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New Standard for Amusement Railway Ride Tracks
Many people love riding on a train, even if it’s a miniature scale ride at an amusement park. A new ASTM International standard will ensure that the tracks for such rides are built soundly. The new standard is ASTM F2960.
Nuclear Power Plant Enters Service in China
Unit 1 of the Fuqing nuclear power plant in China's Fujian province has reached full generating capacity. Meanwhile, first concrete could soon be poured at the plant's fifth unit, the Hualong One reactor, according to the World Nuclear Association.
Spending Cuts Will Lead to Greater Flood Risk: NOA Report
The Strategic Flood Risk Management report published by the UK National Audit Office (NOA) says there is a risk of flood defenses deteriorating in areas where their maintenance is given a low priority – typically in areas with fewer homes.
Residential Solar Energy Storage Market to Grow by Factor of 10 from 2014 to 2018
The global market for grid-connected residential photovoltaic (PV) solar installations coupled with energy storage is predicted to grow tenfold to reach more than 900 megawatts (MW) in 2018, up from just 90 MW in 2014, according to new analysis from IHS Technology.
U.S. and China Agree to Carbon Reduction Goals
U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced an agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. would aim to cut net greenhouse gas emissions 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025.
UK Group Seeks Low Carbon, Low Emission Automotive Propulsion Technologies
The Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), in partnership with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and Innovate UK say they will invest up to £100m ($157.85 million) in collaborative research and development funding.
10 Steps to Better Foundation Fieldbus Installations--Part 3
Lessons learned from fieldbus users can help improve systems, performance and personnel. Part 1 of this three-part series discusses how wiring mistakes interfere with communication. Part 2 examines how configuration and addressing make all the difference.
Russia Agrees to Build 8 Nuclear Power Plants in Iran
World Nuclear News reports that Russia has agreed to build up to eight new nuclear power reactor units in Iran, including at the Bushehr site on the Persian Gulf in southwest Iran, and four at another, to-be-determined site. The agreement was signed in Moscow by Sergey Kirienko, Rosatom director
Heat Transfer Sets Noise Floor for Ultrasensitive Electronics
A team of engineers and scientists has identified a source of electronic noise that could affect the functioning of instruments operating at very low temperatures, such as devices used in radio telescopes and advanced physics experiments.
Researchers Invent Nanoscale Battery Structure
Researchers at the University of Maryland have invented a tiny structure that includes all the components of a battery that they say could bring about the ultimate miniaturization of energy storage components.
Sunoco Logistics to Invest $2.5 billion in NGL Pipeline
Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. announced a successful open season for Sunoco Pipeline L.P.’s Mariner East 2 project, the second phase of the company’s plan to provide pipeline transportation from the Marcellus and Utica shales.
Fill ‘er Up: Building the EV Recharge Infrastructure
It seems certain that electric vehicles (EVs) will become an increasingly common sight on the world’s highways. From a starting point of around 400,000 such vehicles worldwide at the beginning of 2014, the total figure looks set to double on an annual basis for the foreseeable future.
Global Platform Shift Creates Opportunity for Aftermarket, IHS Automotive Says
The continued trend toward a global platform strategy by automotive manufacturers presents new and unique challenges and opportunities for the automotive aftermarket, according to Mark Seng, global aftermarket practice leader for IHS Automotive, during a presentation to industry executives at the
Internet of Things in the Real World, Part 2
How will the Internet of Things (IoT) actually be implemented in an industrial enterprise? Many of the separate elements have been in place for a couple of decades, so the challenge is to understand what needs to be done to pull them together to function as a whole.
Two Stroke Engine Makes for a Lighter, More Fuel Efficient Vehicle
A group of Spanish, French and Czech researchers have developed a two-stroke engine with a reduced weight, size, fuel consumption and emissions compared to the four stroke engine. The engine's reduced weight and size give it a high specific power, creating the need for only two cylinders.
Material Aims to Be "Black Hole" for Sunlight in Power Projects
An engineering team at the University of California, San Diego has developed a new nanoparticle-based solar power material that eclipses previous designs.
Bay Area Water Tunnel Engineered for Seismic Activity
The city of San Francisco dedicated in October the first seismically sound tunnel built under San Francisco Bay, the $288 million Bay Tunnel. The Bay Tunnel will connect Hetch Hetchy and East Bay water supplies with San Franciscans and nearby communities.
Chinese Group to Build High-Speed Rail for Mexico
A Chinese-led consortium won an uncontested contract for a multi-billion-dollar high-speed passenger rail link between Mexico City and the central city of Queretaro, the Mexican Transport and Communications Ministry said November 3.
Flow Batteries Charge Toward Grid-Scale Energy Storage
The next-generation electrical grid will use advanced software, monitoring and renewable power sources to make the North American electrical supply more robust. But for maximum flexibility during peak demand, the grid also must be able to store power and supply it on demand.
Graphical Programming Stretches Engineering Design Frontiers
No matter what the technical specialty, the education of most engineers includes at least a taste of a popular textual programming language, such as Java, C, C++ or Visual Basic, just to name a few.