INNOVATION July-August 2014

2O13 2O14 PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

SaltMaker Saltworks Technologies designed and built a commercial SaltMaker system for a Mexican zinc smelter with the purpose of treating their highly scaling effluent to produce freshwater and solids. The SaltMaker is a revolutionary, flexible and robust evaporator and crystallizer technology that produces solids and freshwater from highly impaired waters with little or no pre- treatment. Based on ISO container blocks for rapid dispatch and assembly, the SaltMaker is expandable with plug-in modules that allow maintenance without confined spaces. The SaltMaker is thermally driven, using waste heat or natural gas, and utilizes a patented multiple-effect humidified air cycle that recycles thermal energy and operates below 80°C and near atmospheric pressure, allowing steam-free operation. The SaltMaker is designed with corrosion-free engineered plastics and incorporates intelligent self-cleaning systems. Project team: Ben Sparrow, P.Eng.; Joshua Zoshi, EIT; Ross Coleman, EIT; James Tang, EIT; Henry Tsin, EIT; Andrew Burfitt, EIT; Michael Gin, EIT; Saqib Naveed, EIT. Circumotion Theatre System Circumotion Theatre represents the next step in the evolution of media and motion-based attractions in theme parks. It blends 3D media with a large synchronized, circular mechanical motion platform. The actuated platform has four Degrees of Freedom (DOF), i.e., heave, pitch, tilt and yaw, and is capable of providing repeatable, smooth and precise dynamic movements synchronized with audio-visual media delivered in a fully immersed projection dome. The 40-tonne, 100-passenger motion platform is actuated by a combination of electrical motors, gear boxes and passive hydraulic counter weights. The platform structure is designed and manufactured to survive intensive fatigue loads for more than 20 years. The system is currently being installed and commissioned at a new theme park in the Middle East. System design, engineering and manufacturing: Dynamic Structures. Attraction design: Falcon’s Treehouse.

Williams Road Drainage Pump Station Replacement Aplin & Martin Consultants was the lead consultant providing civil engineering services for the replacement of the Williams Road Drainage Pump Station, situated on the Fraser River delta, in Richmond. The design doubled the capacity of the existing station to 1.5 m 3 /s. To avoid obstructing ocean views from the nearby residents, the pump station was constructed within the dike. The placement required densification of the underlying sand deposits to limit liquefaction impacts on the pump station. The dike was also partially raised to accommodate a future predicted rise in sea level. To prevent scouring of the environmentally sensitive wetlands, an energy dissipater in the form of an artistic alluvial fan was constructed in concrete on the discharge side. The concrete sides fronting the street were clad in metal with punched pixels to create a dynamic 3D image of the environment surrounding the pump station. Owner: City of Richmond. Lead consultant (Civil): Robert Wridgway, P.Eng. (Aplin & Martin Consultants). Contractor: Merletti Construction.

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