Civil Engineering Innovations - Essay Example

Word count 2112 Civil Engineering Innovations Civil 2009 is the London annual mega show on the civil engineering products and practices. Beyond the business promotion the companies too would like to show case their might to sensitize the customer on the current industry strength. The report presented here is based on the case study undertaken on the exhibition to assess the extend of innovation among the companies that have participated in the event. Also, it would also help the students to understand various innovative methods and products the companies have adopted to attain a highly successful growth pattern. Thus a comparison on the approaches across different companies has been undertaken and general characteristics prevailing on innovation is presented. Contents 1. Introduction. 3 2. Over view of most interesting Innovations 4 3. Case discussions 5 3.1 High pressure water jetting solutions 5 3.2 Advanced GPS unit 6 3.3 Efficient flood protection system 7 3.4 Solutions for repairing building cracks 8 3.5 Effective water management through water harvesting 9 4. Summary 10 References 10 Civil Engineering Innovations 1 Introduction The civil engineering domain is expanding at rapid pace as a result of the increased demand from the various infrastructural expansion schemes. This have lead to different situations which require better knowledge than the present as a result of increased engineering demand and also the challenges posed by the operating environment. And most of he organizations are attempting their own methods and practices to circumvent the problems faced by them. Some of such technique could be adopted by others or even could be converted to a commercial entity which could also result in another business opportunity for them. Civil 2009 is an event aimed to expose such developments and innovations that have taken place in the civil engineering arena and that could have wider application or utility. Large number of the products and techniques showcased in this mega event could also help the budding engineers to look for innovative ways of already existing solutions that are either awkward or tiresome. The exhibition have covered almost entire spectra of civil engineering, from construction, design and project management, environmental management and engineering to the advanced technological products like GPS units The report presented here highlights a few selected and most appealing innovations displayed at CIVIL 2009. 2 Over view of most interesting Innovations The innovations that have been identified to be presented here are based on the impact the innovations have caused to improve upon the existing practices. The construction of newer building by demolition of the existing structure is problem faced by most of the property developers. Based on the various public interest litigation being filed in relation to the construction process is from the adverse consequence caused in the demolition process wither in the form of excessive dust or noise generation. The innovative products using ultra high pressure water jet for concrete demolition displayed by Rentajet Group Ltd seem to put an end to the aforementioned problems. The surveying process though has advanced tremendously as a result of incorporation of information technology. Still, lot of impediments existed and the total use of space technology was not used inmost of the GPS products available in the market. The multichannel GPS+ released by TOPCON seem to have put an end to this problem and could fascinate everyone visiting this stall. Another interesting demonstration of the technology is by Tilt dams. This group have successfully developed flood mitigation strategies using their patented products called tilt damns and spring dams. They are operated using simple physics and seem to be successful to even protect against sudden flash floods. Sealing of joint and cracks are the age old problems and a reliable solution was thought to be hard to come. But the solutions proposed by the Oxford hydrotechnics seems to have put an end to this worry of builders and others involved in rectifying the cracks related building failures. The solutions for various environmental problems are required mostly by large number of individuals and organizations. Often the absence of tailor made solutions have forced this group people to leave the problems often unattended and thus causing serious damage to self and the nature. One such intervention is the stall arranged by WPI Ltd which demonstrates how a rainwater recharging unit could be set up even for a small residential unit by giving do it yourself manual . The stall stands as a symbol of commercial activity with genuine interest in the environmental management. 3 Case Discussions The detailed description of the cases found to be most interesting is discussed in the following sections. 3.1 High pressure water jetting solutions Rentajet Group Ltd (RGL) is a world leader in the field of providing solutions using high pressure water jetting used mostly for demolition activities. The demolition works that are undertaken using this technique are mostly related in the concrete demolition works. and the major attraction of their solutions are high level of productivity and safety in their products coupled with their efforts to make the demolition operations highly innovative ways and cost effective. The most astonishing aspect of their products are the availability wider ranges of water jetting techniques from simple pressure jets to Ultra High Pressure (UHP) jets which claim to cut the concrete without producing any noise or disturbance to the surrounding. The demonstration undertaken by them have shown that the 10 cm thick concrete slab could be demolished without causing any micro cracks in the neighborhood region. Also, the reinforcement placed inside the slabs were not loosed from it position shows the further impact to the entire building unit also would be minimized. Another feature that have caught the attention was be ability to remove the chlorides pr any non-visible contamination on the concrete. Injury to t he operators are the other set of problems that normally worries site engineer. The vibrational injury caused to the operators is the major occupational hazard that is associated with this activity. Very low reduction in the vibration highlights the safety aspect of this process. As another concern with any site engineer is the excessive dust and noise that is generated during a cutting or demolition work The elimination of dust and noise due to the different techniques of demolition unlike the percussive devices makes it a very innovative product in the exhibition. 3.2 Advanced GPS unit The field of surveying is growing rapidly with more sophisticated gadgets being introduced to make the field work and computations more efficient and error free. Though use of GPS was known to most of the surveying personnel the equipment that caught the attention was the GPS + showcased by TOPCON Ltd from Great Britain. Materializing the impossibility read their USP. They assure the measurements that were impossible to record earlier or the situations where data jamming was observed due to various interferences in the satellite - receiver communication, the GPS + is said to offer unique advantage. They claim the major achievement is in utilizing maximum number of satellites being tracked that have resulted in faster and reliable recording process. Topcon is aid to offer the services of not only the American satellite but also the Russian equivalent GLONASS. Topcons product ranges are said to offer 40 super channels so that are capable to track the any of the 20 satellites the maximum available at any instant of time. Thus the key aspect of this innovation is in creating a product that have outclassed all the limitations of all eh earlier products. 3.3 Efficient flood protection system The major flood protection structure promoted by Tilt dams in United Kingdom is an inspiring system with its simple design concepts and the large utility being offered by it. The tilt dam is considered to be an in situ system designed to contain sudden and high floods and also having design life of atleast 50 years. The lids that are laid horizontal with the help of a lock are placed upright on receiving a flood alert. The lid in the vertical position is held properly with the help of props and gives hem adequate security against any failure or high pressure generated. Also the attractive feature is the absence of any power for operating the tilt dam and hence is undertaken manually in the most comfortable way. The designs could be carried out in different ways either in single flood gate or as multiple units that are laid straight. It is said to have shown its strength in protecting reasonably high river and coastal flooding. The physics of the tilt dam is simple and amazing. The turning of the slab is undertaken with the help of gravitational force. At the time flood the water that is stored in the trench or below the hinge creates pressure much higher than those present above the hinge and this holds the wall erect at the time of operation. The ducts below the tilt could also be used for distribution system for the cables and pipes for very developments activities is another advantage offered by its promoters. The similar product promoted by the Tilt dam is the spring dam that too is capable of getting installed in a very short time. The lid is also lifted by hand and has a support frame over which the lid rests. The demonstration video screened in the exhibition hall shows that it very robust and durable besides being very simple and appealing. 3.4 Solutions for repairing building cracks Sealing the leaks and protecting the structural units is an age old process. But the all the available solutions available till date have not been very successful in offering long term success. Thus even the product segment too have the dubious state of being considered as a just for sake product with total absence of reliability. The demonstrations and displays by the Oxford hydrotechnics (H2Ox) seem to have finally made the needed thing work. This innovative enterprise specializes in the advance resin injection and grouting techniques. They successfully deliver services for the leak sealing, stabilization of the soils, control and management of ground water and recovery from disasters. They claim to have arrested the seal leaks quite successfully especially in the structural units like tunnels and mines. They have also spread their operations across wider domain that includes U.K, almost entire Europe, Russia and North America. Thus the technique of advanced resin injection has been popularized in most of the above regions and has helped to make the structural repair work more reliable and durable. Also what was very appealing to a spectator is the extend of professionalism exhibited by the team. Though the display at the centre was very limited the impact caused by them was very high and would certainly relate H2Ox with the building repairs they would ever face in future. As the key advantage of H2Ox was the domain where all the giants in the past have failed and this was well utilized to evolve a reputation for solving large number of sealing problems. 3.5 Effective water management through water harvesting The climate change reality has forced the policy planners across the world to frame policies that would equip the society and business houses to turn more environmentally conscious. One serious repercussions of the climate change being the drastic reduction in the fresh water availability and the adverse it would cause due to the dwindling supply of fresh water. The strict regulation that is forecasted in UK on water use is being tuned into a successful business proposition by WPL ltd. It was amazing to see the different combinations of water storage, recycling units and rain water harvesting products designed by WPL to meet the customers need (WPI, n.d.). They claim to give the consumers the freedom to choose on their reuse option from using to water the garden and lawn to the flushing operation in the toilet. In order add more credibility to the products the products supplied by WPL claims to be fully compliant with European union regulations (WPI, n.d.).WPL's RainBrain water harvesting solutions attracted the most from the sustainable development perspectives. They have successfully addressed the high level of water demand prevailing in schools and intervened using an appropriate solution at an amazing cost. Thus is the most attractive aspect of this product range from WPL. 4. Summary The paper illustrates the extend of innovative approaches that have been adopted by the industries either in their products or in the processes related to civil engineering applications. The common factors observed in the selected group of enterprises are their commitment to excellence, firm belief in their abilities and also a desire to be distinct in their operations. It was also interesting to understand that it is not the complexity of the technology or design rather the simplicity, durability and reliability that have helped in the wider acceptability of the proposed solutions. This also acted as an eye opener to the students of civil engineering to look ahead in the learning process and hence to evolve methods that would help them to learn effectively. References Civil 2009 (n.d.), Infrastructure for the 22nd century [Online] Available at [Accessed on 3 December 2009] RGL (n.d.), Rentajet Group The Specialist in Water Jetting [Online] Available at Read More