China’s $62-billion river diversion project might be the next Great Wall

China’s $62-billion river diversion project might be the next Great Wall

I suspect that when the plans for the Great Wall of China were presented to the then Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, he might have remarked at the audacious approach chosen by the engineers. Back then the idea for the wall was to simply fortify their expanding territory, an effort which culminated in the creation of one of the most remarkable world wonder. This time around, engineers are faced with an equally ambitious project albeit with a different set of challenges. The challenge is to reroute some of the country’s waterways and direct them to Beijing. Ambitious? Yes. Practical? Apparently so, given that the communist party appears to have staked enormous prestige on the success of the project, and even allocated a hefty price tag of $62-billion.

The project traces its origin to a comment made in 1952 by Chairman Mao who reportedly proposed that since there was “a lot of water in the south, but not much in the north,” then they could “borrow some, then everything would be OK.” In simple terms, the completed project will channel water from the flood plains of China’s south and the snow-capped mountains of the west all the way to Beijing.

Scope of the project
The project encompasses three major components: The 885-mile eastern line from Hangzhou to Beijing, which mostly follows the route of the Grand Canal and is hoped to be ready by 2013. The middle line, which is supposed to open in 2014, runs 766 miles, although it might be extended. The western section, which is still in the planning stages, would funnel water from the Tibetan plateau. But with serious cost overruns and delays on the eastern and middle routes, there are doubts about whether the third line will be built at all.

Challenges
It is clearly obvious that such a project carries a sizable number of challenges. Nevermind the obviously complicated hydrology and ecological factors, the project has faced objections from environmentalist and preservationists alike. According to one pro-democracy activist, “the project is robbing the water of the rest of China to supply Beijing.”

Objections aside, the project is flowing along as planned.

engineeringdaily.net

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Quotes of the Day: Thanksgiving Day

"Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all." - William Faulkner

"God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" -William A. Ward

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New Jersey governor voices support for No. 7 subway extension

NJ gov says he'd consider helping fund subway link
Associated Press

TRENTON, N.J. — Gov. Chris Christie, who halted construction last month on a new commuter rail tunnel between New Jersey and New York City, said Monday that he would consider contributing to a cheaper alternative: extending New York's No. 7 subway line under the Hudson River to New Jersey.

Speaking on Millennium Radio's "Ask the Governor" program Monday night, Christie said extending the No. 7 line from Manhattan through Hoboken and onto Secaucus is "a much better idea" than the tunnel that was the nation's most expensive public works project.

Christie scrapped that project because of potential cost overruns, forfeiting $3 billion in federal funds that had been approved. New Jersey could be on the hook to repay the federal government $350 million already spent.

Christie said he hadn't yet spoken with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg about the proposal. Policymakers in Bloomberg's office have been discussing whether it would be possible to extend the line.

"This is an example of what can happen when you decide to take a strong, principled stand on something," Christie said. "If something is necessary, people find other ideas that are more equitable."

Christie said the proposed subway extension has three points in its favor: It would be cheaper than the scrapped tunnel, it would connect to Penn Station and Grand Central Station and would have funding from New York City and state.

He then chided Sen. Frank Lautenberg for not speaking up on behalf of the new idea. Lautenberg helped secure federal funding for the rail tunnel.

The $8.7 billion project to construct a second rail tunnel between New Jersey and New York was 15 years in the making when Christie killed it Oct. 27. Former Gov. Jon Corzine broke ground on the project amid his re-election campaign against Christie. Christie later accused the former governor of rushing the start of the project for political gain; Corzine said he was creating jobs.

New Jersey was expected to shoulder $2.7 billion of the costs, plus overruns. The federal government and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey had each committed $3 billion to the project.

Before the most recent idea goes anywhere, it would need support from Christie, Bloomberg, who's an independent, and New York Gov.-elect Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat. U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., offered his support in obtaining federal funds to make the idea work.

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Architecture & Engineering Trivias "Millionaire Style"

Inspired by the "Cash Cab" post, I looked for more trivias. This set of 15 questions is a mixture of greatest engineering achievements of the 20th century and architecture 101. Just imagine, you are one of the contestants in the popular game show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" but with no 50/50 or lifelines. Now, take a seat and test your general knowledge.

Question 1:
The Baroque period of architecture is characterized by vivid colours, luxurious materials and elaborate surface textures. Which of these buildings is an example of typical Baroque architecture?

A. The Royal Scottish Academy
B. Lincoln Memorial
C. Solitude Palace
D. St Peter’s Basilica


Question 2:
When a client complained that the roof in his building leaks, this famous architect who had designed the building replied: ‘That’s how you can tell it’s a roof’. Another work of his was the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

A. Frank Owen Gehry
B. Frank Lloyd Wright
C. Michael Graves
D. Aldo Rossi


Question 3:
This invention by Karl Benz in 1886 revolutionized the world of transportation and soon became the main means of transport globally.

A. Airplane
B. Automobile
C. Ship
D. Train


Question 4:
Sharply pointed spires, stained glass and pointed arches are typical for this architecture style. It is mainly associated with cathedrals and other religious buildings.

A. Gothic
B. Rococo
C. Neo-Grec
D. Art Nouveau


Question 5:
There are seven tall buildings in Moscow, regarded as typical examples of Stalinist Architecture. What are these similarly designed buildings referred to?

A. ‘Stalin’s Seven Wonders’
B. ‘Stalin’s Seven Sisters’
C. ‘Stalin’s Seven Brothers’
D. ‘Stalin’s Seven Giants’


Question 6:
The groundbreaking design of this building was created by Danish architect, Jorn Utzon. It is located by the sea, and its roof resembles white sails.

A. La Scala
B. Carnegie Hall
C. Metropolitan Opera
D. Sydney Opera House


Question 7:
The construction of this famous building was completed on November 1st, 1800. It was designed by Irish-born architect James Hoban, who was inspired by the Leinster House in Dublin.

A. Williams Tower
B. The White House
C. The Chrysler Building
D. Federal Hall


Question 8:
This invention was first used in 1969 at UCLA as a means of communication between engineers and scientists associated with academics or government. It was not available for public use until the 1990’s.

A. E-mails
B. The Telephone
C. Two-Way Radio
D. The Internet


Question 9:
The invention of the internal combustion engine greatly increased the demand for which natural resource?

A. Coal
B. Petroleum
C. Natural gas
D. Water


Question 10:
The first use of air conditioning for personnel comfort was in 1902, in which New York City building?

A. Metropolitan Life Tower
B. Empire State Building
C. Woolworth Building
D. New York Stock Exchange


Question 11:
This architectural term, which refers to a free-standing bell-tower, comes from Italian and means 'a high bell tower'.

A. Triforium
B. Campanile
C. Mensole
D. Cellula


Question 12:
In 1908, this city became the first in the United States to institute chlorination of its water. Prior to this the death rate due to water born diseases, such as typhoid fever and cholera, were extremely high.

A. Boston, Massachusetts
B. Chicago, Illinois
C. Jersey City, New Jersey
D. New York City, New York


Question 13:
This Spanish architect designed La Sagrada Familia, one of the most famous buildings in Barcelona.

A. Antonio Gaudi
B. Mario Botta
C. Carlo Scarpa
D. Alvar Aalto


Question 14:
In 1895, this German physicist invented the use of electromagnetic radiation to take images of bones and organs inside the human body, which later led to the invention of the X-Ray Machine.

A. Paul Lauterbur
B. Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
C. Godfrey Newbold Hounsfield
D. Peter Mansfield


Question 15:
In 1955, Borax III became the first nuclear power plant to utilize nuclear fission to supply an entire town with electricity. Which town was that?

A. Owego, New York
B. Avila Beach, California
C. Arco, Idaho
D. Hahnville, Louisiana

ANSWERS:

1. St Peter’s Basilica. The dome of St Peter's Basilica was designed by Michelangelo.

2. Frank Lloyd Wright. Among Frank Lloyd Wright’s most notable projects are the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Price Tower in Oklahoma. He is also famous for developing the prairie style of architecture in Chicago.

3. Automobile. Karl Benz is credited with the invention of the modern automobile, powered by a gasoline engine.

4. Gothic. Gothic architecture flourished from the 12th century onward. Some of the examples of Gothic architecture are Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris and The Teutonic Knights Castle of Malborg.

5. ‘Stalin’s Seven Sisters’. Stalinist architecture is a term used to characterize the period from 1933-1955. The seven tall buildings were built in 1950s.

6. The Sydney Opera House is surrounded by water on three sides. It was intended to look like a giant sailing ship.

7. The White House. During the War of 1812 the British burnt the President’s House. It was rebuilt in 1819 and was painted white to hide the fire-blackened walls. That is how it came to be called the White House.

8. The Internet. The first TCP/IP wide area network started operating by January 1, 1983. In 1995 the network was opened to commercial interests.

9. Petroleum. Prior to this invention the main use of refined petroleum (crude oil) was for kerosene used in oil lamps.

10. New York Stock Exchange. Engineer Alfred Wolff designed the central cooling system for the building. This first air conditioner only controlled temperature. Later in 1902 Willis Carrier, invented the first electric air conditioner, which controlled both temperature and humidity.

11. Campanile. The most famous campaniles are the Leaning Tower of Pisa and St Mark’s Campanile in Venice.

12. Jersey City, New Jersey. This was the start of the municipal water treatment. Since then water treatment methods have improved further to supply homes with clean safe water.

13. Antonio Gaudi (1852-1926) was born in Catalonia, Spain. His major works include Casa Mila, Casa Baltto and Casa Vicenc.

14. Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen The X-ray machine was one of the first medical equipments used to diagnose conditions of the human body. It sparked a revolution in medical diagnostic tools and led to the invention of CAT Scan and MRI.

15. Arco, Idaho.The discovery of nuclear fission resulted in a new and powerful source of energy. Borax III supplied the town of Arco, Idaho with 2 hours of electricity.

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Civil Engineering “Cash Cab”

By Carol A. Metzner
President, The Metzner Group, LLC and
Managing Partner, A/E/P Central, LLC home of CivilEngineeringCentral.com

One of my favorite television viewing pleasures is Discovery Channel’s CASH CAB. Host Ben Bailey asks passengers in a New York taxi to answer trivia questions on their way to their destination. Those passengers have a chance to win money for each correct answer. Sorry, we won’t be offering cash rewards to our readers BUT do take a break and try to answer some civil engineering trivia questions! If interested, we can do future civil engineering trivia contests. Send me questions and answers that you think can “stump the chumps!” BIG shout out to Jason Vaughn PE who was great to contribute a majority of questions and answers for our test. Let us know how you do! Ready, set, go…

QUESTIONS

1. What famous engineer has the most U.S. patents and how many?

2. Who is “the father of Soil Mechanics?”

3. Name one of the two engineers elected U.S. President?

4. When water flows through a full pipe, the water is fastest in what part of the pipe? The top, middle, bottom, or all the same?

5. What caused the Tacoman Narrows suspension bridge collapse in 1940?

6. Why do golf balls have dimples?

7. What is the longest natural bridge?

8. Why don’t railways use suspension bridges?

9. What was the world’s worst accidental oil spill?

10. What is the longest street in the world?

ANSWERS

1. Thomas Edison – 1,093

2. Karl Terzaghi

3. Herbert Hoover and Jimmy Carter

4. Middle. The edge of a pipe has friction. The friction slows down the water in contact with it. Therefore, the middle is the fastest.

5. The wind.

6. The dimples reduce drag and allow the ball to travel farther than a smooth ball.

7. Rainbow Bridge, tucked away among the rugged, isolated canyons at the base of Navajo Mountain, Utah, USA. It is a natural wonder. From its base to the top of the arch, it reaches 88,4 m (290 ft) – nearly the height of the Statue of Liberty – and spans 83,8 m (275 ft) across the river. The top of the arch is 12,8 m (42 ft) thick and 10 m (33 ft) wide.

8. Suspension bridges are too flexible.

9. Supertankers Atlantic Empress and Aegean Captain collided off Trinidad and Tobago on July 1979; 90 million gallons of oil ended up in the Caribbean.

10. Toronto’s Yonge Street is listed as 1,178 miles (1,896 km) in length — roughly the distance from San Diego, California, to Seattle, Washington.

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Using social networking to drive innovation in engineering

The Enterprise Channel

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Chinese workers build 15-story hotel in just six days

As the United States and China battle over the finer points of currency manipulation at the G-20 summit, American negotiators may want to take note of this startling testimonial to the productivity of Chinese workers: A construction crew in the south-central Chinese city of Changsha has completed a 15-story hotel in just six days. If nothing else, this remarkable achievement will stoke further complaints from American economic pundits that China's economy is far more accomplished than ours in tending to such basics as construction.

Meanwhile, it's easy to imagine the disorientation of Changsha residents who'd gone away, or who just hadn't recently ventured into the downtown neighborhood of the new Ark Hotel: "Honey, I don't remember a hotel there, do you?"

The work crew erected the hotel -- a soundproofed, thermal-insulated structure reportedly built to withstand a magnitude 9 earthquake -- with all prefabricated materials. In other words, a crew of off-site factory workers built the sections, and their on-site counterparts arranged them on the foundation for the Ark project.

Despite the frenetic pace of construction, no workers were injured -- and thanks to the prefab nature of the process, the builders wasted very few construction materials. Below is a time-lapse video that shows the hotel being built from the ground up in less than a week:



Yahoo!News

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Gadgets Are Hot and More Are at Hand

The iPhone “is almost contagious,” says Todd Sutton, project controls manager at Zachry Construction Corp. “One person gets it on the jobsite, and then everyone has them.”

A new MoGo Talk XD case (top), which comes with a built-in headset keeper, makes them even sweeter. Infectious adoption also applies to the iPad, Sutton says. Employees see how much work colleagues get done with them and buy their own. Developers at Motion Computing, whose tablet options include bar-code and RFID readers, say the Apple device popularity is good for tablet computing, because it introduces more people to the form, and many will go on to more powerful machines. In the wings is Golden-i, a heads-up-display and voice-activated, remote-access computer controller from Kopin Corp., is expected to hit the market soon.

source: enr.com

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Tech Tour: Kimberlina Solar Power Plant

A Power Engineering guided technical tour of Areva Solar's linear Fresnel solar power plant in California.

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WTC Construction Update, October 2010

World Trade Center Construction Update, October 2010
New York, October 22, 2010

Memorial and Museum
-More than 40,000 cubic yards of concrete poured
-Steel erection is 99% completed

4 World Trade Center
-Concrete poured to the 4th floor
-Framed deck up to the 6th floor
-Installed steel up to the 7th floor

3 World Trade Center
-200 cubic yards of concrete to be poured in footings this month

2 World Trade Center
-1540 cubic yards of concrete to be poured in footings this month

1 World Trade Center
-Installed steel to the 38th floor
-Concrete poured up to the 32nd floor

source: wtc.com

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Comic Of The Day

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Wisconsin Temporarily Halts Work On Train Project

Barrett hints that legal action could ensue if halt becomes permanent

The state Department of Transportation has told contractors on the high-speed rail line between Madison and Milwaukee to stop work on the federally funded project "for a few days," in the wake of rail opponent Scott Walker's victory in the governor's race, Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi said Thursday.

But contractors immediately started talking about laying off employees, and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett hinted the city could consider legal action if a permanent shutdown of the line shortens the life of a Spanish-owned train manufacturing plant on the city's north side.

"At the governor's request, I have asked contractors and consultants working on the high speed rail project to temporarily interrupt their work for a few days," Busalacchi said in a written statement, referring to outgoing Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle.

"In light of the election results, our agency will be taking a few days to assess the real-world consequences, including the immediate impacts to people and their livelihoods, if this project were to be stopped."

The move follows Tuesday's election of Walker, the Milwaukee County executive, as governor. During the campaign, Walker, a Republican, repeatedly vowed to kill the planned $810 million train line. He will take office Jan. 3.

Even with the federal government picking up the line's full construction cost, Walker has said he doesn't want state taxpayers to pay operating costs, projected at $7.5 million a year, starting in 2013. A state transportation official has said state taxpayers' share could be as little as $750,000 a year, if federal aid covers 90% of operating costs, as it does for Amtrak's existing Milwaukee-to-Chicago Hiawatha line.

Speaking to reporters at the Capitol on Thursday, Walker said he hadn't received confirmation of the administration's move.

"Certainly, for us, we've been pursuing legal options between now and Jan. 3 that would allow us to try and slow down if not stop the train. Certainly there's some optimism if that turns out to be true," Walker said.

Contractors confirmed they had been told to stop work, and some worried they might have to lay off employees if the job grinds to a permanent halt. Construction employment on the line was projected to peak at 4,732 jobs in 2012, with 55 permanent jobs to operate and maintain trains, stations and tracks.

"They just said, 'We're going to stop it for now and we'll see how it goes,'" said Abdulhamid Ali, president of DAAR Engineering, which has a $2.8 million construction management contract for the railway.

Ali said he was told to stop the work in a one-sentence e-mail from the state Transportation Department.

DAAR "will be laying off at least two people with families" immediately, another company spokesman said.

Pat Goss, executive director of the Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association, said state transportation officials also told contractor Edward Kraemer & Sons to halt work on building a five-mile stretch of track in Jefferson County.

"The department did direct the contractor not to proceed," Goss said. "They were told not to work, and at this point that's as much as we know. Kraemer was told not to proceed yesterday, and they weren't given any timeline or any reason why."

That contract was awarded a week or so ago. Kraemer received an order to proceed, and that order was rescinded on Wednesday, Goss said.

Plant's future derailed
At Talgo, the Spanish train company, the announcement won't mean immediate layoffs, but it casts a pall over the future of the plant on the former Tower Automotive property, said Nora Friend, a Talgo vice president.

Talgo has contracts to build two trains for the Hiawatha and two trains for Oregon. It was hoping to build trains for the Milwaukee-to-Madison line as well but was told the state has put the request for proposals for those trains on hold, Friend said.

The company has already hired about 40 people for its current contracts and plans to have a total of 125 on board by next year, Friend and Barrett said. If it had won contracts to build trains for the Milwaukee-to-Madison line and for other states, it would have kept the plant in operation beyond 2012 and expanded, they said.

"The implication is that a lot of people will be losing their jobs," after the current work is done, Friend said. "For us, it means we won't be able to expand. . . .  It's very difficult for us to hire people and tell them it's only for a year and a half or so."

Barrett said the city had invested more than $3 million in buying and renovating the part of the Tower property that Talgo is using, in the belief "this would provide employment for many years."

The mayor, who lost to Walker in Tuesday's election, said he would be consulting with City Attorney Grant Langley about the city's options if the project is halted. But he stopped short of directly threatening a lawsuit.

A source with knowledge of the decision-making process said the state made the final call to suspend the decision, but that federal rail officials had let them know they were not eager to get into a protracted dispute with Walker. The reluctance came from bureaucrats in the Federal Railroad Administration and not the White House, the source said.

Plans call for the rail line to operate as an extension of the Hiawatha, and eventually to be extended to the Twin Cities, as part of a larger Midwestern network of fast, frequent trains.

At the same time Walker won the governor's office, voters handed his fellow Republicans control of both houses of the Legislature. Many of them have been critical of the rail plan, and state Rep. Robin Vos (R-Racine), the Legislature's most vocal opponent of passenger rail, is poised to become Assembly co-chairman of the powerful Joint Finance Committee.

But the weekend before the election, state and federal officials quietly signed a deal to commit the state to spend all of the $810 million in federal stimulus money allocated for the project. Transportation officials did not announce the weekend deal but confirmed it after the Journal Sentinel learned of it.

Walker blasted that deal, and Barrett said the state should have been more transparent in its dealings. The mayor said he supported a temporary delay in the work to allow more public discussion of the impact of a permanent halt.

It is not clear how difficult it would be for Walker to legally extract the state from its commitment. He has said he would urge Congress to let Wisconsin keep the money and spend it on roads and bridges, and he reiterated that stand Thursday.

"The whole reason we made a point of raising our concerns about this is I don't want the taxpayers of this state to be stuck with a bill of $7½ (million) to $10 million a year when we have roads and bridges that need to be fixed," Walker said.

Without an act of Congress, however, federal rules would require the state to repay the federal government for any money already spent on the project and give up all the unspent money if the rail line doesn't go forward. Doyle and his fellow Democrat, Barrett, have said Walker was misleading voters by suggesting Wisconsin could keep the federal money, instead of seeing it redistributed to other states' rail projects.

Barrett repeated those comments Thursday. He said he saw no chance of the money being spent on Wisconsin roads if the train line is halted, and the best alternative to sending it to other states would be to use it to reduce the federal deficit.

Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz urged Walker to reconsider his position. Cieslewicz said he saw no chance of the money going to either roads or deficit reduction, adding, "It will go to another state … to create jobs there."

***

Stop work order
Construction employment on the line was projected to peak at 4,732 jobs in 2012, with 55 permanent jobs to operate and maintain trains, stations and tracks.

Operating costs are projected at $7.5 million a year.

source: JSOnline

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Nuclear power reactor shut down after transformer failure

Published: Nov 8, 2010

Entergy Corp. shut its 1,020 MW Indian Point 2 nuclear reactor in New York after a transformer explosion, according to a report from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The blast did not cause any injuries or release of radiation.

It was unclear whether the entire transformer would have to be replaced. The plant is currently in “cold” shutdown, meaning it will take longer for the unit to send power to the grid.

Another transformer failed at the plant in 2007, according to the NRC.

Indian Point 3 was not affected and is operating at full capacity.

Power-Gen Worldwide

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Tech Tour Video: Coal-Fired Power Plant

A Power Engineering technical tour of the modernization project at Duke Energy's 760 MW Cliffside Power Plant.

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AutoCAD WS now available for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch

View, edit, and share your DWG™ files from anywhere, with anyone.

AutoCAD® WS mobile app enables you to view and work with AutoCAD drawings directly on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. Using the touch and gesture interface of your iPad or iPhone you can accurately view, annotate, and revise drawings on the spot. Change the way you work in the field or on the road by reducing the need to carry around over-sized paper drawings.



AutoCAD WS Mobile is a perfect solution for taking your drawings out on the job site.

Access from Anywhere, Anytime.
The AutoCAD WS mobile app for Apple® iPhone™, iPod™, and iPad™ lets you view, edit, and share your AutoCAD drawings on the go using a mobile or tablet device. Take your designs with you wherever you go - on the way to a meeting, on the factory floor or the job site without being tied to a
desktop application.

Edit and Interact
The AutoCAD WS mobile app delivers smart vector DWG data to your device, enabling you to accurately select, annotate and interact with AutoCAD drawings. An intuitive touch and gesture interface makes it easy for both AutoCAD and non AutoCAD professionals to work on and stay connected to their designs from anywhere.

Sharing made easy
Share drawings with others for viewing or editing in a Web browser or mobile device. If other people are editing a drawing simultaneously with you, you'll see their edits in real time. Upload and download AutoCAD drawings from your mobile device to a PC or Mac using the AutoCAD WS web application.

Get AutoCAD WS in iTunes FREE

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