Luciano Bacco:

Ironbridge towers demolished: As it happened

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/uk-england-shropshire-50671593
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/12/06/uk/power-plant-demolition-intl-scli-gbr/index.html

The competent UK Professional Demolition Engineering Body in UK
https://ide.org.uk/


More:
https://www.khl.com/demolition-and-recycling-international/explosive-design-underway-at-ironbridge/142264.article?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Demolition+%26+Recycling+International+-+6th+February+2020&utm_term=D%26RI

 

Roger Bryant:

Simon Barker:

I guess that's what happens when you buy cheap Chinese buses.  150km range is miserable, and they probably wore the batteries out running them flat over and over again.


They need to spend more money, buy something that doesn't keep breaking down, and with big enough batteries to last a day.  For comparison, Tesla's semi truck is designed to have a range of 480 to 800km when towing a full trailer.

 

Where does the money come from? Like most 'Greens' you seem to think that there are infinite resources available to support your chosen solutions.


Best regards


Roger

 

 

Denis McMahon:

Thanks, Luciano, for the link to the IDE; the professional body behind these demolitions should not go unnoticed.


What I find irritating is sensational news bulletins coming out with trite phrases like: "The product of years of construction work razed in seconds". These demolitions require many months of planning. Then the explosives need to be installed and "wired-up" under, I imagine, very strict regulations of safety and access. A date needs to be arranged with the police and road closures planned. Once the structure is down, that is where the hard work really begins - clear up the mess.


Overall, probably less time than to originally construct, but still not an inconsiderable amount of time and work.

A similar position is also held by this sort of Engineers:
https://iexpe.org/the-institute-its-role/

 

Simon Barker:

Electric vehicles cost a lot more up-front, but then cost rather less to run.  Diesel is expensive, and if you get properly tried and tested vehicles, the maintenance costs will be lower.


But ultimately, pretending that there isn't a problem doesn't make it go away.  If there is a hole in your roof, you can't pretend it's not there, even if it will be expensive to get a roofer in to fix it.  And sticking buckets down will only work for so long before your ceilings start to collapse.


If even a Conservative government under Boris Johnson thinks there is a problem, then it's safe to assume it's not just some conspiracy theory dreamt up by a number of left-wing greenies.


And it's not the greens who pretend that the World has infinite resources.

 

 

Where does the electricity come from? If it is from burning fossil fuels I should probably stick with diesel buses

Not so simple. Firstly I may be trying to clean the air in the city, but less worried about the pollution from the power station.

Secondly, a diesel bus will not allow regenerative braking, and the engine runs even when you are stopped at the bus stop or in traffic (at least in older buses).

Consider this  very modern 7900 electric volvo bus

an 8 hour day of perhaps 150-200km on a full  charge.

or this
diesel figures, same manufacturer    this sort of  thing, perhaps 30 litres per 100km.


Looks like a winner - 30 litres for one hour only is 140kVA genset (  ish  -   link)

And electricity generation is a touch more efficient that a diesel genset in a proper power station.

And a lot better if like the UK we have some nuclear and some wind generation to throw in the mix.



So how far can we go on a 140 kVA battery?

usual caveats

so more like 100 to 200km in reality then.

Not clear that the electric option is worse, it may be better, even just as it is.

I'd be the first to agree there have been some noticable cock ups  on early systems 

example the Albuquerque Rapid Transit   but I suggest that shows the technology is immature, not impossible

(battery temperature control was a large part of the failure of that pilot, and the longer range per day required compared to a typical

European city bus route.)


 

Could this new British single-seater pod 'transform future mobility'?

Luciano Bacco:

Could this new British single-seater pod 'transform future mobility'?

https://www.imeche.org/news/news-article/could-this-new-british-single-seater-pod-'transform-future-mobility