• 2014
Practical Engineering

Summary From time to time we all see engineering failures such as a power outage, sink hole in the street. buckling retaining wall, leaning building or, worst case, a collapse. Practical Engineering explains why these accidents happen and how engineers design our civilization's infrastructure to prevent them. View more details

  • 2014

Practical Engineering

Directed : Unknown

Written : Unknown

Stars : Grady Hillhouse Ralph Crewe

All cast & crew

0

Details

Genres : Documentary

Release date : Oct 9, 2014

Countries of origin : United States

Official sites : Nebula Channel Official Website

Language : English

Production companies : Standard Broadcast

Summary From time to time we all see engineering failures such as a power outage, sink hole in the street. buckling retaining wall, leaning building or, worst case, a collapse. Practical Engineering explains why these accidents happen and how engineers design our civilization's infrastructure to prevent them. View more details

Details

Genres : Documentary

Release date : Oct 9, 2014

Countries of origin : United States

Official sites : Nebula Channel Official Website

Language : English

Production companies : Standard Broadcast

Photos

Practical Engineering (2014)

Episodes

View All Seasons
Mar 06, 2016
The 100 Year Flood Is Not What You Think It Is (Maybe)
The hundred year flood concept is important in the United States because it determines coverage for the National Flood Insurance Program. The program covers real estate that is likely to be flood once every one hundred years or equivalently has a one percent change of flooding in any given year.
Jun 27, 2017
How Do Sinkholes Form?
Sinkholes are caused by the great eroder, water, flowing below ground level. As the water from an underground stream or broken drainage pipe flows it dissolves or simply washes away subsurface soil creating a cavern. When the cavern reaches the surface the undisturbed top layer collapses into the sinkhole.
Dec 09, 2018
How Water Towers Work
Water towers store water to meet peak demand avoiding the need to additional pumps. And by refilling overnight they take advantage of off peak energy.
Feb 24, 2019
What is a Weir?
A weir is a dam that allows water to flow over the top. Their intent is to maintain water levels upstream from the weir at a stable level. But water flow in a river is not constant so hydrology engineers have a few tricks to handle changes in water flow.
Jul 22, 2019
How Electricity Generation Really Works
We consumers receive electricity through the electrical grid which has a variety of devices producing electricity. Solar energy is unique among them in not having any inertia to satisfy peak loads. Most of the remaining devices, nuclear, fossil fuels, geothermal convert heat to steam to spin a turbine. The exceptions are wind and hydro which use kinetic energy to spin a turbine.
Apr 05, 2021
Flow and Pressure in Pipes Explained
Grady demonstrates the variables in pipe manifolds that cause pressure loss such as length and diameter. Using an experimental rig complete with flow and pressure gauges he predicts pressure loss using the Hazen-Williams equation and Minor Loss equation.
May 03, 2021
Do Pumps Create Pressure or Flow?
Explained here is the relationship between pressure and flow when pumping a fluid.
May 31, 2021
The Fluid Effects That Kill Pumps
Priming, cavitation and vortices all involve air in a pump and can cause it to fail, sometimes permanently. Liquid pumps can't pump air so they need to be primed (filled) with liquid when started. Cavitation is the formation and collapse of bubbles which damage the impeller. Vortices allow some air into a pump making it less efficient.
Nov 15, 2021
What Really Happened at the Millennium Tower?
Like most of the high rises in San Francisco, the Millennium Tower is build on a foundation of clay using friction piles. But the Millennium Towers load is particularly high and removing ground water has accelerated the settling much more than expected. The solution now underway is to add external piles down to bedrock.
Dec 06, 2021
Why Retaining Walls Collapse
Engineers use retaining walls to prevent earth from moving at construction sites. But it isn't as simple as building a wall. Retaining walls have to be anchored. There are several effective ways to do so but the earth may still offer some surprises.
Feb 14, 2022
What Really Happened During the 2003 Blackout?
Electrical power tends to have a mind of i's own traveling according to the laws of physics rather than human instructions. It is up to grid controllers to match supply and demand. But in Cleveland in 2003 their computer alarms were offline so they were working blind to a grown series of failures.
Mar 24, 2022
The Most Mindblowing Infrastructure in My City
San Antonio's water resources range from drought to flash flood. Grady provides a tour of the city's water resource management systems. Since they were designed to be harmonize with nature his tour also includes many of San Antonio's parks.
Jun 06, 2022
The Bizarre Paths of Groundwater around Structures
Graound water seepage has caused catastrophic disasters in various was to large structures such as dams. But it also needs to be considered for small structures.
Jun 20, 2022
4 Myths About Construction Debunked
Grady busts construction myths about idle workers, planned obsolescence, Roman concrete, lowest bidders and bedrock foundations.
Jul 18, 2022
What Happens When a Reservoir Goes Dry?
The drought in the American Southwest has created concern about their reservoirs running dry. Generally that means using more expensive sources of water.
Jan 16, 2023
What Really Happened with the Substation Attack in North Carolina?
Grady takes a closer look at what the vandals who shot up the Moore county substation where targeting and how much damage was done.
Apr 17, 2023
East Palestine Train Derailment Explained
Jul 31, 2023
Where Does Grounded Electricity Actually Go?
An explanation with practical examples of what an electrical ground is, how it works and how it's used even when it's not actually the ground.
May 20, 2024
Every Kind of Bridge Explained in 15 Minutes
The diverse assortment of bridges that architectural engineers have come up with, each with its particular advantages and, more often than not, a touch of beauty and uniqueness.
Aug 05, 2024
How French Drains Work
Controling subsurface water is essential to the integrity of any structure. The solution engineers most often turn to is the french drain.
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