Building & Construction Industry News & Analysis

Hybrid Wheel Loader Delivers 50% Fuel Efficiency Gain

The prototype used 100% renewable diesel, resulting in reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Why Did the Pre-WWII Bunker Cross the Road?

To complete the widening of a Dutch shipping channel.

A Telescoping Robot Arm? New Research Shows How It's Done

A new computational design methodology provides a practical tool for designing telescoping structures.

How Abrasive Blasting with ARMEX™ Works

When baking soda impacts a substrate, the impact energy is transferred back into the baking soda crystal itself, which gets fractured and blown apart. The substrate remains unchanged.

Identifying Trees Through Chemical Fingerprints

In an effort to combat the illegal harvesting of trees from protected areas, scientists from Oregon USDA Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Station have come up with a way to determine where a piece of wood originated by unearthing the piece of wood’s unique chemical structure.

New Turbocharger Boosts 1.0-Liter Gasoline Engines

BorgWarner has delivered its wastegate turbocharger for Honda’s new three-cylinder 1.0-liter gasoline direct-injected engine.

Nuclear to Coal to Hydrogen: Sheldon Station Blazes a Trail

Engineers advance plans to convert a 125 MW power plant from coal to hydrogen. Doing so would make the plant the largest hydrogen-fueled electric power station in the U.S.

6.7 Kilometer Underground Tunnel Completed Between Hong Kong and Zhuhai

An underground tunnel section of “the long-awaited” Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) was completed on Friday.

Watch: Robotic Bricklayer Gains Cat Investment

Caterpillar signed a deal to discuss and develop a potential framework to manufacture and service Fastbrick Robotics’ robotic bricklaying technology.

Concrete: Both a Cause of and a Solution for Air Pollution?

Linked to roughly seven million premature deaths around the world, poor air quality is caused by a number of factors, with sulfur dioxide emissions from power plants being one of the most common causes of air pollution. Another large sulfur dioxide emission producer, oddly enough: cement kilns.

Growing the Next Generation of Green Structures

Green building has been a trend for a while now. A Brunel University London student takes that trend to the next level: growing green structures.

Bracing Holds Promise of Collapse-proof Buildings in Quakes

The earthquake-resistant bracing is intended for buildings with a mullion-and-transom design, and connects the horizontal beams with the vertical post.

Repurposing Shells

Researchers from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences are investigating different uses for the 7 million tonnes of mollusk shell waste discarded by the seafood industry each year.

Evaluation Process for Green Roofs Developed Using Earthquake Engineering Math Technique

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have found that using a mathematical technique can determine how well green infrastructure works.

As Sea Levels Rise, Roman Concrete May Offer Lessons

Seawater filtering through the Roman-era concrete leads to the growth of interlocking minerals that lend the concrete added cohesion and endurance that often exceeds what Portland cement offers.

Researchers Developing Concrete Wood for Construction

Combining wood and concrete in the construction of buildings is nothing new. What is new, according to Swiss researchers, is the approach to combining wood and concrete to create a load-bearing concrete consisting of mostly wood.

Advanced Elastomers Solve Old Sealing Problems, Prevent New Ones

While elastomers used for O-rings, seals and gaskets don’t seem like a major point of design concern, selection of their material is critical to reliable semiconductor processing due to issues of plasma-induced erosion, UV/ozone exposure and electrostatic discharge.

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