Insights Archive - Page 7 of 11 - Hawkins Forensic Investigation

Investigations Into Steel Structure Failures Part I: Failure Mechanisms

Steel is one of the most commonly used construction materials, due to its wide availability and good strength-to-weight ratio, both in tension and compression.

Dubai Building Code

Dubai Municipality has released the first edition of its unified building code, the Dubai Building Code (DBC). The code was announced with the aim of setting standards for construction that promote sustainable development and innovation in building design.

Failures of Plastic Welded Pipes

Plastic welding is a technique that many people seem to misunderstand. To the casual observer, it seems to be quite simple; you heat a plastic surface until it softens, push it against another plastic surface, and wait for the bond to cool. Job done? Not quite. There are many different plastic welding techniques, and each has its own intricacies, features and details that must be considered and understood, if the welding is to be done successfully.

Getting Pyrotechnical: This Article Is Not About Fireworks

We are all probably very familiar with fireworks, especially the type commonly used in gardens on Bonfire Night, or those seen when watching professional displays at weddings and other celebrations. These types of fireworks are classified F1 to F4 in “The Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015,” covering all the types of fireworks from hand-held sparklers to the largest display shells used by professionals.

Arson: A Burning Desire

Arson: A Burning Desire: Arsonists cause injury, death, property destruction, burdening insurance companies financially.

The Power Generation Game

The process of turning mechanical energy into electrical power is pretty fascinating. You may remember turning a magnet near a coil and seeing a light bulb illuminate at school? In practice, power generation in the real world is fairly similar; an electromagnet is spun by a turbine (through wind, water, steam or a combustion engine) and power is produced. In practice, this electro-magnet may be over 100 tonnes, spinning at 3000 times a minute within a stationary coil weighing hundreds of tonnes. The largest generators being manufactured at the moment are rated in excess of 1.5 GW (gigawatts, or billion watts – enough to power three million UK homes). Whether being driven by wind, water steam or gas turbines, all generators are made of the same parts.