In Magic Kingdom at Disney World, Florida, Splash Mountain provides a boat ride on a varying rail track that ends with a chute in a body of water. While the exterior finish material portrays a rocky mountain, the entire ride rests on a steel structure that was designed to sustain repeated loading, vibration, and fatigue. An intricate optimization analysis was performed.
The design and construction of facilities in cold regions such as Alaska, USA, requires special handling from concept development to execution. Severe weather conditions were taken into account in material properties, types of loading, soil conditions subjected to freezing and thawing, and transportation. The team designed docking cells for the maritime transport of steel modules under construction loads, environmental and ice load when the ocean surface freezes. Works were designed and performed under strict environmental considerations.
Disney World's Tower of Terror was designed by the team to include a free fall drop of visitors inside an elevator. To provide the required thrill level, the tower stands 190 feet tall with the look of a beat-up hotel. A full non-linear dynamic analysis was performed to simulate the drops and its effects on the structure including shock, vibration, and fatigue.
Typhoon Lagoon was built in the early 1990s following a design that included an artificial lagoon, a twelve-cell gravity wave maker, and a 140 degree beach. Families can enjoy a relaxing day playing and swimming. The wave lip and the pool bathymetry was design so that the facility can generate waves that surfers can ride.
In support of space exploration, the giant steel tower at Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, was designed to include movable and foldable platforms. This structural electro-mechanical design offers an innovative maintenance facility to prepare space shuttles prior to launch. A full non-linear dynamic analysis was performed including self weight versus strength and serviceability optimization to provide the requisite accuracy in performance.
The Hyperion Treatment Plant was one the early anaerobic digestion facilities serving Los Angeles County. Design projects ranged from large cylindrical concrete tank digestors to piping systems in this environmental-industrial facility. Structural design with dynamic analysis was performed to ensure strength and serviceability of the digestors and their connecting components. Today, anaerobic digestion is rolled out across several countries.
For the design and analysis of the Large Blast Thermal Simulator (LBTS), the team performed detailed finite element analysis to simulate this large tunnel under operation. Its objective is to provide a full scale test for vehicles subjected to blast and fire. The structure is hybrid in that it is made of concrete and steel. The steel section houses the pressure release louvers.
The steel tower designed and built at Edwards Airforce Base, California, was used as a vertical test stand for the Solid Rocket Motor Upgrade (SRMU) in preparation for the TITAN IV space shuttle mission. Erected over a concrete flame deflector, the tower was designed as a braced structure equipped with peripheral platforms, and two load measurement systems used to measure the thrust force.
The project extended between 2017 and 2019 and consisted of performing a study and recommending solutions to preserve Nahr Ibrahim's ecosystem in its middle catchment basin faced with random developments of industrial facilities. Nahr Ibrahim, a jewel of the crown among Lebanon's perennial rivers, suffered from manufacturing plants, stone and marble factories, and restaurants that were built alongside its riverbed in an aggressive industrial expansion for decades. This resulted in dumping waste in the river causing water pollution, structural riverbed alteration, and damage to biodiversity. Our study showed that the aggressive industrial expansion caused over 11 plant species and 18 animal species to become endangered, in addition to a fundamental modifications to the natural terrain. A river ecosystem restoration plan was developed alongside new policy recommendations, and the establishment of a mandatory preparation process of an environmental impact assessment. The study serves as a pilot project for other catchment basins in the country to curb this intrusive and environmentally damaging practice.
Working with NGO T.E.R.R.E. Liban, Integrated Services performed a study assessing the national water strategy draft issued by the Ministry of Energy and Water. Major areas of improvement were identified. The study highlighted the need for coordination among relevant ministries, the relevant directorates, and the inclusion of the private sector to reach a sustainable and integrated national water strategy. Some of the critical limitations pertain to the lack of power sources, and the traditional dependence on fossil fuel to operate pumping stations, treatment plants, and reservoir replenishment facilities. Integrated Services proposed a fast transfer to renewable sources of energy including wind, solar, and coastal. Other options that are independent of fossil fuel include hydroelectric power. However, the latter depends on surface water flow and therefore is susceptible to drought due to global warming, and flow fluctuations due to climate change. The project extended between 2020 and 2021.
The project focused on Strawberry Canyon, a once serene and picturesque area of the East Bay watershed lands. The canyon was threatened by housing development, combined with a detachment of the community from its (historic) dependence on the canyon for fresh water. Prior to the 20th century, life depended on the creek as a source of clean water and food, along with hunting and fishing. When the City of Berkeley started to receive its water from the High Sierra throughout the 20th century, local communities lost their connection to the creeks and watersheds. Among project results, it was determined that the excessive use of fertilizers caused nutrient runoff to reach the stream and yield an exponential algal bloom. This decreased stream velocity and oxygen levels, which suffocated fresh water organisms. Dieback of algae raise carbon concentrations causing an acidic and turbid environment. The project introduced what later became a popular method to determine water quality through biomonitoring, i.e. to determine water quality by indentifying organisms and their tolerance against pollutants in their environment.
