August 8, 2008 at 1:09 am · Filed under Running
NanoTech researchers need to design SmartDust sensors, which can be mixed in with cement dust prior to hardening into concrete. This way when building large infrastructure projects we can have in place a method, which is non-intrusive to determine the fatigue factor without using ultrasound. Methods using sound waves or other similar methods such as non-contact laser vibrometer waves sensing might inadvertently cause wear on the structure by breaking down the molecular bonding of molecules causing premature aging.
Ultrasound and other such methods currently used to test the structural integrity of dams, bridge support bases, parking structures, buildings, runways, underground tunnels might be doing more harm than good. Many in the field believe that such non-destructive wave sensing is totally safe, yet as we learn more about quantum mechanics unless the devices are properly set they can either interfere and cause damage or help the bonding and strengthen or even modify the material. In some large infrastructure such as dams and similar projects it takes decades for concrete to fully dry inside and reach its full potential strength. SmartDust sensors can help us know the current strength of dams and bridges and therefore know its elasticity for Earthquakes, bombings by International Terrorists, ability to hold back water or weight capable of supporting. Sensors set at a proper frequency might actually assist in the molecular bonding and hardening of the structure rather than negatively affect it. By knowing exactly what we are working with using sensors embedded in the concrete we can determine to a higher degree our ability to trust said structures.
Since concrete is acidic like a battery the sensors can retain the power needed for decades to transmit micro-data about the structural integrity of that region of the structure. By taking a three-dimensional grid approach to monitor the entire structure we will have a snap shot of the safety of our infrastructures at all times. When working with mega-structures like the giant dam project in China, we will know after seismic events how safe the structure is, how much water it can hold, where it might need up grades, how much of an Earthquake of which type she can handle. In our own country old projects would have been better served having such embedded devices in them, currently they do not for this technology is not invented yet, but now that it has been dreamed of surely will soon.
In theory having sensors embedded in the concrete might actually allow such non-destructive sensing such as laser or ultrasound to work at optimum yet using a tenth of the power thus an added sense of inherent safety to testing exposure over time.
Lance Winslow - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/
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June 10, 2008 at 7:23 am · Filed under Running
It is over, August, the most frustrating month of the year, with most people either on holiday or in holiday mood. Yes, the weather is glorious if you are on holiday, but not for viewing properties when you start the day in a cool air conditioned office then car, then properties, then car, then properties! If you don’t look like a wet rag you certainly feel like one. Then you have the client who continuously mentions swimming pools often dragging their disgruntle children away from one to view houses. On the other side, the owners are also in holiday mood either using their holiday homes that they wish to sell, but after August please! Or they are just not in the mood to move away from their pool to entertain visitors.
The first thoughts of owning a home in Spain are often driven by a holiday experience, so leaving the beach towels at the hotel they trundle into estate agents. Half of these clients go home and never pursue the idea other than watching “A Place in the Sun”. The other half return later in the year, when they have the time and a better idea of what they want. So each client is not judged, but given time to explore their dream. I increase my freckles lose a few kilos and look forward to September.
On the plus side, parking is easier in Tortosa, as most of the sane locals have also left for the coast. The number of traffic wardens has diminished as they too take their holidays so I get less parking tickets. We don’t open the office in the afternoon just working through from the morning with clients until one of us drops! Oh and the town halls, notaries, and lawyers are also on half days or closed, so any business outstanding has to wait until September! Strangely, I have come to accept this practise but it is difficult to explain to outsiders, they think I am joking. In Spain there are eleven working months and August!
With pensions funds looking bleaker by the year there is a growing trend in buying property for investment. These purchases are normally village or town houses to restore over the years or to rent out until needed. The low maintenance, by not having land to worry about, plus the security factor of locking it up when not in use makes these an increasing option for people. So village houses are nearly as popular as the rustic properties with acres of land.
Most locals have always lived in villages or towns often with their separate parcel of land, which they tend with loving care to grow vegetables and fruit for the family. Of course the olive and almond trees are essential, so they go and harvest these in the autumn and winter. The small houses “caseta” were a must to shelter both themselves and the poor beast that carried them and fruits of their labours before the car. They think it strange that foreigners want to “live on the land” as that was never an option for them. Things change, now many of the locals are converting these once humble dwellings into holiday homes for their families to decamp for the summer. The water tank (bassa) gets a lick of paint and turns into a swimming pool for the summer, reverting back in the winter to collecting the valuable rain water for irrigation.
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