January 2006 ISSUE
world watch
Engineering Meets Medicine
with Spine Movement Implant
BY GAIL HELGASON
Freelance Writer
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Spinal Adjustments |
A common treatment for a damaged spine is to fuse together two or more vertebrae. But that method can restrict movement.
Help may be on the way, reports Mechanical Engineering (New York). Mechanical engineers at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., are making progress on a new kind of medical implant to duplicate many aspects of natural spine movement.
The engineers have developed a computer model that simulates back movements in everyday life and have validated their results through experiments on sheep spines. The model is expected to enable companies to design and test implants much more quickly.
India Builds Coal Colossus
India is planning the world’s largest pit-head, coal-based power plant,
according to the Engineering & Mining Journal (Englewood, Calif.) The $11-billion,
12-gigagwatt coal-fired plant is being built by India’s Reliance Energy
near a mine mouth in the eastern state of Orissa.
Your Private Space
Aeronautical engineers are working hard to build privately funded space launch
vehicles, according to Aerospace America (Reston, Va.). While some firms are
pursuing the suborbital tourism market, others are working on much more powerful
vehicles that would launch cargo and satellites into space as well as humans.
Meanwhile, the momentum will continue in the suborbital market. The X Prize Cup, a successor to the Ansari X Prize competition, will begin in October. Engineers at Bigelow Aerospace, which has locations throughout the United States, are already brainstorming an orbital space hotel.
Klee Museum Blends Into Hills
European engineers became positively artistic with architect Renzo Piano on the
construction of a museum to commemorate Swiss artist Paul Klee.
The museum in Berne has a wavelike design to complement the surrounding hills, says Civil Engineering (Reston, Va.). The effect was accomplished through three arched sections connected by elevated walkways. Rows of steel arch trusses create “peaks and valleys” that gradually disappear into the hillside.
Mullions are connected to glass panels at the top of each arch. Engineers had to use a stressed steel cable suspension system to suspend the mullions.
All in all, designing the support system was extremely complicated, says Volker Schmid, a structural engineer at the London-based Arup Group.
Sustainable Mining an Oxymoron?
When it comes to the mining industry, defining sustainable development isn’t
the simplest thing, according to the Engineering & Mining Journal (Englewood,
Calif.). At least 60 definitions are currently used, the publication says.
Dirk Van Zyl, chair of the mining engineering department at the Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering at the University of Nevada, even argues that the term “sustainable mining” is an oxymoron. He notes that a mine has a definite lifespan and cannot be considered sustainable, and that the greatest contribution that mining can make to sustainable development is to provide a reliable supply of materials that support economic growth.
Blowhards Needed
While wind turbines are becoming larger and more efficient, industry still faces
a big problem: the turbines are not economical unless wind speeds exceed 25 km
per hour.
Mechanical Engineering (New York) notes that few places are quite that windy.
However, wind readings have traditionally been taken close to the surface.
Mark Jacobson, a civil engineering professor at Stanford University, decided to find a way to extrapolate wind speeds at a height 80 metres from surface weather records. This resulted in a map of global wind potential. He found that only 13 per cent of locations are windy enough to make wind power economic.
The good news? These high-speed areas could produce the energy equivalent of 54 billion tons of oil a year — five times the global energy demand.
System Reduces Valve Failures
In the past, Dow Corning regularly dismantled and repaired up to 60 per cent
of the control valves at its plant in Barry, South Wales, Australia. The plant
is the company’s largest facility for silicon-based products.
Control Engineering (Oak Brook, Ill.) reports that this number has been reduced by applying advanced diagnostic tools developed by Emerson Process Management. The system allows for economical diagnostic services to each valve during regular maintenance checks, while previously only valve performance was checked.
Let the Water Through
Engineers and researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have designed
a tsunami-resistant house for the coastal areas of Sri Lanka, reports Civil Engineering
(Reston, Va.). The 40-square-metre house features a simple design, with four
independent walls and a gabled roof.
The structure has gaps between the walls to enable water to flow through it without causing damage.