Combustion is a subject that can be intimidating. The form of combustion that most people are familiar with is burning wood or paper. Believe it or not, most combustion processes are much simpler than those. We’ll get to that later. With most combustion processes, a fuel reacts with an oxidant. Take...
Most, if not all, of us know that deep rumbling sound of a V8-powered muscle car or even your garden variety V8-powered daily driver. There is almost something primal about the deep throaty sound of a V8. In modern times V8 engines are becoming more and more of a rare breed, with turbo-charged four...
As technology advances, drones have been made available to the average person. A drone can be a powerful tool with loss investigations. With many losses, safety concerns may prevent access to examine a site, equipment, or other important items. With drone advancements, we are now able to examine and...
Welding is a fabrication process whereby two or more parts are fused together by means of heat, pressure, or both, forming a joint as the parts cool. While it is possible to weld materials other than metal (plastics for example), the process is most often associated with the joining of metal parts...
You typically hear weather forecasts that include wind speeds in your neck of the woods. But how does a wind speed in miles per hour (mph) translate into a wind load in pounds per square foot (psf)? The general public is not aware of how strong (in the structural sense of the word) a 50-mph wind is...
Have you ever heard of a concrete ship? The idea of a concrete ship may contradict your initial reaction – concrete doesn’t float. In fact, concrete can float. Objects can float in almost any medium under one of two techniques. The first, perhaps simplest, technique is: an object of lesser density...
