Reader Response Draft # 1

In the article “How Volcanic Ash Strengthens A Roof Against Powerful Projectiles”, Williams (2019) states that the addition of volcanic ash layers on the roofs can mitigate the impact of volcanic projectiles on shelters around active volcanoes.

Williams claims that scientists had discovered mountain huts were capable of providing life-saving shelter for hikers during the eruption that took place at Mount Ontake, Japan 2014. This finding inspired the scientists to further study on how the addition of volcanic ash on roofs could reduce impacts of projectiles. Through meticulous simulation, scientists were able to deduce that the thickness of ash deposit is proportional to the roofs’ energy absorption rate from projectiles. Five centimeters of ash layer tripled the strength of the roof from projectiles. However, heavier loads of ash may affect the structural integrity of the roof.

Additionally, he states that scientists expected buildings to take more damage from multiple volcanic hazards as compared to one. Tests proved otherwise, on condition that tephra is placed on roofs before impacts. Williams concludes that researchers will conduct further investigation to determine the optimum range of ash deposit layers to achieve a balance between reducing impact of projectiles and risk of roof collapsing.

The consequences of utilizing volcanic ash can bring harm to the residents. Although the article claims that utilizing volcanic ash can benefit cities near volcanoes, the disadvantages of using volcanic ash outweigh the benefits.

Firstly, volcanic ash is produce when volcanic eruption happens. Volcanic ash consists of particles that has low density and can travel long distances, carried by winds. The ash in the sky will eventually falls to the ground; this phenomenon is known as ash fall and it leaves a thick layer of ash on roofs. When existing tephra cushioned structures are subjected to additional volcanic ash from ash fall phenomenon, it is possible that the thickness of ash deposit will increase. According to the website (United States Geological Survey, 2015), ash fall can potentially cause collapse of buildings if the thickness exceeds 100mm. The likelihood of a roof collapse is higher if the ash accumulated is wetted. This is supported by a documented incident that took place in Philippines which claimed 300 lives. This incident was caused by the “collapse of roofs from the ash load on roofs during the explosive eruption of Mt. Pinatubo on June 15, 1991” (United States Geological Survey, 2015).

Secondly, Williams (2019) states that researchers needed to observe and study the effect of tephra cushioning but are unable to do so because of the extreme danger associated with close observation of impacts around volcanoes. To prove that tephra cushioning is effective against impacts from volcanic projectiles, researchers use a real-life simulation to project volcanic rock on reinforced concrete (RC) with and without tephra cushioning. The experiment may not be accurate as there are factors that can affect the accuracy of the experiment. One of the factor is the life-span of the materials in a structure, longer life-span has weaker strength to withstand impacts compare to a new structure. This factor can result in the experiment to over or underestimate the amount of energy tephra can withstand. According to the article “Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research”, Williams (2019) claims that the RC used during experiment was less than a year old. Williams also claims that the tiles were bought from a junkyard and the age of the materials were unknown. On the other hand, the size of the rocks used in the experiment is limited as the simulator has constraints. In actual volcanic eruption, volcanic projectiles have a wide range of sizes. Therefore in my opinion, the accuracy of the result of tephra withstanding impacts from volcanic projectiles does not truly reflect the reality consequences.  

Lastly, long or short term exposure to volcanic ash is detrimental to the health of the residents. According to the article “Volcanic Ash: More Than Just A Science Project”, Williams (2016) states that short term exposure to volcanic ash can cause individuals to have respiratory problems, eye problems and skin irritation. Williams also claims that volcanic ash can cause silicosis, which can be fatal even with treatment; and affect the quality of water by contaminating it.

References

George Williams, B. M. (2019, 11). Tephra cushioning of ballistic impacts: Quantifying building vulnerabiltiy through pneumatic cannon experiments and multiple fragility curve fitting approaches. Retrieved from Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337083288_Tephra_cushioning_of_ballistic_impacts_Quantifying_building_vulnerability_through_pneumatic_cannon_experiments_and_multiple_fragility_curve_fitting_approaches
Survey, U. S. (2015, 12 09). Volcanic Ash Impacts & Mitigation. Retrieved from Volcanic Ashfall Impacts: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanic_ash/roof_loading.html

Williams, G. (2016, November 14). Volcanic Ash: More Than Just A Science Project. Retrieved from Geology and Human Health: https://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/health/case_studies/volcanic_ash.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Assignment 1 Submission 2: Annotated Summary

The contents of this article discuss on the concept behind kinetic floor tiles and the effect of using it. According to Dr Winkleman et al. (2011) the ability for kinetic floor tiles to generate electricity is due to the “Piezoelectric Effect”; this phenomenon generates electrical charges when an external stress exerts on a piezoelectric material. It converts kinetic energy to electrical energy through a compression of 5 millimeters on the tiles by human footsteps and that energy generated can be used to power devices. The tiles are made up of a variety of recycled materials that have minimum impact on the environment, it is also made to last for 5 years and withstand harsh weather conditions.  Dr Winkleman et al. also analyzes the positive and negative impacts such as social, environmental and economic effects of utilizing the technology. From social perspective, kinetic floor tiles help to change the way people view on sustainable changes. Furthermore, the article ment...
Read more

Assignment 1: Formal Letter

Dear Professor Blackstone, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as a student in the CVE1281 Effective Communication module. My name is Ken Wen and I am an international student from Malaysia. Having graduated from Singapore Polytechnic last year gave me some fundamental knowledge of civil engineering. With this knowledge I am able to further my studies here in Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT). Since young, I was inspired by my father’s business and it sparked my curiosity in civil engineering. I was motivated to follow my father’s footsteps and become the successor of his business when he retires. The lack of ability to communicate effectively has been my greatest weakness. I always had issue with conveying my ideas to the audience, as I am not able to find the correct words to deliver my thoughts. I tend to stutter most of the time during oral presentation because I doubt the choice of words I use every time I explain something. I have a constant ...
Read more

Critical Reflection

Throughout my journey in this course, I feel that my writing, reading and communication skills have improved significantly, even though there are still lots of room for improvements. I started off with the lack of knowledge on how to write a summary of an article with proper citations. With an appropriate amount of guidance, coming out with a short paragraph of an article have become much easier. I feel that I did well in capturing the main ideas of the topic I did and summarize it within the word limits. However, I need to improve on my grammar and vocabulary skills because I often receive feedbacks from my peers and lecture that some of the sentences that I wrote sounds weird. I plan to work on my language skills by exposing myself to more reading and writing related activities. In addition, public speaking has always been a challenge to me as I tend to stutter during presentation which led to difficulty in expressing my thoughts accurately. With sufficient research and pre...
Read more