I have an exciting news for people related to engineering fields, specially Civil Engineering fields. I was searching on internet about engineering seminars when I saw Bentley: Be Connected.

Bentley.com’s connected section takes us to huge collection of technical video seminars related to various engineering fields and as I told earlier, a lot of Civil Engineering things out there. They include seminars related to Rails, Bridges, Architecture, transportation, 3D, water supply and many more.

For getting access to this great resource, we just need to sign up and register. And while registering you can register for Bentley’s magazine too.

So, to access Bentley Seminars follow these links:

Bentley: Be Connected ::::>>> http://connected.bentley.com/

Thanks for Reading.

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Solid Waste Management:

You must know the program, “Man Vs. Wild”, from discovery channel. In one of the episodes Bear was searching for human signs and guess the 1st thing he got about human! That was Wastes, i.e. some plastic bottles etc. So, what we learn from this phenomenon?

Waste products are invariably generated when human is concerned. Weather you live in metro city, Europe, Australia, Antarctica, Countryside or Jungle. We can not avoid generating wastes but we can manage it so that it will not become the major environmental problem in future.

Here, we are discussing solid waste management. Major part of solid wastes is PLASTIC only. So, it will not be any problem if we replace name S.W.M. by Plastic Waste Management or P.W.M.

Plastic Waste Management:

1. Major part of solid waste is composed of plastic. e.g. empty injections, carry bags, bottles, boxes, electronic gadgets covers and too many more.
2. P.W.M. is most important step in the Solid Waste Management.
3. Plastic Waste Management is one of the most difficult problem faced by the developing countries. And in countries like India where population is very dense this problem is integrated even more severe.
4. First of all P.W.M problem was detected quite late and its control is expensive and complex. This complexity, high cost and lack of technology have let this problem grow and today we are facing plastic management monster ahead.
5. Plastic wastes cause many problems like health hazards, pollution of water bodies, bad aesthetic and appearance etc.

Sources of Generation of Waste Plastic:

• Health and Medicare Disposable syringes, Glucose bottles, Blood and uro bags, Intravenous tubes, Catheters, Surgical gloves.
• Air/Rail travel Mineral water bottles, Plastic plates, Glass, spoons, Plastic bags.
• Hotel and catering Packaging items, Mineral water bottles, Plastic plates, Glasses, spoons.
• Household carry bags, Bottles, Containers, Trash bags.

Integrated Approach For Plastic Waste Management:

Integrated approach in Plastic Waste Management means extracting the value from the plastic wastes. Value doesn’t mean money but it indicates towards, anything that is beneficial for environment or human anyway without becoming problem again.

INTEGRATED APPROCH = REDUCING + RECYCLING + COMPOSTING + LANDFILL + WASTE TO ENERGY.

Integrated approch can be assisted by 4 R’s:

‘R‘educe

‘R‘euse

‘R‘ecycle

‘R‘ecover

PWM Management Methods:

Up till now, we have seen a lot of things about PWM. But how to manage at run time. Here are 3 main methods for plastic management.

• Recycling.
• Incineration.
• Landfill.

Here are the main steps in the mechanical recycling of plastic.

1. Collection.
2. Handling.
3. Sorting.
4. Coding.
5. Densification.
6. Reclamation.
7. End Use.

Expected Results of Plastic Waste Management:

So, we are trying to manage the wastes. But we must know where do we want to reach? What is ideal or rather acceptable condition for us? Here we go!

1. Reduce Manpower Reqd. For Waste Handling.
2. Revenue From Recyclables.
3. Value Addition To Waste.
4. Reduce Fire Hazards.
5. Reduce Odour & Improve Aesthetic &Sanitation.

References:

[1] Plastmart.

[2] Vidyan Prasar.

[3] Plast India.

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History of Wind Energy:

The use of wind machines, actually, dates back to 5000 years ago in Egypt. The people used wind energy for their mechanical power needs. They had found the ways to convert the energy of wind into mechanical energy of usable format.

Wind Turbine today is definitely a evolved version of its older forms.

Wind Turbine:

Wind turbine the mechanical device which converts the Wind Energy in to mechanical work which in further stages drives the generator which generates electricity.

Types of Wind Turbines:

1. Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine
2. Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Construction of Wind Turbine:

Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines:

1. Anemometer:- Monitors the Speed.
2. Blades:- 2 or 3 blades of aerofoil cross section.
3. Brakes:- To avoid overspeeding.
4. Gear Box:- Convert low speed of rotor shaft into high speed of generator shaft.
5. Generator:- Gnerates electricity, 60 Hz A.C in general.
6. Tower:- Supports the structure and provide height.
7. Yaw Drive:- Arrangement for Turning rotor axis perpendicular to wind direction.

Vertical Axis Wind Turbines:

1. Rotor Blades:- Eggbeater shaped 3 blades.
2. Hub:- Holds upper and lower ends.
3. Gear Box:- Convert low speed of rotor shaft into high speed of generator shaft.
4. Generator:- Self induction generator.
5. Guy Wires:- Tied from the top and supports the total structure by tension.

Factors Affecting  Performance of Wind Turbines:

1. Siting Factor:

• Onshore site.
• Nearshore Site.
• Offshore Site.
• Airbourne Site.

2. Capacity Factor:-

3. Low Wind Speed:-

Maintenance: Wind Machines:

1. Planned Maintenance
2. Electrical Safety Maintenance
3. Breakdown Maintenance

Advantages: Wind Energy:

1. Totally renewable and long lasting (till human race ends).
2. Can be coupled with agriculture and adds income.
3. low working cost.
4. Not water and land intensive.
5. Low impact on the animal and plant life.

Disadvantages: Wind Energy:

1. Needs backup as wind is intermittant.
2. Aesthetically looks bad.
3. Blades kills birds.
4. Problems to T.V. signals and creates noise so must be away from urban areas.
5. Can not be stored.
6. Very  high initial cost of machinery.

Related posts:

1. Wind Power

Introduction:

Construction is the second largest economic activity in India. As India is getting the status of one of the ‘Largest Outsourcing Hub’ for the rest of the world, infrastructure of India is getting some serious changes in it. With the increase in the use of latest technology and methods the quality of construction work is also increasing.

Green Building Concept:

Green building is not just one which is surrounded with hills and rivers. Any building itself is the part of environment. While constructing any building we use the natural resources and almost 40% part of the construction material is from nature.

Considerations for Material Selection in Green Construction:

• Which are the raw materials used to make the product?
• How its raw material was is extracted?
• How was it is manufactured, processed and fabricated?
• How well it performs?
• How long it will last?
• How is it maintained, can non-toxic cleaners be used on the product?
• How can it affect the health of the installer or the occupants in the building?
• Can it be recycled after its life cycle is complete?

Green Interior:

Aesthetic consideration regarding green building material:
Not just environment friendly, materials should be aesthetically appealing, otherwise they will be surely rejected. Well this criterion is a real part of selection because there is seldom a perfect material to choice. We have to choose the one which have maximum positive qualities in it.

The average mankind spend a third of their life in work place. Once man exposed to the green interior people demonstrated more positive emotions such as happiness, friendliness, assertiveness and less negative emotions such as sadness, anger and fear. The stresses on the mind recover more quickly in the green environment than when in the un-green (artificial) surrounding made in the industries.

In addition to that this cause direct and indirect effects on industry, i.e. when the workers minds are fresh they feel positively then this nature of worker is beneficial to industry as the productivity of the industry is increases. According to the research consistently the indoor plants increase the productivity and he work place satisfaction.

Benefits of Green Interior:

1.      It increases the occupants well being and productivity.
2.      It improves the employee retention and reduces absenteeism.
3.      It increases marketability.
4.      It lowers the maintenance cost.
5.      It provides natural thermal comfort.
6.      It provides access to the day light and views.
7.      It minimizes the interior pollutants.

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1. Construction of The Solar Aircraft