In May 2015, Standards Australia senior management was alerted to the fact that the 2014 editions within the AS/NZS 1554 suite contained material that was included without adherence to Standards Australia’s standards development processes. The relevant material relates to specifications contained in the following standards: AS/NZS 1554.1:2014 Structural Steel Welding, Part 1: Welding of steel…
Representatives from the Geothermal New Zealand group met earlier this month in Auckland to follow up on outcomes from the World Geothermal Congress (WGC) held in Melbourne recently. Mike Allen (Executive Director Geothermal NZ) chaired the meeting of about 25 attendees to lead through a busy agenda of items which included international geothermal updates and…
As the new design standard for composite construction AS/NZS 2327 nears completion, consideration is being paid to what software tools will be needed by designers. Our General Manager Structural Systems Dr Stephen Hicks has encouraged Arup’s software house Oasys to implement the new AS/NZS 2327 within their Compos programme, which enables users to design composite beams…
We have an image problem. In experimental evolution, Drosophila (the humble fruit fly) is often used to demonstrate evolutionary processes. It is used because genetic changes for the fruit fly can be observed very quickly in response to natural selection. In business, the equivalent of the fruit fly is the IT or information technology company,…
Research Aim 1-1 – Expert Design Tool A major objective of the Above Ground Geothermal and Allied Technologies (AGGAT) Research Programme is to make the assessment of heat resources potential for energy generation (geothermal / waste heat) easier for heavy engineering member companies involved in the clean energy space. This objective is being addressed through…
Flame, plasma and laser cutting are widely used in industry. The selection of the cutting process is based on the type of material, economic considerations and quality requirements. Despite some specifics, high quality results are obtainable using all of the cutting processes. The level of quality required for cut surface is determined by the application…
HERA Director Dr Wolfgang Scholz was attending ACHEMA 2015 in Frankfurt, Germany when he came across HERA member Cuddon Engineering, with John and Robyn Cuddon, and Steve Anderson among the Cuddon crew manning the stand they had at the exhibition. We asked them a few questions about their experience. How did you come about…
As an extension to the Australian Journal of Structural Engineering paper that was reported in last month’s HERA News, the paper entitled ‘Australasian Advances in Steel & Composite Structures to Enhance Cross-Border Practice’ was delivered by Prof. Brian Uy (CIES Director and Chair of IABSE-Australia) at the 17th Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines…
Budget 2015/16 hit the road on the 21st of May and I am probably the last to comment. But I don’t think the timing of this comment matters as we see no change in policy other than the usual ‘steady as we go’ when it comes to changing innovation behaviour of our metals-based manufacturing sector.…
Above Ground Geothermal & Allied Technologies (AGGAT) is a HERA-led co-operative research programme to support the development of Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power plants utilizing low enthalpy geothermal resources or waste heat. The geothermal turbine, which converts the working fluid’s enthalpy into kinetic energy and then outputs the power, plays a crucial role in the…
The third edition of the Code of Practice for the Fabrication of Stainless Steel Plant & Equipment referred to as the “Blue Book”, is now available. The “Blue Book”, as it is generally known as in industry, has established itself as a key document for the specification of stainless steel plant in New Zealand. It…
After one year as a digital only publication, New Steel Construction (NSC), the well-known and respected steel construction marketing publication of the UK Steel Construction Institute (SCI) is reverting to the traditional paper format as from the Structural Steel Design Awards special issue in July/August. Following numerous requests from subscribers and advertisers, SCI has decided…