This is the third and final of three articles concerning the basics of air conditioning systems. This article concerns the evaporator, a part of the air conditioning system that is usually unseen inside the air handling unit. The evaporator, in concert with a fan, supplies cool air to a building interior. (more…)
The condensing unit is a key component of all vapor compression air conditioning systems. We are all familiar with condensing units as the noisy exterior portions of air conditioning systems that blow hot air to the environment. (more…)
Air conditioning systems are everywhere in our lives – at home, in our vehicles, at work, in manufacturing facilities – yet most people give them little thought other than setting a comfortable temperature until they stop working or malfunction in some other way. (more…)
A large oceanfront house was custom built after two years of planning and construction. The house had three stories over an elevated foundation. Shortly after the house was completed, the owners arrived one evening and found water pouring from above when they parked in the garage beneath the living spaces. (more…)
Cranes are powerful lifting devices that we see everyday in construction areas, shipping terminals, and industrial sites. They are so common that we often pass by them with little thought. Cranes, however, can easily become involved in incidents that injure people or damage equipment. (more…)
Container handlers are mobile, rubber-tired, machines that are used to load and stack standard containers at a variety of shipping terminals. The machines resemble oversized forklifts but are equipped with shipping container lift spreaders instead of forks. The machines are often equipped with sophisticated computer systems that inform the operator which container needs to be lifted as well as its destination, whether it is a truck, train, or storage stack. (more…)
A wind turbine was being erected as part of a small wind energy park. The wind turbine tower and the nacelle housing the generator were successfully installed. The three-bladed rotor assembly was installed and connected to the nacelle as the last major component of the wind turbine. (more…)
A production building was being constructed at a cement plant. A large crawler crane was being used to install the pre-assembled metal wall framing of the building. The weights and lift radii of the four wall framing sections, along with the rigging spreader and other lift equipment, were within the rated capacity of the crane. (more…)
A forklift fell off the loading dock of a warehouse as it was in the process of entering a semi-trailer that was being loaded. The forklift fell because the semi-trailer and the connected truck rolled away from the edge of the loading dock as the forklift passed over the dock leveler into the trailer. The repeated braking forces of the forklift as it carried loads onto the trailer caused the trailer to move away from the loading dock. The semi-trailer wheels were not chocked to prevent movement away from the loading dock. (more…)
The boom of a hydraulic crane was bent while removing temporary sheet piles at a construction site. A vibratory hammer had been placed at the top of the sheet piles to both drive and remove the piles. The vibratory pile driving placed no significant loads on the crane boom, as that operation relied on the weight of the sheet piles and the vibration of the hammer to sink the piles into the soil. The vibration of the hammer and the lifting force of the crane boom were needed to remove the sheet piles from the soil. (more…)
Not sure what you're looking for?
Browse All
