Beams with web openings can include cellular beams fabricated from rolled sections or plate girders with circular or rectangular openings cut in the webs. Typical long-span floor beams of this nature are designed to act compositely with the floor slab, which greatly increases their load carrying capabilities. Authored by Prof. R Mark Lawson of Surrey…
As a substantial player in the agricultural space, New Zealand lurches from issues with droughts to floods to kiwifruit vine disease, the ever present danger of importing fruit flies to the proclivities of the global price for milk solids that has seen the Fonterra forecast payout per kilogramme of milk solids drop to a jarring…
It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of a veteran of the engineering safety industry, John Martin Stark. John established Engineering Safety while still in the then-Ministry of Transport around 1989 to develop and administer legislation for land-based boilers, pressure vessels, pressure piping, lifts, cranes and passenger ropeways that used to…
A series of seminars on Engineering the Repair and Retrofitting of Steel Structures took place in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in April 2015. More than 60 engineers have attended the events. The seminars were presented by Robert E. Shaw, one of the leading experts on seismic welded and bolted connections, the Chairman of the International Institute of…
The third edition of the Government Rules of Sourcing, aka the “Rules”, replaces previous editions on 1st July 2015. Main change in the 3rd edition is that 103 additional agencies are to apply the new Rules. The extension means that Crown Agents such as District Health Boards and independent Crown entities are now mandated to apply…
As mentioned previously, our Executive supported an ongoing research activity run by us to gather more specific data characterising our heavy engineering industry. This research activity included a proposal for the performance of a benchmarking study of the structural steel fabrication industry as a pilot for other sub-sectors. HERA wishes to confirm that thanks to…
HERA is delighted to announce its success in obtaining research funding from the 2015/16 Building Research Levy Investment Programme for the project entitled “Specific Design for Multi-storey Light Steel Framed Housing”. Working closely with the National Association of Steel-framed Housing (NASH), whom will also be funding this initiative, the project is in response to the…
Dr. Lei Chen is Turbine Research Engineer in the Industry Development division at HERA, and is leading AGGAT research on Turbine design, development and simulation. Lei graduated with a bachelor of engineering degree from Dalian University of Technology in Dalian and continued to gain a PhD degree in Turbo-machinery and Engineering from one of China’s…
We’d like to advise that a small HERA delegation will be visiting the UK/ France to visit some Organic Rankine Cycle plant manufacturers this month. If any member is interested in joining, please contact our General Manager Industry Development Nick Inskip. There will also be an opportunity to visit a marine energy device developer as…
The first ever Global Conference on Above Ground Geothermal and Allied Technologies (AGGAT) was held on 30th April 2015 in Auckland. Around 60 delegates registered for this conference covering a mix of industry, academia, field experts and government. The conference was divided into the following research themes, which also form the basis of the AGGAT…
“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Those words were said by President John F Kennedy at his inauguration in 1961, and were designed to galvanize a nation to action through personal responsibility. After four years of effort and support by a lot of different people…
As part of the AGGAT program, the Heavy Engineering Education and Research Foundation (HEERF) offers scholarships to prospective university students undertaking postgraduate research related to the Heavy Engineering Sector. The AGGAT Program offers such opportunities through its research objectives in Clean Energy. This has often been a pathway of growth for our scholars into our…