efficiencies across the group through innovation and increased use of off-site manufacturing.”
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew has appointed Graham Construction as sole contractor to deliver a £50m programme of works.
The project is another major coup for the contractor in the south east as it seeks to expand its presence across the region.
Over a five-year programme valued at £5m to £10m per year, Graham will deliver projects including new builds, refurbishment of historic Grade I and Grade II listed buildings, as well as the repair and replacement of M&E systems.
Key areas where the works will be delivered include The Herbarium, Palm and Water Lily Houses, Pavilion, Arboretum Nursey, and the Family Landscape Area.
Rob Joyce, Graham Construction’s London office director, said the firm would also deliver roof repairs at the Grade I listed Mansion at Kew’s sister estate, Wakehurst, in Sussex.
In addition to RBG Kew’s own staff and consultants, the team delivering the project also includes Donal Insall Architects (masterplanning), Ryder Architects (lead architect), and Mott MacDonald (M&E).
Scientists have built a new type of inorganic nanocomposite that makes perovskite quantum dot exceptionally stable against air exposure, sunlight, heat, and water.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170529090429.htm
Mass-producible quantum computers are closer than ever, thanks to new research. This process for positioning quantum bits in diamond optical circuits could work at large scales, say scientists.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170526084521.htm
An 18-month, $1 million study of concrete technology for taller wind turbine towers has just wrapped up, with results indicating that the taller towers could enable wind energy production in all 50 states.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170525131245.htm
Nanoengineers have developed the first printed battery that is flexible, stretchable and rechargeable. The zinc batteries could be used to power everything from wearable sensors to solar cells and other kinds of electronics.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170524152644.htm
Engineers have uncovered the secret to the exceptional toughness of conch shells, and say the same principles can be used for body armor and helmets.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170526143713.htm
Bourne Leisure Hotels has appointed BAM Construction to carry out restoration work on the Grade II listed Studley Castle in Warwickshire.
The £35.5m deal will see BAMA refurbish and restore what will become the 14th Hotel in the leisure giant’s group which includes holiday brands Butlin’s, Haven and Warner.
BAM has commenced early works on 1830s country house.
It will be linked via a new bedroom block and cabaret space extension to the existing stable block. The new hotel incorporates extensive leisure and cabaret facilities as well as historic rooms in the main house.
Studley Castle will be open to guests during the winter of 2018.
BAM’s Construction Manager Jon Kiteley said: “Our team has been working closely with Bourne Leisure and its consultants to develop the design and construction strategy to deliver this landmark project.
“We now have the opportunity to deliver the redevelopment which will see the rejuvenation of this important local landmark, allowing its story to continue towards, and beyond, it’s 200th anniversary.”
Ardmac has been awarded the fit-out of Number One Kirkstall Forge on behalf of leasing specialist Zenith Vehicle Contract.
Work starts on site next month alongside project manager Fox Lloyd Jones, architects SpaceInvader and M&E consultant BSAP.
Working across four floors totalling 60,000 sq ft, the project will incorporate the installation of high quality bespoke joinery, custom made lighting, feature flooring and ceilings and the development of a roof level meeting room suite.
Tim Buchan, chief executive of Zenith said: “Kirkstall Forge is another milestone in Zenith’s history and its location presents an opportunity to draw on the highly talented resources from within the North of England and establish a best-in-class headquarters for our future growth.”
The £400m Kirkstall Forge scheme promises to deliver 1,050 homes, 300,000 sq ft of offices and 100,000 sq ft of retail, leisure and community space at one of the oldest industrial sites in Europe.
Ardmac Operations Manager, Harry Cheema csaid: “We are extremely excited to once again be working alongside Fox Lloyd Jones, SpaceInvader and BSAP at this iconic development in Leeds.
“The project forms an intrinsic part of our business strategy and will present Ardmac with the opportunity to demonstrate our ability to deliver high quality interior fit-out projects, providing Zenith with an impressive new working environment”.
Two firms have been fined a total of £700,000 and a director given a suspended prison sentence after four workers were killed at an excavation site in Norfolk.
The Old Bailey heard that on 21 January 2011 the men were constructing a large steel structure as part of the foundation for a large Pressure Test Facility (PTF) at Claxton Engineering Services in Great Yarmouth.
The structure – which weighed several tonnes – collapsed on top of the group.
A large-scale emergency response took place to try and rescue the trapped workers. Adam Taylor, 28, 41-year-old Peter Johnson and brothers Thomas Hazelton, 26 and Daniel Hazelton, 30, were all pronounced dead at the scene.
The excavation for the horizontal PTF was more than 23m long, 3m wide and 2m deep. The horizontal steel cage being constructed would have weighed about 32 tonnes when completed.
The group were working for Hazegood Construction Ltd. Daniel Hazelton was an employee, while the other three were self-employed contractors.
Encompass Project Management Ltd was the principal contractor, with Hazegood operating as a contractor.
The same structure before the incident
An HSE investigation found serious flaws in the planning, management and monitoring of this complex project on the part of Claxton as well as Encompass and its company director David Groucott.
Claxton Engineering Services Ltd of Norwich pleaded guilty to safety breaches and was fined £500,000 and ordered to pay costs of £100,000.
Encompass Project Management Ltd of Thetford, Norfolk pleaded guilty to safety breaches and was fined £200,000 and ordered to pay costs of £50,000.
Groucott of Diss, Norfolk also pleaded guilty to safety breaches and was sentenced to a seven and a half month custodial sentence, suspended for two years.
He was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid community work within 12 months, and also ordered to pay costs of £7,500.
Charges against Hazegood Construction Ltd were ordered to lie on file.
HSE Construction Division Head of Operations Annette Hall said: “Those sentenced today failed the four workers who died. They didn’t carry out their legal duties, leading to the events which caused their deaths.
“This was a long term, large scale and complex civil engineering project which needed to be planned, designed, managed and monitored effectively.
“The tragedy here is that, in the months leading up to the accident, any one of these parties could and should have asked basic questions about building the structure safely. Such an intervention could have avoided the tragic outcome of this entirely preventable accident.”
A research team has developed the first switch that turns on and off a quantum behavior called the Berry phase. The discovery promises to provide new insight into the fundamentals of quantum theory and may lead to new quantum electronic devices.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170525141541.htm
Researchers have discovered a technique for controlling light with electric fields.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170525100259.htm
Researchers studied the thermal and electrical properties of one-dimensional crystals composed of tantalum, silicon and tellurium for thermoelectric cooling at temperatures below 250 K (-23°C). The thermoelectric characteristics of these crystals were varied at temperatures ranging from the cryogenic level of 50 K up to room temperature by doping with molybdenum and antimony. The crystals’ thermoelectric power factors greatly exceeded those of conventional materials around room temperature, indicating their suitability for low-temperature applications.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170524101516.htm
Since the global supply chain for additive manufacturing (AM)– also called 3-D printing– requires companies to share CAD files within the organization or with outside parties via email or cloud, intellectual-property thieves and malefactors have many opportunities to filch a manufacturer’s design files to produce counterfeit parts. Researchers have discovered ways for manufacturers to turn the tables on thieves by deliberately embedding hidden flaws in CAD files to thwart intellectual property theft.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170523162416.htm
Drivers at Cemex UK have accepted a pay deal from the materials giant which staves off the threat of industrial action.
The cement logistics drivers will receive a 1.6% increase in basic salary plus improved location allowances.
The move will be a relief to sites across the country facing a shortage of materials if deliveries were disrupted.
A joint statement by Cemex and the Unite union said: “We are now all committed to work together in the future for the best interest of our employees, our customers and our stakeholders.”
Subjecting complex metal mixtures called high-entropy alloys to extremely high pressures could lead to finer control over the arrangement of their atoms, which in turn can result in more desirable properties.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170525085120.htm
Scientists have presented a hybrid animal-robot interaction called “the parasitic robot system,” that imitates the nature relationship between parasites and host.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170523083558.htm
Materials exposed to neutron radiation tend to experience significant damage. At the nanoscale, these incident neutrons collide with a material’s atoms, which then collide with each other. The resulting disordered atomic network resembles those seen in some glassy materials, which has led many in the field to use them in nuclear research. But the similarities between the materials may not be as useful as previously thought.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170523124216.htm
Recycling plastic has an important role in sustainable manufacturing. However, there are still barriers to using recycled plastic not only because of its material and processing properties but also because of its smell. A young researcher has now studied what causes recycled plastic to smell.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170523104345.htm
Who is not fascinated by the wonderful iridescent colours of butterfly wings? Those who want to find out more about this phenomenon will realise that often the colour is not generated by pigments, rather by periodic structures made of chitin, a structure-forming polysaccharide. These so-called photonic crystals give rise to structural colour by only reflecting specific wavelengths of the incoming solar spectrum. The resulting colour is not random, it serves as camouflage or signalling. But how do millions of these photonic crystals form within the tiny scales of butterfly wings? The opinions of scientists differ in this matter.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170523104340.htm
Scientists have built a structurally complex material from two simple building blocks that is the lowest-density metal-organic framework ever made. Directed by design rules developed by the scientists, uranium atoms and organic linkers self-assemble into a beautiful crystal – a large, airy 3-D net of very roomy and useful pores. The pores are so roomy, in fact, that the scientists have nestled a large enzyme inside a pore – no small feat.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170523095034.htm
By introducing defects into the perfect surface of graphene on silicon carbide, researchers have increased the capacity of the material to store electrical charge. This result increases our knowledge of how this ultrathin material can be used.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170523084617.htm
A lightweight, comfortable jacket that can generate the power to light up a jogger at night may sound futuristic, but a materials scientist could make one today. In a new paper, she and colleagues outline a way to apply breathable, pliable, metal-free electrodes to fabric and off-the-shelf clothing so it feels good to the touch and also transports enough electricity to power small electronics.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170523083722.htm
Graphene Flagship research demonstrates large scale, fully integrable arrays of single photon quantum dots in layered materials, which may lead to hybrid on-chip photonics devices for networks and sensing. This method is transforming the way researchers work with transition metal dichalcogenide quantum dots.
from Engineering and Construction News – ScienceDaily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170522080752.htm
McLaren Construction has won a £38m design and build deal for the new Sports and Science Facility at Brighton College.
Work will start on site in July to demolish existing buildings ahead of construction of a new Sports and Science Building over four floors which is due for completion by the end of 2019.
The new building has been esigned by Dutch architect OMA and will include a swimming pool in the basement along with underground parking for the college fleet of minibuses.
The ground floor has a cafe, sports viewing area, gymnasium and sports hall as well as an indoor sprint running track.
Upper floors will hold laboratories for all core sciences, such as Chemistry, Physics and Biology, and the rooftop amenity space will feature a running track.
It will be the third major contract awarded to McLaren by Brighton College in the last five years.
Peter Jackson, Group Contracts Director said: ‘’We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded this project which continues our fantastic working relationship with Brighton College.
“Construction will commence following the successful completion of the current Academic Building in August and we look forward to working alongside the Architects OMA and the College to deliver the new Sports and Science Building.’’
