The Boston Globe is reporting today that an engineering firm is recommending the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority install about 900 new support anchors in the Ted Williams Tunnel. This is the same firm that was hired to inspect all Boston Big Dig tunnels following the July 2006 Boston Big Dig tunnel collapse that killed a 38-year-old woman when the car she was riding in was crushed by falling ceiling panels.
Powers Fasteners of Brewster, NY was charged last summer with a single count of involuntary manslaughter in the woman’s death. Milena Del Valle was killed in July 2006 with a portion of Boston’s Big DigInterstate-90 connector tunnel ceiling collapsed and crushed the car she was riding in with her husband. Powers Fasteners provided the epoxy used to secure the bolts to suspend the tunnel roof ceiling.
These anchors, according the Globe story, would be a backup in 250-ft sections near tunnel entrances which officials say are impossible to inspect because they were designed without a crawl space. These new supports would “fortify epoxy bolts, which were blamed for the fatal ceiling collapse.”
Gary Klein, an engineering consultant from Wiss, Janney, Elstner Assoc., the firm hired to review all the MTA’s roads, tunnels and bridges, gave this recommendation today at the Turnpike Authority’s monthly meeting. He did not estimate the cost of installation.
New disc magnet motors fit into the design trend of stepping up to closed loop performance while maintaining the cost advantage of stepper motor technology.
At the Design News webinar on June 27, learn all about aluminum extrusion: designing the right shape so it costs the least, is simplest to manufacture, and best fits the application's structural requirements.
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For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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