Occasionally, the manufacturer of aggregate processing plants may encounter unique structural challenges such as when a structure must support a piece of machinery producing dynamic loads. Machines such as rock breakers and crushers can generate a variety of loads to a structure including static and dynamic loads such as shock and vibration. In the following study, we look at the design of a tower used to support and elevate a rock breaker several stories above grade.

Since the first engineering drawing existed, so have manufacturing tolerances.  Tolerances allow parts to deviate from perfection, but only within defined limits.  The amount of tolerance allowed is usually based on part function.  The limits allow the part to deviate, but a properly applied tolerance will ensure that parts fit properly and function as intended.  The goal is to achieve a balance between high cost, narrow tolerances and lower cost, wide tolerances.

A safety restraint may be a highly-advanced, cutting edge solution, but if the occupant chooses not to use it, then this technology becomes irrelevant. As an example, a study of the general public in 2003 sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concluded that although 95% of those interviewed agreed that seat restraints saved lives, 22% used them sporadically or not at all (1). Usage of seat restraints is therefore a key consideration when designing any restraint system and understanding the circumstances which discourage their use should be thoroughly understood.

Considered an integral part of new weapons development, terminal ballistic performance testing of high speed weapons remains an important issue for weapons designers. During target penetration, projectiles are subjected to tremendous forces developed at the weapon-target interface. The resultant decelerations coupled with oblique impact angles of attack and an interaction with structurally non-uniform target materials leads to a complex multi-axial inertial loading environment.