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Файл:Английский в научных и инженерных целях. Часть 1. Учебное пособие
.pdf
The cavity within the walls was filled with rocks and coarse gravel to
avoid the danger of liquefaction of landfill during an earthquake.
The runway was covered with asphalt rather than concrete to avoid
cracking.
Three mountains were excavated for 21 million cubic meters of land-fill.
After the completion of the project, the engineers faced another major
challenge.
The airport island started sinking more than the design provided for. The
maximum estimate was 25 feet while the airport authorities took the minimum estimate of 19 feet. The actual sinking rate however, was 27 feet and
the island was still sinking at a rate of about one foot per year.
To compensate for the sinking of the island, adjustable columns were
designed to support the terminal building. These were extended by inserting
thick metal plates at their base. This reduced the sinking rate to 9 cm per year
from 50 cm and made the airport structure stable.
Key Statistics:
Dimension: 4 km long and 2.5 km wide
Project Duration: 7 years (1987–1994)
Workers: 10,000
Work hours: 10 million
Three mountains were excavated for 21 million cubic meters of landfill.
The total cost of Kansai Airport to date is US $20 billion.
Text 2. Channel Tunnel
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Channel Tunnel is the 50.45 km long tunnel which connects Britain
with the rest of Europe.
The Channel tunnel was a dream for about two centuries and is one of
the most ambitious and costly engineering projects in history. The 50.45 km
long tunnel made history by linking Britain and the rest of Europe. It’s not
just a tunnel, but a huge infrastructure containing massive machinery and
control systems in an underwater tunnel system. The Channel tunnel was
opened for business around mid 1995 and cost in excess of £10bn. It connects
England and France 50m below the seabed of the English Channel.
What made it impossible?
The chalky basement of the English Channel which re-emerges at
Folkston, behind the white cliffs of Dover
Huge aerodynamic resistance of the trains because of the speed
Heavy water pressure
Earthquakes at the sea base
Cooling of the tunnel
Unexpected ground conditions
On the English side of the channel the strata dip was less than 5°, how-
ever, on the French side this increased to 20°
On the French side, near the coast, the chalk was harder, more brittle
and more fractured than on the English side
Trains traveling at a high speed could create a piston-effect pressure
change that could affect passenger comfort and the ventilation systems
The safety issue of the threat of a fire breakout on a passenger vehicle
Engineering solution:
Every 200 meters, the two rail tunnels were linked by piston relief ducts
to allow the passage of air through the tunnels, thereby reducing the aerodynamic resistance of the trains passing through at speeds of up to
160km/h.
Piston relief ducts of 2 meter diameter were chosen to solve the prob-
lem, with 4 ducts per kilometer to give close to optimum results.
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The cooling of the tunnel was achieved by installing two chiller plants, one
at each end of the Channel Tunnel. The plants provide nearly 15,000 tons
of refrigeration. These chiller plants cool and circulate 54 million gallons
of water through a 150 mile network of chilled water pipes.
On the French side, owing to the greater permeability of water, earth
pressure balance tunnel boring machines (TBM) with open and closed
modes were used. The TBMs were of a closed nature during the initial 5
kilometres but then were operated as open boring through the chalk marl
stratum. This minimized the impact to the ground and allowed high water pressures to be withstood, and it also alleviated the need to grout
ahead of the tunnel. On the English side the simpler geology allowed
faster open faced TBMs.
Precast segmental linings in the main TBM drives were used, but differ-
ent solutions were used on the English and French sides. On the
French side neoprene and grout sealed bolted linings made of cast iron
or high-strength reinforced concrete were used.
The smaller service tunnel was constructed for ventilation, maintenance
and safety access and is 4.8 meters diameter in size. This is located between the two rail tunnels.
All three tunnels were connected every 375 meters by a cross passage
which gives access to the service tunnel in the case of emergency.
The rail track consists of continuously welded rails set on rubber pads
fixed to individual pairs of concrete blocks. The blocks are cast into a
concrete track bed to provide firm, smooth running.
To fight the fire problem each wagon has fire detection and extinguish-
ing systems, with sensing of ions or ultraviolet radiation, smoke and
gases that can trigger Halon gas to quench a fire. Fire sensors are located on the loading wagon and in the tunnel itself. A 10-inch water main
in the service tunnel provides water to the main tunnels at 125-metre intervals. The ventilation system can control smoke movement. Special arrival sidings exist to accept a train that is on fire, as the train is not allowed to stop in the case of fire in the tunnel. Two STTS vehicles with
firefighting pods are on duty at all times, with a maximum delay of 10
minutes before they reach a burning train.
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Key Statistics:
Dimension: 50.45 km long with two 7.6-metre diameter rail tunnels, 30
meters apart, 50 kilometers in length with a 4.8 meter diameter service
tunnel in between.
Project Duration: 5 years (1988 to 1994)
Workers: 15,000
The total cost of the Channel tunnel to date is £4650 million.
Text 3. The Heliotrop
The rotating solar house Heliotrop is based on the idea of erecting a
building that comes up to the highest standards of architecture and environmental protection, while at the same time offering its inhabitants exclusive
living comfort without any annoying limitations. It stands for a concept
whose procedure aims at preserving the natural resources in every way.
What made it impossible?
Low energy construction method
Prominent use of solar elements in all seasons
Exclusive quality of living comfort with preserving and using natural re-
sources
Efficient use of heating energy, electricity, water and other materials
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Engineering Solution:
The Heliotrop is prefabricated after the modular construction method,
which helps to realize the fabrication with the highest precision and in
a very short time. Timber, being a growing raw material compatible
with the environment, is the most important building material of the
solar house.
The column of the Heliotrop is standing on a ring gear with a swinging
element which is run by an electric motor and thus makes it possible to
focus the building according to the circuit of the sun.
The cylindrical Heliotrop has triple heat-absorbing glazing on one side
and high heat insulation on the other side.
During the period of heating, the house can be turned to make its glass
façade face the sun or to be turned out of the sun in times of great heat.
The panoramic view in each room changes with the hour of the day as
the house is rotating, which creates a living experience of a very special kind.
All the rooms are heated by the sun. The remaining heat and energy re-
quirement is provided by vacuum tube solar collectors for the hot water
supply in the parapet elements and an earth-to-air heat exchanger.
Thermal buffer storage tanks can be used for the purpose of heat stor-
age, if required.
There is the choice of a newly developed radiant ceiling heating of copper
segments as a quick low-temperature heating system which is a useful
cooling measure in the summer as well. Or a solar tank which supports the
controlled ventilation with heat recovery and an earth-to-air heat exchanger, should additional heating be required. This system works as an air conditioner in the summer and thus helps to save energy and to improve the
living comfort. At the same time, it also cooperates with the radiant ceiling
heating in warming the room quickly or cooling it in the summer.
A photovoltaic solar plant of biaxial tracking, which generates five to
six times more energy than is consumed in the building itself, is installed on a central column above the roof terrace and serves the purpose
of sun and rain protection.
The rainwater gathered is used in order to wash dishes and clothes.
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Wastes and excrements are decomposed in a dry-compost installation
without producing any bad smells, whereas the sewage is purified in a
cascade pool with plants. Thus, the house is not only perfectly guided by
its insulation as far as the use and generation of energy are concerned, it
also preserves the natural resources, dispenses polluting chemicals and
is integrated into the natural water cycle.
The strapping and the rotating mechanism of the photovoltaic station
have been newly developed. The static has been calculated according to
the finite element methods. The installation is furnished with a quintuple
security system for a high degree of wind loading to ensure first rate orientation in this case.
Source: Impossible Engineering Jobs. IDC Technologies. February 2009. http://www.idc-
online.com/newsletters/free/impossible_jobs.pdf
TASK 6. Answer the questions after the text.
1. Say what engineering wonders make people`s life better and more comfortable?
2. What makes an engineering decision a wonder?
3. In what sphere are unusual engineering decisions in more demand:
design;
construction;
technology?
VIDEO TASK
TASK 7. Watch a video about “The Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century”.
Discuss in groups which engineering achievements are worth being
called the greatest. Why or why not?
Watch the video and fill in the table in Appendix 2. Give your comments
on the reasons of choosing these achievements. How can you range
them starting with the most important one?
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VIDEO TASK
TASK 8. Study the vocabulary. Explain the meaning of the words and
phrases below.
suspension bridge the fold line
topple over to stretch the bridge
absorb the shock extra decking
huge dampers join the bridge to the shoreline
counteract the shift record breaking design
choreograph and sway challenging environment
Watch the video “Quake Proof Bridge”.
1. Where is the bridge situated?
2. What is exclusive in the bridge towers construction?
3. How many dampers does the bridge have and what is the weight of one
damper?
4. To what approach did the engineers resort to test the bridge in the absence of the earthquake?
5. When did the actual earthquake happen?
6. What happened to Akashi Bridge?
7. How did the fold line directly under the bridge influence the construction?
Self-studies for SESSION 5:
1. Study active vocabulary list for the session. See Appendix 1.
2. Find a set of engineering skills applicable to your field of specialization
or to the major of students whom you teach. Also find:
set of engineer soft skills and transferable skills that make engineer-
ing profession team oriented project work plausible;
skills for planning and management that allow organize experiential
work in laboratories and complex engineering projects;
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skills responsible for engineering creativity that allow an engineer to
perform complex design tasks.
3. Prepare a short report to illustrate the functioning of these set of skills.
4. Find more information about Mr. R. Loewe design for other companies
such as Shell, greyhound bus, NASA, etc. Prepare a short talk about his
work. Emphasis what engineering skills are required for such work.
5. Talk about any other person famous for engineering design, constructions, inventions, etc.
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APPENDIX 1
SESSION 1
to be done on federal level to conduct research
fundamental research basic research
applied research research intensive university
to fund research to account for
at an academic level to operate a laboratory
a primary research line grant application experience
to be high on the agenda to play host to
to be promoted on to cultivate communities
entrepreneurship entrepreneurial community
centerpiece of an event to raise money
to partake in panel discussions to sit on a number of panels
to lead to some ideas to refine the technology
reconnaissance mission to foster a plan, hope
to have commercial, environ-
mental or social viability
to get one’s ideas off the ground
SESSION 2
to offer a wide range of
to be engaged into production of to manage one’s research in
to develop the next generation of
scientific breakthroughs in
to feature a limited lifetime war-
ranty
to approach somebody (a com-
pany) with a task
to do research in the field of
crucial
to offer a comprehensive pro-
gram of
to possess a vision to collaborate
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to facilitate to generate ideas
headhunting to inspire
to be applied on projects in other
to enhance creativity
industries
to bring a typical customer to life to communicate the value to smb
invention to distribute knowledge
to test the essence of a design to be a wake-up call
to turn a corner intended functions
to communicate among a team to document a situation
to revolutionize something to introduce know-how
to benefit the company to launch the manufacture
to take on new profession \ do-
ing smth
SIGNPOSTING FOR YOUR PRESENTATION
Function Language
Introducing
the subject
Finishing
one subject…
…and starting
another
I’d like to start by…
Let’s begin by…
First of all, I’ll…
Starting with…
I’ll begin by…
Well, I’ve told you about…
That’s all I have to say about…
We’ve looked at…
So much for…
Now we’ll move on to…
Let me turn now to…
Next…
Turning to…
I’d like now to discuss…
Let’s look now at…
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