Previous blogs have cautioned against crossing the line between science and advocacy. But what does that mean in practice, and why is it a problem? For one thing, it’s contrary […]
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) established the National Urban Search & Rescue Response System in 1989. Engineers started serving on urban search and rescue teams the following year. Disasters […]
There are generally three aspects to the performance of a structure. The first is structural. The structure needs to resist the gravitational, wind, and other loads to which it will […]
When you submit a concrete sample for petrographic examination, how big a sample do you need? That is, what’s the appropriate concrete sample size? We’ve discussed in previous posts how […]
Many engineers have no idea how informative concrete petrography can be. That’s too bad, because concrete petrography is one of the most useful techniques in forensic engineering. Failure analysis of […]
Concrete failure analysis is a complex process. That’s because engineering is a conservative profession. After all, who wants us to take unnecessary risks when public safety and millions of dollars […]
Air entrained concrete is still the biggest headache in concrete production. We have recently been discussing comparisons between the pressure meter and the microscope. It may seem counterintuitive, but the […]