Post-Kaikoura earthquake, little was mentioned about systemic failures in steel construction. While this gave confidence that our structures performed well, we had to make sure. Taking an opportunity to learn if there could be any potential issues now, and in the future by commissioning research to pinpoint any weaknesses. The research outcomes described in HERA…
The media has been rife with stories of non-compliant steel. Where it has either performed poorly or been utilised despite its inability to meet New Zealand standards. Not surprisingly, this has become a key concern for many local structural engineers who are sourcing structural components from overseas. Not only in regards to performance – but…
The world is changing rapidly, and so too the heavy engineering metals industry. Now, more than ever – the risk of ‘not taking competitive risk’ will be the future downfall of many. That’s why we’re currently focused on stepping into the unknown and driving research into clean energy technology development and innovation – influenced by…
HERA has been working with Dimond since 2014 on their new Hibond 80 deck product, with one of our work packages being the optimization of composite slabs using this deck in fire conditions. From the know-how developed previously in assisting a Singaporean client, through advanced finite element analyses our Finite Element Analyst Nandor Mago was able to demonstrate…
Using innovative technology originally developed for cultural conservation, our member Opus International aims to detect rust on steel structures from up to 100m away. The idea for developing the technology originally came from Opus structural materials and corrosion engineer Raed El Sarraf, who has undertaken numerous assessments of steel structures to determine levels of corrosion,…
HERA has recently made a decision to assist the commercialisation for a seismic damage-resistant system for modular steel structures developed by Dr. John Jing in his PhD thesis. He’s received this opportunity through a HERA research scholarship fund, starting his PhD study in 2009. Supervised by Prof Charles Clifton, he has developed a base isolation…
The ultimate goal of any R&D project is to create something so successful and efficient that it blows its competition out of the water – and cost effectively of course! No one understands this more than our AGGAT team, who uses a pathway of optimisation as a means of achieving this for our members involved…
Resolving industrial problems through our heat transfer research. May302016 Three dimensional image of heat exchanger to be used with the model of a single tube from the heat exchanger, and the fin tube heat exchanger assembly (left) and ANSYS CFD model of a single finned heat transfer tube (right). Our AGGAT heat transfer research addresses…
A research team in Europe has finally put together what we’ve been waiting for – open access to all the ORC plants installed worldwide! This brilliant piece of work was published online by Thomas Tartiere, Project Manager at Enertime and is a perfect resource for our members who want to know more about this technology…
Our General Manager Structural Systems Dr Stephen Hicks and Finite Element Analyst Nandor Mago have published a peer-reviewed paper in the Journal of Constructional Steel Research. The paper investigates the fire performance of highly utilized and eccentrically loaded concrete filled composite columns with a slenderness greater than currently permitted for the simple calculation model in…
Dr Stephen Hicks has been working with Dr Farhad Aslani, Ryan Lloyd and Prof. Uy of the Centre for Infrastructure Engineering and Safety at the University of New South Wales, together with Dr Won-Hee Kang of Western Sydney University, on design rules for the flexural stiffness of composite columns for the forthcoming standard AS/NZS 2327.…
HERA member Aurecon launches HazAPP, enabling rapid hazard assessments of pressure equipment in accordance with Australian and New Zealand safety regulations. The very nature of pressure equipment and the potential stored energy in an operating vessel or piping system can be a major safety hazard to workers and nearby communities if not properly installed…