Features
By Roger E. Frechette III, P.E., LEED AP, and Russell Gilchrist
Designed to be the most energy efficient of all the world’s supertall structures, the Pearl River Tower, in Guangzhou, China, is expected to consume nearly 60 percent less energy than a traditional building of similar size thanks to the inclusion of such measures as radiant ceilings, doublewall systems, photovoltaic modules, and wind turbines. Scheduled for completion in 2010, the structure could serve as a model for future “carbon-neutral” towers.
By Victor M. Vasquez, P.E., M.ASCE, John S. Wolfhope, P.E., A.M.ASCE, and Ricky Garrett, P.E.
To fulfill the potential of the City of Waco’s Lake Brazos, a labyrinth weir was designed to replace the gated spillway on the Brazos River. The weir was constructed on a flowing river over the foundation of the existing dam without expanding the dam’s footprint or rerouting the river during construction, and the work was completed at nearly half the cost of earlier estimates. The result is an elegant reservoir in the heart of the city.
By Michael R. Leffler, P.E., and Paul Bizier, P.E., F.ASCE
Faced with the need to expand the system for processing residuals at its main wastewater treatment plant, the City of Lakeland, Florida, installed a two-phase anaerobic digestion process that employs an egg-shaped digester to conduct thermophilic digestion. The new process results in an improved biosolids product that gives the city additional options for disposing of residuals in the future.
By Chongxu Wang, Yuancheng Peng, Ph.D., and Yinbo Liu, Ph.D., P.E.
To construct a 1,000 m long suspension bridge over a deep and treacherous canyon in central China, engineers devised several innovative methods, including a tunnel anchoring system for the main cables that had never been attempted before at this scale and a system that used rockets to deliver the pilot cable to the other side of the canyon.
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Courtesy of the Maine Department of Transportation
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Ridas Matonis |
August Allen |
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