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Recent Blog Posts - Commercial & Industrial

Automatic Water Shut-off Valves

To anyone that has ever had a water line burst in their house, it is clear, the uncontrolled discharge of water into an occupied space is a problem. To anyone that has ever had a water line burst in their house, it is clear, the uncontrolled discharge of water into an occupied space is a problem...

Why Frozen Pipes Rupture

With winter (or frozen pipe season) upon us, I’m reminded about misconceptions regarding frozen pipes and pipe bursts that were located in a heated space. The following information will illustrate how this happens.

Where did the Water Come From?

portrait photo of Richard

Richard T. Edwards, P.E.

As a materials engineer with some experience in chemistry, I am often asked to assist other engineers in determining the source of water in a crawlspace or an affected area. Obviously, seawater versus freshwater is not a difficult determination. This can be differentiated by simple turbidity tests...

A Forensic Engineer’s Journey to Becoming a Drone Pilot

EDT

The "Aha!" Moment - When I realized that an unsafe situation I was in while examining a roof for hail damage could have been solved by a 30-minute drone flight. That was when I decided to get serious about becoming certified to fly drones for commercial purposes through the Federal Aviation...

Air Infiltration & Leakage (Part 2)

Air infiltration (air that comes in) and air leakage (air that goes out) negatively impact energy usage and costs in conditioned spaces – for homes and businesses alike. We’ve talked about what infiltration and leakage are and how to combat them at a basic level, but to really fix the problem for...

Hurricane Forces: Wind VS Wave Forces

EDT

Hurricanes are somewhat unique in that they generate multiple types of forces that can affect coastal properties. This blog discusses how EDT determines the cause of damage based on hurricane wind and water forces.

Renewable Energy: Pumped Storage

EDT

Pumped storage is the process of pumping water uphill from one body of water to another which allows power companies to store the energy generated during the low demand periods of the day so that it can be used to meet later peak demands.

Fire Effects on Concrete

EDT

Concrete exposed to the elevated temperatures of a fire can experience both mechanical changes and chemical changes. Both can provide pathways for direct heating of exposed Reinforcing Steel (rebar).

Fire Effects on Steel

EDT

After a fire involving a building or industrial structure, there are often multiple types of damage to the building materials. Knowing how heat affects various building materials can be helpful in determining the level of damage to building components.

Alternative Energy - Power from the Earth

Geothermal power pulls hot water from deep within the earth to heat and vaporize a fluid that is then used to drive a turbine-generator. In this post, we discuss a case study and solution related to a vaporizer tube leakage at a geothermal energy plant.