Shaye-Lynne Dodd, Author at Giatec Scientific Inc.

Relieving Pressure on Concrete Foundation Walls with Stud Rails

Shaye-Lynne Dodd March 20, 2017

A deep five-level underground concrete foundation to support a 45-storey condo that is currently being built in downtown Toronto is using an innovative method to relieve shear pressure. That is, rather than employing the traditional ‘rebar stirrup’ method to strength the foundation walls against shear forces, which is very labour intensive and time consuming, stud rails are being used. By comparison, it is argued that stud rails are able to accomplish the same objectives as stirrups without excessive and time-consuming labour. Explore 12 Futuristic Technology Trends Solving Concrete’s Biggest Challenges. Download our 2025 Innovations Calendar! Download Now “What is great about it is that the rails can be installed in the wall after the outside face of reinforcing, followed by inside face of reinforcing, and then the concrete pour,” states Kumbo Mwanang’onze, a structural engineer with RJC Engineers and consulting…

Re-Thinking Captured Carbon

Shaye-Lynne Dodd March 14, 2017

What to do with Captured Carbon?With concrete being the second most consumed substance on earth (next to water), it is no secret that the concrete industry is one of the leading sources for carbon dioxide emissions, creating as much as 5 per cent of worldwide man-made emissions of the gas. The production of cement releases these greenhouse gas emissions both directly and indirectly. Directly, gas is emitted from the heating of limestone. Indirectly, CO2 enters the atmosphere from the burning of fossils fuels needed to heat a kiln. Explore 12 Futuristic Technology Trends Solving Concrete’s Biggest Challenges. Download our 2025 Innovations Calendar! Download Now In light of these facts, much focus has been recently placed on carbon capture technologies. Noting that carbon capture refers to the process of capturing waste carbon dioxide (CO2) from large point sources, this carbon is…

What to do with Captured Carbon?

Shaye-Lynne Dodd March 13, 2017

With concrete being the second most consumed substance on earth (next to water), , it is no secret that the concrete industry is one of the leading sources for carbon dioxide emissions, creating as much as 5 per cent of worldwide man-made emissions of the gas. The production of cement releases these greenhouse gas emissions both directly and indirectly. Directly, gas is emitted from the heating of limestone. Indirectly, CO2 enters the atmosphere from the burning of fossils fuels needed to heat a kiln. Explore 12 Futuristic Technology Trends Solving Concrete’s Biggest Challenges. Download our 2025 Innovations Calendar! Download Now In light of these facts, much focus has been recently placed on carbon capture technologies. Noting that carbon capture refers to the process of capturing waste carbon dioxide (CO2) from large point sources, this carbon is then required to be…

Heavyweight Concrete to Minimize Sounds and Vibrations

Shaye-Lynne Dodd February 27, 2017

A number of articles have recently been published on the various applications and benefits of using light-weight concrete. Lightweight concrete is characterized by concrete whose density is lower than that of normal concrete which has a density of approximately 2200 kg/m3 or 140 lb/ft3 and carries with it a number of advantages in its use. Such gains are that of improved structural efficiency, improved constructability, ease of transport, quick production as well as ease of renovation and repairs, better thermal insulation and more. Explore 12 Futuristic Technology Trends Solving Concrete’s Biggest Challenges. Download our 2025 Innovations Calendar! Download Now Though lightweight concrete is advantageous in a number of scenarios, there are situations that call for higher-density or heavyweight concrete mixtures. Offshore, applications for high density concrete include gravity-based structures, ballasting for floating wind constructions, coastal protection, anchors for wave and…

Gaza Rubble Concrete – Building Our Future With Our Past

Shaye-Lynne Dodd February 24, 2017

Gaza, a small self-governing Palestinian territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, is no stranger to war. Over the past 10 years, Gaza has experienced three conflicts that had left the territory in shambles. The aftermath of the last Gaza war left in its wake piles of rubble that once stood as welcoming homes and structures. Explore 12 Futuristic Technology Trends Solving Concrete’s Biggest Challenges. Download our 2025 Innovations Calendar! Download Now Rather than viewing these mounds as reminders of the destructive past, an all-female team of engineers have decided to turn lemons into lemonade. They have invented an affordable new way to produce concrete from the leftover rubble of the Gaza Wars that can be rejuvenated into the buildings that will decorate our future.After the most recent assault on Gaza in 2014, it was estimated that…

More Than 100,000 Residents Evacuation Due to Spillway

Shaye-Lynne Dodd February 13, 2017

Early last week it was reported that massive sections of corroded concrete led to the closure of the Oroville, California dam. Unfortunately, millions of gallons of rushing water have continued to pound against the Lake Oroville Dam spillway which has now forced more than 100,000 people from their homes as of this past Sunday. Explore 12 Futuristic Technology Trends Solving Concrete’s Biggest Challenges. Download our 2025 Innovations Calendar! Download Now Workers are expected to begin repairing the erosion of the emergency spillway, which has threatened the flooding of downstream towns, on Monday, February 13, 2017. Bags of rocks will be used to try and ‘plug’ the gaping hole. Officials have emphasized that the situation remains dangerous and potentially affected residents are urged to evacuate to higher ground.As the levels of the full-to-the-brim reservoir (the second-largest in California) were being lowered…

Defects Aren’t Always a Bad Thing – Just ask the Ancient Romans

Shaye-Lynne Dodd January 6, 2017

Concrete is a highly regarded building material in large part due to its inherent strength and durability – something that was first recognized by the Ancient Romans thousands of years ago. What stands the Ancient Roman concrete apart from today’s concrete though, is the fact that we rely heavily on reinforcements to protect structural integrity over time and require regular maintenance due to cracking and corrosion. Roman concrete on the other hand is unreinforced and yet we still see these structures standing today. For instance, the dome on the Pantheon (built 2000 years ago) remains the oldest unreinforced concrete structure still standing. Explore 12 Futuristic Technology Trends Solving Concrete’s Biggest Challenges. Download our 2025 Innovations Calendar! Download Now What is it that made Roman concrete so tough?The secret lies in the molecular structure of tobermorite. Tobermorite is a naturally occurring…

America’s First Vertical Evacuation Shelter

Shaye-Lynne Dodd December 16, 2016

Seismologists are predicting a one-in-three probability of a catastrophic earthquake with a very high likelihood for a subsequent tsunami to hit the coast of the Pacific Northwest within the next 50 years. With the majority of the coast wholly unprepared, a few places are taking steps to prepare for such a disaster. One such location is at Westport, Washington. In working with TCF Architecture and Degenkolb Engineers, this coastal community has designed and built an elementary school gymnasium which acts as a bunker – able to withstand the forces of an earthquake and tsunami, while protecting up to 1,000 students and community members. Explore 12 Futuristic Technology Trends Solving Concrete’s Biggest Challenges. Download our 2025 Innovations Calendar! Download Now The structure is surrounded by steel columns, clad in concrete masonry and metal walls which are anchored by concrete piles extending…

Have no Fear – EMP-Proof Concrete is Here

Shaye-Lynne Dodd November 22, 2016

Have you ever had the fear that we are under the threat of an EMP attack that will knock out all electronics – spiralling the world into apocalyptic chaos? Well, thanks to the work of University of Nebraska engineers Christopher Tuan and Lim Nguyen, such worries of our electronic world ceasing existence can now be hushed. That is because these engineers have successfully created a cost-effective concrete mix that will shield our electronics from intense pulses of electromagnetic energy! Explore 12 Futuristic Technology Trends Solving Concrete’s Biggest Challenges. Download our 2025 Innovations Calendar! Download Now This EMP-proof concrete is an adaptation of Tuan and Nguyen’s slightly more pedestrian concrete break-through – their self-warming concrete. This innovation has the ability to melt ice and snow safely with the use of a safe, low-level electrical current. It was as they were working…

Smog-Eating Concrete to Battle Air-borne Pollution

Shaye-Lynne Dodd November 10, 2016

Around the globe one of the biggest collective concerns is that of pollution. With the heat on them due to the increased amounts of CO2 entering the air from production facilities and energy sourcing, engineers are now looking to come up with creative solutions to battle it. Explore 12 Futuristic Technology Trends Solving Concrete’s Biggest Challenges. Download our 2025 Innovations Calendar! Download Now One such structure that demonstrates this is the Palazzo Italia. This building is covered in a special concrete specially designed to absorb CO2 – to essentially eat smog. Enclosed in 9000 square meters of concrete façade, made up of 900 panels, this architecturally striking building was realized with the aid of Italcimenti; leaders in the bio-dynamic cement industry.What makes the cement mix of this concrete unique is that, along with traditional cement mix, titanium dioxide was also…

Floating Concrete – A Revolutionary Feat

Shaye-Lynne Dodd August 10, 2016

An abandoned pier that was erected in the early 1950’s known as Pier 57, is about to go through a $350 million renovation. Located in Manhattan, this pier is expected to be occupied by new offices for Google as well as a new food market. This large-scale renovation project however, is not what makes the story amazing. Explore 12 Futuristic Technology Trends Solving Concrete’s Biggest Challenges. Download our 2025 Innovations Calendar! Download Now Designed by Emil H. Praeger and built by the New York City Marine and Aviation Department, this pier has hidden below it a historically unique concrete structure that floats on water. That is to say, Pier 57 does not stand on a conventional pile field. Rather, its weight is supported on three buoyant concrete boxes known as caissons that are anchored permanently below the water line.Although they…

Shaye-Lynne Dodd