Tools & Equipment

SEISMIC SAVINGS IN BLAST PROTECTION

Seismic activity may be rare in the UK, but many buildings and critical infrastructure need to be protected from blasts. The cost of specialised equipment capable of withstanding the forces and violent movement caused by seismic and blast activity can be extortionate. However, there is an alternative, more efficient way of providing this blast protection than the traditionally expensive ‘ruggedisation’ method. Here, Adam Fox, director of vibration control specialist Mason UK, explains how you can provide effective blast protection in projects, including where vibration isolation is also required.

Say ‘seismic activity’ in the UK and you might just think of a few damaged chimney pots. Yet while genuine seismic activity might be rare, the engineering expertise that is used to protect buildings from seismic activity still has relevant applications. Bomb blasts or terrorist activity can subject buildings and critical infrastructure to what is euphemistically referred to as ‘accidental loads.’

Faced with these accidental loads, buildings need to remain viable. They must remain stable enough for people to evacuate and firefighters to enter if needed. You also want to avoid the ventilation or water supply being taken out by the blast. Consequences like these could be disastrous, especially in military installations or for critical infrastructure like power stations.

Engineers therefore design buildings with these criteria in mind. The basic engineering principles were set out in the International Building Code that was designed with the help of our big brother across the pond, Mason Industries, in the 1970s.

In many conventional buildings the volume of steel and concrete provides sufficient blast protection, but in situations where you need to introduce a structural break for vibration isolation reasons, you require a different level of engineering expertise.

For example, let’s say you have a building that is mounted on a series of columns and is near a trainline. You might place one of our bearings on top of the column, to protect the building from the vibration caused by the train. Suddenly, you have a soft connection between the column and the structure it is supporting. So how do you make sure the column is fit to withstand the accidental loads referred to before?

In these situations, where vibration isolation meets blast protection requirements, there are two solutions. The more simple, traditional approach is to apply heavy restraints which can be seriously expensive and if poorly designed can easily negate the benefit of the vibration control measures It is more efficient for cost and performance to design a connection that respects both.

Ensuring building services remain operational can keep a building running. Expensive ‘ruggedised’ plant equipment can cope with forces but the smarter, far cheaper engineering solution would involve combing anti-vibration mounts with inbuilt restraints. The former provides general vibration isolation but will also reduce any forces from a blast or accidental load down to levels that standard, off the shelf equipment can withstand. You can view this equipment in action on our YouTube channel, where we show spring mounts with seismic restraints cushioning a pump and motor. It may look violent but the goal is to reduce forces down to less than the equipment would see when being shipped to site.

We have worked on many projects for the military and government, as well as for buildings whose function just cannot be interrupted for repairs. We worked to provide a holistic engineering solution, ensuring the entire system was designed to withstand accidental loads and protect critical infrastructure.

If you need to introduce structural breaks for vibration isolation, or need to meet blast protection criteria, you face a problem. However, the problem is not that we lack a viable engineering solution in these situations. The problem is, so many developers, architects and engineers are simply not aware that this kind of engineering solution is available and therefore fork out extortionate sums on ruggedization and extra testing.

Mason UK is a vibration isolation specialist with extensive expertise in seismic engineering. To discover how their products and engineering can assist your projects, visit mason-uk.co.uk, email info@masonuk.co.uk or call (01252) 716610.

LEICA GEOSYSTEMS ANNOUNCES BLK3D UPDATE

Leica BLK3D - the in-picture measurement solution

BIridiondetri publibem trae conu ca; no. Opiessa iam auture tres horum patil vis acressena, ternum enatiam facit.

– Leica Geosystems, part of Hexagon, today announced the Leica BLK3D update. The new handheld imager has doubled its operating range and in-picture measurement accuracy for many indoor and outdoor applications, such as exterior building measurements for scaffolding, façade, roofing, and architecture projects.

The BLK3D users can capture façades of fourstorey buildings with centimetre accuracy in seconds. In addition, users benefit from new guidance and accuracy indication features that allow them to optimise the capturing process to achieve highest measurement accuracy. This is achieved by significantly enhancing BLK3D image processing algorithms alongside workflow adaptation which allows for capturing multi-shots with up to 4 shots.

The BLK3D Update is rolled out with the new BLK3D Mobile and Desktop software version 3.0.

THE SIMPLEST STEP INTO DIGITALISATION

BLK3D with Publisher license enables seamless collaboration among teams with increased accessibility to published 3D images through the cloud. Therefore, measurements can be created and shared on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets for project teams to make the right decisions at the right time.

“Detailed project documentation, team collaboration and remote decision making are just a few of the needed abilities for today’s professionals across a wide variety of industries,” said Tobias Heller, senior product manager for Leica BLK3D. “In developing the latest version of the software, these needs were our focus. We designed BLK3D mobile and desktop 3.0 for users starting their journey into digitalisation and digital experts who have already been working in the area for some time. With the increased accuracy, longer range and added functionality, the BLK3D is for anyone who is looking to make their work more efficient, effective and productive.”

leica-geosystems.com

Leading the charge: One of Travis Perkins’ new eVito vans is pictured with Intercounty Truck & Van’s eSprinter demonstrator

TRAVIS PERKINS BUILDS FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE WITH CLEAN, ‘GREEN’ MERCEDES-BENZ VANS FROM INTERCOUNTY T&V

Most customers acquiring fullyelectric Mercedes-Benz vans this year will be gaining their first experiences of the manufacturer’s zero-emissions technology – not so Travis Perkins plc.

The leading supplier of materials to the UK building and construction industry has just commissioned two eVito models for operation from one of its branches in Edinburgh. They have replaced a pair of emissionsfree E-CELL variants that were based on the previous Vito model range and had been in service since 2015!

Travis Perkins Managed Services is a supply chain partner to local authority and social landlords nationwide. Its contract with the City of Edinburgh Council, on which the new vans are now working, is serviced from a facility in the port area of Leith.

The long L2 eVito variants arrived, like their predecessors, via Intercounty Truck & Van, a trusted partner to Travis Perkins for the last 13 years. They are out each morning delivering materials to contractors responsible for maintaining and repairing the City of Edinburgh Council’s stock of housing and other properties. with a larger, L2 (medium length), H2 (high roof) eSprinter demonstration unit, which underwent a month-long evaluation at the same depot in Leith, and at another Managed Services location in Stockton-on-Tees.

Introduced towards the end of last year, the 3.5-tonne eSprinter is the latest addition to the Mercedes-Benz Vans range. Given the additional load volume it offers, compared to the 3.2-tonne eVito, it represents a more attractive long-term proposition for Travis Perkins. The eSprinter’s cargo area of 11m3 is identical to its diesel-engined, front-wheel drive stablemate, and half a cubic metre larger than its rear-wheel drive equivalent.

Andrew Hollingsworth, Travis Perkins’ Fleet Business Partner for Scotland and Northern England,

explained: “We’ll be running the eVito vans for another year in Edinburgh, but it’s the eSprinter that we’re really excited about.

“We carry a lot of bulky items so tend to be more focused on volume than payload. The eSprinter can take 3.0metre worktops and longer lengths of timber, as well as 8ft x 4ft sheets of plywood and other materials. getting our hands on one and seeing how it performed, and it didn’t disappoint. The vehicle did everything we’d hoped, and the feedback from both of the depots that took part in the trial was resoundingly positive.”

Intercounty Truck & Van’s demonstrator was certainly a hit with the three colleagues at Travis Perkins’ Leith branch who put the van through its paces. Asked to rate its overall drive Contracts Manager Guy Cruickshanks and Gary Halliday

The eSprinter is powered by a 114 hp electric motor that drives the front wheels. Its 55 kWh high-voltage battery pack is securely mounted beneath the body, so does not impinge on cargo carrying space. The van will travel 95 miles (combined WLTP with 80 km/h speed limiter) on a single charge, which is ample for the majority of urban delivery and last mile applications; recuperative energy recovered when decelerating supplements the batteries’ output.

Now superseded, the Vito E-CELL was the world’s first battery-powered light commercial vehicle to be built on-line at a mainstream production facility. As an early adopter of this ground-breaking technology Travis Perkins highlighted its commitment to carbon reduction and support for the City of Edinburgh Council’s environmental targets.

The eVito brings Mercedes-Benz Vans’ electric drivetrain technology up to date. Travis Perkins’ new vans offer 905 kg payload capacities, while sliding doors on both sides, and twin rear doors, provide easy access to up to 6.0m3 of cargo space.

Like the eSprinter, the eVito is powered by an electric motor that produces 114 hp and drives the front wheels via a single-speed automatic transmission.

Acceleration is instantaneous. Top speed is restricted as standard to 50 mph (80 km/h), but can be increased on request. The steering wheel-mounted selectors allow drivers to choose between C, E and E+ (Comfort, Eco and Extended range) settings. The eVito will cover an average of 92 miles between recharges; as with the eSprinter recuperative energy captured when braking can extend its range.

Andrew Hollingsworth continued: “We’re really passionate at Travis Perkins about driving carbon out of our own business and our supply chain, and working on a challenging path to reach net zero carbon. We’re already engaged in a number of initiatives designed to reduce our carbon footprint; for example, wherever possible we now buy only electric fork-lift trucks.

“Electric vans are clearly going to play an increasingly important role in our business, particularly in urban areas where low-emission zones are becoming increasingly common. Mercedes-Benz is already our preferred van brand and although the higher mileages involved means range remains an issue for our retail branch operations, the eSprinter looks to be ideally suited to work on Managed Services contracts nationwide.”

Travis Perkins plc is based in Northampton and purchased its 1,000th Mercedes-Benz van from its local Dealer in March 2018. It has since taken a further 265.

The partnership between the two companies is so close that Intercounty Truck & Van’s Customer Service Manager Jason Roberts is dedicated to its Travis Perkins account.

www.travisperkins.co.uk

50 Year old product makes dramatic comeback to help beat the virus

When the Melaphone Speech Unit was

at British Rail stations, nobody could have predicted that half a century later it would suddenly be in such high demand.

The current Corona Virus Pandemic had created an urgent need for all protective equipment – both for personal use and in the working environment. This is the reason the Melaphone has come into its own again. Its unique design, with its resonating membrane and air-sealed constructions, make it the ideal device to install in any situation where face-to-face communication occurs. It not only offers protection from air-borne viruses and

through a screen. Its protective credentials

and designers for use in hospitals, laboratories and cleanrooms or anywhere hygiene is of paramount importance. It is a simple but really ingenious invention which requires no servicing, wiring or electrical supply. And it is very easy to keep clean and safe with an antiseptic wipe.

The Melaphone has now been built into the new Defender Virus Screens produced by the company and numerous doctors’ surgeries, medical centres, clinics and pharmacies in the UK have had these screens installed with considerable success and approval. The screens are individually made and every component is of the highest quality, giving a clean, sleek and professional appearance in any health-care environment.

The Melaphone is still available as a standalone unit for installation into walls, glass or plastic screens, windows or doors. I can easily

requires no special skill to install. The range has been expanded to meet the growing demand for the units. In addition to the original brushed aluminium model there is a stainless steel model, a white powder-coated aluminium model and the newest and highly successful Himacs acrylic-resin model, which is at a very popular price.

All of these models are available from stock and can be purchased from Melaphone VisAudio.

Even after 50 years, we’re proud to still be able to say ‘MADE IN THE UK’ at our London production facility.