Cities and Their Vital Systems Infrastructure Past, Present, and Future (1988) / Chapter Skim
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14 New Construction Technologies for Rebuilding the Nation's Infrastructure
14 New Construction Technologies for Rebuilding the Nation's Infrastructure
Pages 294-311
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From page 294... ...
Construction engineers focus on the basic building blocks common to many structures: building components, materials, foundations, and the other elements that are combined to create bridges, hospitals, roads, and other infrastructure facilities. In recent years, construction engineering has made substantial technological progress.
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From page 295... ...
A partial list of the most expensive infrastructural items and the estimated cost of their refurbishing includes: · highways and bridges outside urban areas, $1 trillion; · city streets, $600 billion; · municipal water systems, $125 billion; · water pollution controls, $ 100 billion; · ports and inland waterways, $40 billion; and · prisons and jails, $15 billion. The total amount needed for public works facilities represents an amount roughly equal to planned national defense outlays over the next 10 years.
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From page 296... ...
WILLIAM IBBS AND DIEGO ECHEVERRY 6 As o Do of ~4 o 2 o C) CL o I I I I 1 1 1 1 1965 1967 1969 1971 1973 Year 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 FIGURE 14-1 Recent governmental expenditures on the physical infrastructure as a percentage of the gross national product.
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From page 297... ...
Construction productivity is also low in relation to other components of the national economy (Table 14-1; American Productivity Center, 19841.* Multiple factors explain this decline in productivity: regulations; changing work force demographics; extremely large and complex projects, such as nuclear power plants, that some construction managers were unprepared to handle; and the economic boom of the 1960s all figure into it.
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From page 298... ...
SOURCE: American Productivity Center (1984)
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From page 299... ...
A third major change in the American construction industry recently has been the explosive growth in foreign competition. At one time, American builders regularly captured all domestic work and a principal share of the large international projects.
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From page 300... ...
. In summary, the American construction industry has experienced a severe interruption in economic and technological progress.
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From page 301... ...
Many other recent developments in concrete technology can lower 8000 7000 6000 5000 a ~3000 4000 2000 1000 o _ 1 -- :-:::1 : :.:.:: :l Japan 1 1 _ ~ _ All Others France Britain Germany ~ <,,,,v ;~ 1 i 1' 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 Year F~GuRE 14-7 Foreign contractor shares of the U.S. market over time.
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From page 302... ...
The initial program planned 122 days for placing the concrete, and it was actually performed in 124 days. In spite of the new techniques used and the crews' inexperience with this type of project, the work was finished on schedule and with a relatively low cost overrun of 12 percent (Schrader, 1982; Civil Engineering, 19851.
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From page 304... ...
The tools to automate water and wastewater systems are also available today in a technology that consists of automated control devices linked through microwaves with a computerized control device (Bishop and Schuck, 1986~. NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING Nondestructive testing techniques promote increased confidence in the quality of built components.
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From page 305... ...
For instance, the development of filter fabrics for pavement drainage and different types of synthetic fabrics for crack control have helped to reduce costs and extend the useful life of many pavements. New or improved equipment that produces higher quality pavement at lower costs includes electronically controlled slipform pavers and new pavement breakers (Ray, 19861.
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From page 306... ...
The Japanese have tested a variety of applications, including prototypes for exterior building wall tile inspection, concrete floor slab placement and finishing, three-dimensional structural steel erection, and abrasive water jetting for tunneling. The most advanced Japanese robotic experiment involves a fireproofing system (Yoshida et al., 19841.
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From page 307... ...
CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGIES I, Power unit Controller Distance sensor 307 Fireproofing material Position sensor SPRAY WORK (Potentiometer) Spray manipulator ~ , Spray nozzle Beam or girder \\~.JT 1l ~ Variable length (500mm)
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From page 308... ...
in particular are being seized on by researchers and practitioners alike almost as panaceas. Today, KBESs exist for project risk assessment, evaluation of a contractor's safety program, and project goal setting.
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From page 309... ...
Project owners need summary schedules to forecast completion, phased occupancy dates, and cash flow requirements and to prepare and defend against contractor claims for extra costs. CONSAES, a construction schedule analysis expert system under development at the University of Illinois and the University of California, Berkeley, is a serious attempt to provide the U.S.
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From page 310... ...
In another example, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation set up a bridge management system in 1986 to manage data from more than 50,000 bridges larger than 8 ft. The system is designed to keep updated records of the facilities, recommend bridge maintenance and repairs, and estimate costs.
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From page 311... ...
1982. The first concrete gravity dam designed and built for roller compacted construction methods.
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