singapore engineer singapore engineer singapore engineer

The Magazine Of 

The Institution Of Engineers, Singapore 

MARCH 2013 MCI (P) 051/02/2013 

THE 

www.ies.org.sg 

SINGAPORE ENGINEER 

COVER STORY: 

MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING 

NUS recognised for commitment to campus infrastructure sustainability 

FEATURES: 

Engineering Education • Mechanical & Electrical Engineering 

• Acoustics Engineering

CONTENTS 

FEATURES 

12 ENGINEERING EDUCATION: 

How young engineers will mold the future 

Prof Calestous Juma, from Harvard Kennedy School, USA, summarises the current 

thinking on how engineers should be trained so that they acquire the skills needed to 

solve the world’s problems. 

14 MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING: Cover Story: 

NUS recognised for commitment to campus infrastructure 

sustainability 

The National University of Singapore won a Green Mark Champion Award for the 

environment-friendly development of its facilities. 

20 MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING: 

The advantages of fabric ducting 

This method of air distribution offers higher productivity during installation as well as 

greater energy effi ciency and comfort levels, in operation. 

24 ACOUSTICS ENGINEERING: 

Aeroacoustics simulations for the aerospace industry 

Computer simulation techniques contribute to a better understanding of noise 

generation by aircraft in fl ight and thereby to its reduction. 

26 PROJECT APPLICATION: 

Innovative solutions for the power generation industry 

Engineering software facilitate the design of complex plants employing the latest technologies. 

28 PROJECT APPLICATION: 

Leveraging M2M technology to preserve the Amazon rainforest 

The use of machine-to-machine communication technology has helped to reduce 

illegal logging in Brazil. 

34 INTERVIEW: 

Moving towards the smart grid 

Mr Willie Chan, Director of Strategy, Schneider Electric Singapore, discusses some of 

the changes taking place in power generation and distribution. 

REGULAR SECTIONS 

02 IES UPDATE 

30 PRODUCTS & SOLUTIONS 

Chief Editor 

T Bhaskaran 

t_b_n8@yahoo.com 

Director, Marketing 

Roland Ang 

roland@iesnet.org.sg 

Marketing & Publications Executive 

Jeremy Chia 

jeremy@iesnet.org.sg 

CEO 

Angie Ng 

angie@iesnet.org.sg 

Publications Manager 

Desmond Teo 

desmond@iesnet.org.sg 

Published by 

The Institution Of Engineers, Singapore 

70 Bukit Tinggi Road 

Singapore 289758 

Tel: 6469 5000 Fax: 6467 1108 

Cover designed by Irin Kuah 

Cover image by National University 

of Singapore. 

The Singapore Engineer is published 

monthly by The Institution of Engineers, 

Singapore (IES). The publication is 

distributed free-of-charge to IES members 

and affi liates. Views expressed in this 

publication do not necessarily refl ect those 

of the Editor or IES. All rights reserved. No 

part of this magazine shall be reproduced, 

mechanically or electronically, without the 

prior consent of IES. Whilst every care is 

taken to ensure accuracy of the content 

at press time, IES will not be liable for any 

discrepancies. Unsolicited contributions 

are welcome but their inclusion in the 

magazine is at the discretion of the Editor. 

Design & layout by 2EZ Asia Pte Ltd 

Printed by Print & Print Pte Ltd. 

36 EVENTS 

38 NEWS 

March 2013 THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER 

01

IES UPDATE 

Message from the President 

The results of the United Nations Climate Change 

Conference that was held in Doha, Qatar, in 

December 2012, show that while international 

negotiations are moving steadily in the right direction, 

they are moving at too slow a pace, according to 

Ms Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the 

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate 

Change. She points out that while the evolution of 

preferred energy sources has moved slowly over the 

centuries, from fi rewood, to coal and then to oil, the 

increasing incidence and severity of natural disasters, which are the consequences of 

climate change, have given an added urgency to the need to switch to renewable 

energy and to increase energy-effi ciency. 

For the building and construction industry, besides improving the energy-mix and 

increasing energy effi ciency, there is also a need to adopt a range of measures such 

as sustainable designs and materials. 

Recognising the importance of sustainability in the built environment, Singapore’s 

Building and Construction Authority (BCA) developed the Green Building Masterplan 

for greening 80% of all buildings in the republic, by 2030. 

The masterplan includes initiatives such as fi nancial incentives, capability building 

programmes, and regulatory and administrative policies. These have proven successful. 

From just 17 green building projects, when the BCA Green Mark scheme was 

launched in 2005, there are now about 1,400 such buildings now. 

At fi rst, mainly new buildings were Green Mark-certifi ed. Improving the sustainability of 

existing buildings came later. With recent enhancements to the Green Mark Incentive 

and mandatory measures in place, for existing buildings, Green Mark certifi cation for 

buildings under this category will increase. There is also a rising trend among building 

tenants to go for Green Mark certifi cation. 

This year, IES will be holding its Annual General Meeting at the NUSS Kent Ridge 

Guild House on Saturday, 18 May. A registration form for the AGM will be sent to all 

of our corporate members soon and I look forward to seeing you there! 

Prof Chou Siaw Kiang 

President 

The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES) 

IES COUNCIL MEMBERS 

2012/2013 

President 

Prof Chou Siaw Kiang 

Vice Presidents 

Er. Chong Kee Sen 

Er. Edwin Khew 

Dr Kwok Wai Onn, Richard 

Mr Neo Kok Beng 

Er. Ong Geok Soo 

Er. Ong See Ho 

Honorary Secretary 

Dr Boh Jaw Woei 

Honorary Treasurer 

Mr Kang Choon Seng 

Assistant Honorary Secretary 

Er. Koh Beng Thong 

Assistant Honorary Treasurer 

Er. Seow Kang Seng 

Immediate Past President 

Er. Ho Siong Hin 

Past Presidents 

Er. Dr Lee Bee Wah 

Er. Tan Seng Chuan 

Honorary Council Member 

Er. Ong Ser Huan 

Council Members 

Prof Chau Fook Siong 

Er. Dr Chew Soon Hoe 

Ms Fam Meiling 

Er. Dr Ho Kwong Meng 

Dr Ho Teck Tuak 

Mr Lee Kwok Weng 

Mr Lim Horng Leong 

Mr Ng Sing Chan 

Mr Oh Boon Chye, Jason 

Er. Tan Shu Min, Emily 

Mr Tan Boon Leng, Mark 

Er. Toh Siaw Hui, Joseph 

Er. Wong Fee Min, Alfred 

Dr Zhou Yi 

02 THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER March 2013



05

IES UPDATE 

Creativity & Innovation showcased at IES 

Design Awards 2013 

by Leon Leong 

Five polytechnics, 15 teams, and one objective - to win this 

year’s IES Design Awards competition which was held on 

22 March 2013. Teams from Singapore Poly, Ngee Ann Poly, 

Republic Poly, Temasek Poly and Nanyang Poly, had to base 

their innovative design creations on the theme ‘Devices of 

Assistive, Rehabilitative and Therapeutic Applications’. 

The organising committee’s objective for this year’s IES 

Design Awards was very clear - to inculcate in the younger 

generation, the importance of community service, and 

encourage them to think more for the handicapped and the 

less-fortunate, and help them improve their lifestyles. 

The scope of the projects covered the creative design of 

gadgets/equipment that would enhance the lives of the 

handicapped or old folks. The students were divided into 

groups, to design and fabricate a device within a stipulated 

budget which was capped at S$ 2,000, that would help 

handicapped or elderly people. 

Due to the high level of creativity demonstrated by the students 

in coming up with the innovative products, the panel of judges 

had a hard time in deciding the top three winners. At the end 

of the day, the top prize went to Temasek Polytechnic for its 

H-Frame Walking Stick. The team impressed the judges with its 

presentation, usability and cost-effectiveness. 

A total of eight winners (three top prizes and fi ve merit awards) 

emerged from the 15 participating teams. 

A highlight of this year’s event was the presentation by Dr Jeffrey 

Nicholson, Brand Ambassador for 3M Technology, on the topic 

‘The Keys to Innovation’. (His full presentation is available on 

http://www.ies.org.sg/temp/keysinnovation.pdf). Dr Nicholson is 

The judging criteria were based on the optimisation of 

material and equipment, as well as value-added features to 

the Homes. The judges were IES members Dr Lock Kai Sang 

(Chief Judge), Dr Richard Kwok and Dr Ho Teck Tuak, from 

IES, and Ms Winnie Koh, from the Home of the Aged Sick. 

Judges deliberating on the designs presented. 

Judges seeking clarifi cations from one of the teams. 

The winner was Temasek Polytechnic. 

A team explaining and emonstrating its creative design. 

Dr Nicholson sharing his thoughts on ‘The Keys to Innovation’. 



07

IES UPDATE 

the man behind the successful Post-It Notes. All the students 

present were awed by his presentation. 

Two other speakers, Dr Bernard Leong, Technology Manager of 

Vistaprint, and Mr Leslie Loh, Managing Director of Red Dot 

Ventures also shared interesting tips and experiences with the 

students. Their lively presentations also fi red up the students’ 

interest in innovation and entrepreneurialism. Dr Leong’s 

topic ‘Start from the User - Lean Lessons Learned on Design, 

Content & Experience’ can be found on http://www.slideshare. 

net/bleongcw/start-fromtheuser, while Mr Loh’s presentation on 

‘Learn to be a Technopreneur & Create your Tech Startup’ can 

be read on http://www.ies.org.sg/temp/iesstartup.pdf. 

The presentation of prizes to the top three winners will be held 

during the IES Annual General Meeting at NUSS Kent Ridge 

Guild House on 18 May 2013. 

Guest speaker Dr Leong receiving a token of appreciation from 

Er. Seow Kang Seng, Chairman of Community Services Committee, IES. 

Courtesy visits by overseas professional groups 

IES warmly welcomed a group 

of delegates from The Board 

of Architects, Professional 

Engineers and Quantity 

Surveyors, Brunei Darussalam, 

on 28 February 2013, and 

another group from Engineers 

Australia, on 1 March 2013. 

The group of delegates from 

Brunei Darussalam, with Dato 

Prof Chou Siaw Kiang and Dato 

Paduka Haji Suhaimi bin Haji Gafar. 

Paduka Haji Suhaimi bin Haji Gafar as the Head of Delegation, 

was received by IES President Prof Chou Siaw Kiang, Vice 

President Er. Chong Kee Sen, Past President Er. Ong Ser Huan, 

Council Member Er. Emily Tan, and CEO Ms Angie Ng. 

The meeting was held over a hearty lunch. A brief introduction of 

IES and a description of the types of activities that are organised 

for IES members, were provided, for the benefi t of the visitors. 

A discussion was also held with the delegates on IES’s efforts to 

promote engineering to students and how IES contributes to 

engineering education in Singapore. An invitation was extended 

to the delegation to join IES at the World Engineers’ Summit 

2013 (WES 2013) in September this year. 

Engineers Australia National President Dr Marlene Kanga 

and her delegation were received by IES Past President and 

Chairman of the WES 2013 Steering Committee, Er. Tan Seng 

Chuan; Chairman for WES 2013 Ambassadorial Committee, Er. 

Ng Say Cheong; and IES CEO, Ms Angie Ng. 

During the meeting, ways of collaboration were discussed, such 

as looking at how both organisations can tap on their resources 

to run courses in Singapore. Engineers Australia will be bringing 

a delegation to Singapore for WES 2013 and will also be holding 

their International Meeting here during that time. 

Er. Tan updating the delegates on WES 2013. 

Group photo taken with the delegates fromThe Board of Architects, Professional 

Engineers and Quantity Surveyors, Brunei Darussalam. 

Group photo taken with Dr Marlene Kanga (4 th from right) and 

Er. Tan Seng Chuan (2 nd from right) 


IES UPDATE 

Joint Accreditation Committee organises RE / 

RTO Networking and Awards Night 2013 

IES President, Prof Chou Siaw Kiang giving his Welcome Speech. 

ACES President, Er. Koh Boon Liang 

giving his Welcome Speech. 

Er. Shee Siu Ming, BCA 

Mr Marcus Wee, CPIB 

Mr Winston Yew, MOM 

The participants enthusiastically engagied in questions-and-answers sessions. 

From left to right, Mr Lee Kwee How (RTO), Mr Thiagarajan Subramanian (RE), Er. 

Chew Keat Chuan, Er. Chong Kee Sen, Mdm Hoe Swee Seng (RE), Mr Koh Ah Chek 

(RTO), Mr Chin Sin Yee (RTO), and Mr Fernando Jr Mendoza Dematera (RTO). 

The Joint Accreditation Committee (JAC) of the Institution of 

Engineers, Singapore (IES) and the Association of Consulting 

Engineers Singapore (ACES) recently honoured Resident 

Engineers (REs) and Site Supervisors (RTOs) responsible for 

extraordinary achievements at construction worksites. The 

second awards ceremony took place on 22 February 2013 at 

the RE & RTO Networking and Awards Night, held at the Matrix 

Auditorium @ Biopolis. Er. Chew Keat Chuan, Group Director, 

Building Engineering Group, Building and Construction Authority 

(BCA), graced the event as the Guest-of-Honour. 

More than 413 REs and RTOs, and 20 guests attended the event, 

at which three speakers also addressed pertinent topics in the 

construction industry. The three speakers were Er. Shee Siu Ming 

from BCA, who talked about supervisory duties of accredited 

site supervisors; Mr Marcus Wee from the Corrupt Practices 

Investigation Bureau (CPIB), who talked about corrupt practices 

in the construction industry; and Mr Winston Yew from the 

Ministry Of Manpower (MOM), who spoke on workplace safety 

and health issues. 

Exemplary Resident Engineer Awards 

and Exemplary Site Supervisor Awards 

Er. Chew Keat Chuan presented the Exemplary Resident 

Engineer Awards and Exemplary Site Supervisor Awards to 

three REs and four RTOs, respectively. One of the REs who won 

the award was absent. The winners were commended for their 

dedication and contribution towards making a difference in the 

industry. Each of the winners received a S$ 300 cash cheque 

and a certifi cate. 

Set up by the JAC, the Exemplary Site Supervisor Award 

recognises the exceptional dedication and contributions of 

site supervisors (RTOs) in ensuring that the construction of 

structural works is carried out in accordance with the building 

regulations, and the signifi cant effort and contribution made by 

them towards achieving construction safety and productivity in 

the projects they have handled or are handling. 

One of the winners of the Exemplary Site Supervisor Award, 

Mr Lee Kwee How, Senior Technical Offi cer, HCE Engineers and 

Architects 61, said, “I am very happy to receive this award after 

27 years in the construction line. Through these years, I have 

learnt a lot from Qualifi ed Personnel (QPs) and my colleagues 

about building quality and construction safety and also from the 

IES courses I attended to upgrade myself. I hope that JAC will 

continue organising this award to encourage all RTOs to achieve 

high standards in safety and quality”. 

A winner, in the RE category, Mdm Hoe Swee Seng, Technical 

Manager, Welltech Construction Pte Ltd, said, “Receiving this 

award is defi nitely a recognition of my years of hard work. Even 

so, it is important for us to remember that we have the duty 

and responsibilities to ensure that all works entrusted to us are 

carried out accordingly”. 


Sustainable design combines aesthetics 

and functionality 

RSP Architects Planners & Engineers (Pte) 

Ltd (RSP) is providing, on a pro bono 

basis, the architectural as well as the civil & 

structural engineering design for the new 

annexe to the IES Building at Bukit Tinggi. 

Being built in the car park space adjacent 

to the existing IES Building, the new annexe 

will be a green building. It is scheduled for 

completion during the fi rst quarter of 2014. 

IES UPDATE 

The lower level of the new annexe will 

house the IES Secretariat whilst the upper 

level will accommodate a members’ area, 

training rooms and an open terrace. 

IES is extending land use and expanding its premises to cater to 

membership growth and to better support engineers in their 

contribution to Singapore’s economic and societal developments. 

Design considerations 

According to RSP, the main idea that has gone into the design 

of the building is that it should provide a functional demarcation 

between the secretariat offi ce and the members’ area, so that 

at any time of the day, the functioning of either would not affect 

the other. 

The development of the design then began with the creation of 

two distinct zones, one for the members and the other for the 

secretariat offi ce. The secretariat is on the lower fl oor since its 

staff meet members and visitors regularly. A primary service core 

fronts the neighbouring German European Secondary School, 

a 4-storey building, thereby also providing some privacy for the 

annexe. Lining the service core is a rain garden on one side, and 

on the inner side, a feature landscape provides a green interface 

to the members area and secretariat offi ce. On the upper storey, 

an open courtyard, in the middle, provides an ideal venue for 

outdoor functions. Rooms on the upper storey have fl exible 

partitions that allow the interior spaces to be combined, and even 

for the rooms to open out into the courtyard when necessary. 

The design of the new annexe has been inspired by the lush 

environment of the area. It has sought to bring some elements 

of the natural surroundings into the development through, for 

example, a series of perforated fi ns adorning the facade of the 

building, which create a tree-canopy-like effect from within and 

from the outside. 

There is also a desire for a distinct engineering expression, to 

highlight the core knowledge of the institution. Accordingly, 

the upper storey has been designed to also provide a deep, 

cantilevered sheltered area below, for vehicular drop-off activity . 

It was a considerable engineering challenge to design a large 

overhang of 6 m for the sheltered drop-off, while minimising 

the number of columns on plan to ensure maximum clear-span 

spaces. In order to achieve this, much of the suspended fl oor 

plates has been substituted with hollow-core slabs, in order to 

With the new annexe, IES is extending land use and expanding its premises. 

MEMBERS ZONE 

SECRETARIAT 

OFFICE 

MAIN SERVICE CORE 

LANDSCAPE INTERFACE 

FUNCTION 

COURTYARD 

CANTILEVERED 

SHELTER DROP-OFF 

POTENTIAL SEAMLESS 

CONNECTION TO 

EXISTING BUILDING 

RSP’s design for the new annexe to the IES Building seeks to create a functional 

demarcation between the secretariat offi ce and the members’ area. It also 

emphasises distinct engineering expression, to highlight the core knowledge of IES. 

All images by 

RSP Architects Planners & Engineers (Pte) Ltd. 

keep the plates strong but light. 

Further, the inclusion of an elevator in the proposed annexe 

ensures barrier-free connection between the annexe and the 

existing building. 


11

ENGINEERING EDUCATION 

How young engineers will mold the future 

by Prof Calestous Juma 

In a provocative article, the Economist recently asked whether 

new technology had stopped driving the world economy. The 

article challenged innovation pessimists by providing several 

examples of technologies that mold future economies. 

The most urgent question, however, is how to train a new 

generation of young engineers who will be capable of combining 

technical excellence with a deeper appreciation of societal 

needs and values. 

This was the theme of a recent meeting that brought together 

educators interested in engineering at the Harvard Kennedy 

School. The focus of the meeting was to identify ways in which 

universities and high schools can work together to train the next 

generation of engineers who can help solve the world’s most 

pressing economic and environmental challenges. 

It is not that the world is short of engineering solutions. 

The Economist lists a few: ‘Pattern-recognition software is 

increasingly good at performing the tasks of entry-level lawyers, 

scanning thousands of legal documents for relevant passages. 

Algorithms are used to write basic newspaper articles on 

sporting outcomes and fi nancial reports….In Japan, where 

labour to care for an ageing population is scarce, innovation in 

robotics is proceeding by leaps and bounds’. 

The real engineering challenge may be integrating those 

solutions into societies. This will involve linking education to 

production and manufacturing as well as incorporating real 

world experiences into engineering education. 

The meeting brought together representatives from Boston 

University, Harvard University, Kent School, MIT, and the 

University of Hong Kong to explore how to advance engineering 

education in high schools. It also included the One Laptop per 

Child Association. 

Training a new generation of engineers demands leadership. “It 

takes getting into things early and we are ready to promote this 

cause through our pre-engineering program”, said Fr Richardson 

Schell, head of Kent School, which includes grades 9–12. 

“Our pre-engineering program seeks to challenge students to 

explore their potential for achievement by nurturing their critical 

thinking, increasing scientifi c literacy, and enabling innovation”, he 

explained. Kent School is working to create an applied learning 

center that will integrate with the local community. 

Kent School will conduct a one-week (June 10–14, 2013) 

summer program on ‘Global Development: Grand Challenges 

for Engineering’ to inspire students to explore how to leverage 

the power of engineering in solving global economic challenges. 

“We are delighted with the involvement of professionals from 

Harvard University, MIT, Boston University, One Laptop per 

Child Association, and other institutions”, Fr Schell noted. 

The program will cover themes such as energy, education, 

health, and nutrition. It will be conducted through lectures, 

hands-on activities, fi eld visits, and roundtable discussions with 

practitioners. 

The meeting was inspired by the Grand Challenges for 

Engineering report produced by a committee of the US 

National Academy of Engineering (NAE). The committee was 

chaired by former US Secretary of Defense William Perry, 

and members included leading engineers and thinkers such as 

Alec Broers, Wesley Harris, Bernadine Healy, Dean Kamen, Ray 

Kurzweil, Robert Langer, Jane Lubchenco, Mario Molína, Larry 

Page, Robert Socolow, Craig Venter, and Jackie Ying. 

The world is indeed forging ahead with a new age of integrated 

engineering. This approach is being promoted through new 

educational approaches adopted by high education institutions 

such as the Olin College of Engineering. In 2013 Olin’s founding 

academic leaders received NAE’s prestigious Bernard M 

Gordon Prize for their pioneering ‘experiments in education 

that develop effective engineering leaders’. 

In recognition of the importance of the fi eld, Chinese, US, and 

UK engineering academies are co-sponsoring the Global Grand 

Challenges Summit in London in March 2013. The summit 

will showcase ‘leading international engineering thinkers and 

innovators sharing ideas with the next generation of engineers 

and policy-makers on how to solve the world’s most pressing 

challenges’. 

A few days after the summit, the UK Royal Academy of Engineering 

will announce the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, the 

world’s largest honor of its type. The £1 million prize aims to 

reward and celebrate individuals who have made ground-breaking 

innovations that have global benefi ts to humanity. 

MIT Associate Provost Professor Wesley Harris stressed to the 

Harvard meeting the importance of integrating engineering 

education across disciplines and leveraging the energy and 

creativity of students from a variety of majors. Without such 

integration, he noted, a dichotomy is created whereby some 

people focus on technology for its own sake, while others 

navigate an increasingly complex world without any technological 

background or appreciation. 

One of the challenges facing the engineering profession today is 

retention. According to Dr Sujata Bhatia of the Harvard School 


ENGINEERING EDUCATION 

of Engineering and Applied Sciences, students will not sustain 

their interest in the rigor of engineering courses if they do not 

see their role in solving practical problems. To do this, she said, 

engineering must integrate with other liberal arts subjects such 

as language, philosophy, ethics and literature. “Similarly, women 

are more likely to study engineering if the fi eld focuses on 

solving real world problems,” she added. 

Indeed, NAE President Charles Vest has rightly called for the 

integration of the liberal arts with engineering. The real challenge, 

according to Professor Muhammad Zaman of Boston University, 

is to focus on how engineering can help solve the world’s most 

pressing development challenges. “This requires integration of 

fi elds such as medicine and engineering while taking into account 

ethical considerations,” he emphasized at the meeting. 

Professor Zaman has been active in promoting new biomedical 

engineering courses in Africa. In his judgment, developing 

countries offer unique opportunities to foster integrated 

approaches to engineering education. The same applies to 

starting at the pre-engineering or pre-medicine levels in high 

schools. 

Dr Wai Leung Tang of the University of Hong Kong also stressed 

the importance of integrating the disciplines around problemsolving. 

“The training of young people must include engineering 

principles, techniques, and knowledge as well as integration 

with other disciplines. So engineers need a wide spectrum of 

knowledge,” he noted. 

OLPC’s Dr Redouane Megateli said we had come full circle. 

First the world was concerned with improving education. But 

to do that it had to engineer the development of new laptops 

whose design criteria refl ected how people learn. But with the 

proliferation of access to such devices, the world is back to the 

beginning: thinking about education. 

“This is the rationale behind the creation of OLPC academies 

around the world”, he said. 

Devices will come and go, but the demand for impact assessment 

will always remain. Professor Harris challenged the participants 

to establish metrics for assessing the impact of new high school 

pre-engineering programs. 

For me the fi nest idea came from Dr Bhatia: “Give me a young 

person who is excellent in anything and I can turn him or her 

into an excellent engineer. It is about discipline. Those who have 

it in any fi eld, including athletics, can excel in any other fi eld”. 

Professor Harris noted that the focus on excellence and other 

attributes should provide a basis for evaluating the impact of 

new engineering programs for high school students. 

“It is important to provide metrics for setting goals and assessing 

impact”, he emphasized. 

The training of future engineers will need to integrate diverse 

disciplines so they can mold economies that promise prosperity 

for all. 

As the Economist aptly concluded, ‘The main risk…may not be 

that the pace of innovation is too slow, but that institutions have 

become too rigid to accommodate truly revolutionary changes’. 

According to Fr Schell, this is where learning becomes an 

applied fi eld aimed at integrating the disciplines to solve the 

world’s pressing challenges. That is how young engineers can 

mold the future. 

(Calestous Juma is Professor of the Practice of International 

Development at Harvard Kennedy School and author of The New 

Harvest: Agricultural Innovation in Africa (Oxford University Press, 

2011). He was a member of the Grand Challenges for Engineering 

Committee of the US National Academy of Engineering and serves 

on the selection jury of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. 

Professor Juma is currently writing a book on engineering for 

global development. This article is reprinted with the permission 

of the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and 

International Affairs). 

Winners of the inaugural Queen 

Elizabeth Prize for Engineering 

announced 

Five engineers who created the Internet and the World 

Wide Web have together won the inaugural £ 1 million 

Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering for their innovations 

which have revolutionised the way people communicate 

and enabled the development of whole new industries. 

Today, a third of the world’s population use the Internet 

and it is estimated to carry around 330 Petabytes of 

data per year - enough to transfer every character ever 

written in every book ever published 20 times over. 

Engineers Robert Kahn, Vinton Cerf, Louis Pouzin, Tim 

Berners-Lee and Marc Andreessen were announced as 

the winners, by Lord Browne of Madingley in the presence 

of HRH The Princess Royal, at the Royal Academy of 

Engineering which administers the prize. 

The winners will come to London in June for the formal 

presentation of the prize by Her Majesty The Queen. 

The art of engineering lies in the effi cient combination 

of technologies to deliver the most meaningful results 

for society. The international team of judges for the Prize 

consider that these fi ve outstanding engineers epitomise 

this approach in the way that they designed and built the 

Internet and the Web. 


13

COVER STORY 

NUS recognised for commitment to campus 

infrastructure sustainability 

In 2012, the National University of Singapore became the fi rst educational institution in the 

republic to receive the prestigious Green Mark Champion Award, conferred by the Building 

and Construction Authority. 

INTRODUCTION 

The National University of Singapore (NUS) strives to deliver 

transformative education and high-impact research. Its campus 

community, which comprises over 37,000 students and about 

9,700 staff, study, work, live and play on three campuses. 

NUS is committed to integrating sustainability into its 

operations, planning, education, research and public service, and 

aims to develop an excellent campus infrastructure through the 

adoption of sustainable principles for master planning, design 

and construction. 

To-date, NUS has received 16 Green Mark building and district 

awards, including the inaugural Green Mark District Gold Plus Award 

(in 2009) and fi ve Green Mark Platinum Awards for Buildings. 

To qualify for the Green Mark Champion Award, building owners 

need to have at least 10 projects rated Green Mark Gold and 

above, including at least three projects rated Gold Plus and at least 

three projects rated Platinum. 

District / Building 

BCA Green Mark Award 

University Town 

Gold Plus (District) 

Education Resource Centre Platinum 

EduSports Building Platinum 

Yong Loo Lin School of Platinum 

Medicine Block MD1 

Ventus 

Platinum 

Kent Vale 2 Staff Housing Platinum 

A selection of NUS’s BCA Green Mark Award-winning projects. 

MASTER PLANNING 

NUS’s master plan is anchored in a vision of a vibrant campus 

that provides an integrated sustainable living-learning experience 

for its students and staff. The master plan consists of a series of 

systems plans addressing building and land use, landscape structure, 

access and circulation, and housing and sustainability strategies. 

The sustainability strategies, in particular, recommend balancing 

integrative design and effi cient use of space; optimising architectural 

designs for daylighting while minimising solar heat; as well as 

leveraging natural ventilation for circulation and open communal 

spaces. Other best practices and green features include enhancing 

the natural systems through existing slope and habitat preservation, 

implementing best management practices to introduce water by 

fi ltration, and improving alternative means of access. 

“Higher education is more than imparting knowledge and life 

skills. It has the potential of instilling a sense of responsibility in 

the students to create a healthy environment to be enjoyed 

by future generations. By building the NUS campus as a living 

laboratory for sustainability, our students can learn to be better 

stewards of the environment” - Mr Joseph Mullinix, Deputy 

President (Administration) of NUS. 

“Building and infrastructure sustainability is more than just 

designing facilities to save energy and resources. To be truly 

successful, it must meet the numerous expectations placed on it 

by the occupants and create a perfect blend of form and function. 

Through the innovative engagement of the NUS students and 

staff, NUS buildings have become vibrant environments that 

encourage creativity, innovation and community. At NUS, we are 

committed to sustaining a green future, beyond Green Mark 

buildings and infrastructure” - Prof Yong Kwet Yew, NUS Vice 

President (University Campus Infrastructure). 

The master planning process emphasises respect for natural 

resources by adapting to climatic conditions, and sets new 

standards for building performance. By living and learning in an 

environment-conscious setting, the NUS staff and students learn 

to consider the impact of everyday decisions, and carry the 

principles of sustainability beyond the confi nes of the university 

campus and into their lives as global citizens. 

COMMITMENT TO REDUCE CARBON 

EMISSIONS 

NUS has set a target of reducing its carbon emissions by 23% 

below business-as-usual, by 2020. The approach is to identify 

emission trends and areas of growth, and suggest spheres of 

infl uence and activities where emission reductions and energy 

effi ciency increases can have the greatest impact. This, in turn, 

provides a sound basis for formulating a strategic climate action 

programme, particularly in the area of energy management. 

UNIVERSITY TOWN - A SUSTAINABLE 

CAMPUS PRECINCT 

The NUS University Town (UTown) is a 19 hectare, mixed-use 

residential, sports, educational and research development along 

Clementi Road. It is connected to the main Kent Ridge campus 

by a vehicular, bicycle and pedestrianised bridge over the Ayer 

Rajah Expressway. In addition to its receiving the Green Mark 

District Gold Plus Award, UTown also has all fi ve buildings within 

its boundaries certifi ed Green Mark Gold and above (two 

Platinum, two Gold Plus and one Gold). 


COVER STORY 

Nestled within a lush tropical landscape, UTown supports a 

vibrant community of undergraduate and graduate students, 

staff and researchers, who work, live, learn and play. It exemplifi es 

NUS’s holistic and integrated approach to a sustainable campus, 

incorporating sustainable design principles into its master plan 

and building design, as well as emphasising strategies for energy 

and water effi ciencies, material and waste management, and 

environmental quality and protection. 

This vision of a sustainable campus precinct is guided by three 

key objectives - to strive towards a low carbon campus, to 

encourage the growth of an ecologically biodiverse habitat, and 

to create a pedagogical sustainable environment that would be 

enjoyed by the campus community. There are several design 

strategies that enabled NUS to achieve its objectives in the area 

of sustainability. 

LOW CARBON CAMPUS 

• Minimising carbon emissions before construction and after 

completion of the campus, through computation of carbon 

sequestration. 

• Designing north-south-facing buildings, to reduce exposure 

of interiors to direct sunlight, and encouraging natural cross 

ventilation into buildings. 

• Designing a mixed mode of naturally ventilated and airconditioned 

spaces, emphasising the use of fans and natural 

ventilation over air-conditioning, for most buildings. 

• Specifying natural ventilation for all major circulation areas. 

• Introducing an innovative ‘Pay-As-You-Use’ system for airconditioning 

in student residences, to encourage prudent use 

of energy. 

• Designing shaded outdoor interactive and circulation spaces 

and specifying hardscape materials with high Solar Refl ection 

Index (SRI) and green roofs for buildings. 

• Creating sheltered interconnected walkways and safe 

dedicated bicycle lanes to reduce dependence on automobiles. 

• Specifying effi cient external task lighting for energy effi ciency 

and reduction of light pollution and glare. 

ECOLOGICALLY BIODIVERSE HABITAT 

• Conserving the natural topography and hydrology. 

• Preserving the existing green buffer (leaving them ‘wild’) 

around the campus, to encourage the growth of fl ora 

and fauna. 

• Extensively using a wide variety of native plant species, to 

promote fl oral biodiversity. 

• Incorporating the ‘Active Beautiful Clean’ stormwater 

management system. 

• Causing minimal disturbance to the site through the use of the 

‘cut and fi ll’ construction approach. 

PEDAGOGICAL SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT 

• Incorporating passive sustainable design principles for tropical 

climates into the living and learning environment. 

• Creating a shaded interconnected pedestrian pathway 

network, thereby encouraging a healthy lifestyle. 

• Ensuring optimal external thermal comfort in outdoor activity 

areas through shading and selection of hardscape materials. 

• Encouraging the adoption of a sustainable lifestyle by providing 

a convenient integrated waste management infrastructure. 

• Minimising exhaust heat from cooling tower/condenser units 

near occupants of buildings and reducing energy costs through 

use of a District Cooling Plant. 

By integrating sustainability into planning, construction and 

operations, UTown is expected to achieve electricity savings of 

up to 3.8 million kWh and water savings of about 44,800 m 3 . 

More importantly, demonstration of sustainable precinct master 

The curved forms of the ERC are covered by a facetted, high performance facade using double-glazed fritted glass and horizontal sunshades to achieve a highly energyeffi 

cient building envelope. 


15

COVER STORY 

planning and building construction serves as the basis for future 

projects throughout the entire university. 

SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS FOR TEACHING 

AND LEARNING 

EDUCATION RESOURCE CENTRE 

The Education Resource Centre (ERC), a 24/7 collaborative 

learning hub at the heart of UTown, exemplifi es the design 

principles deployed for the UTown precinct. It has been 

designed around existing mature Tembusu trees and the natural 

topography of the site, resulting in an organic arrangement of 

clusters that house the educational facilities. Its curved forms 

are covered by a facetted, high performance facade using 

double-glazed fritted glass and horizontal sunshades to achieve 

a highly energy-effi cient building envelope. Built with multiple 

entrances, outdoor study areas and lush green spaces, the ERC 

is a highly porous building with natural cross ventilation to all the 

circulation spaces. The building has three levels with the Learning 

Café terrace spilling onto the Town Green. ERC received the 

Green Mark Platinum Award in 2011. 

Sustainable features of ERC 

Building designed around existing trees 

ERC has been designed to wrap around several large and 

mature trees. 

Topography 

Integration of the fi rst storey ground plate with the natural 

contours of the site enabled existing trees to be conserved. 

ERC has been designed to wrap around several large and mature trees. 

Natural ventilation 

The design of study areas as individual clusters scattered around 

the ERC fl oor plate has created a network of naturally ventilated 

pedestrian circulation spaces throughout the building. 

Micro-climate 

The cooling effect within the circulation spaces is provided by 

the conserved trees which draw cool air down through open 

courtyards. 

Daylight maximisation 

Key spaces are provided with double-glazed, low-E fritted 

glass panels, to maximise visual transparency into the building. 

Large sun-shading canopies and vertical green screens are used 

extensively around ERC. 

Green roof 

Roof plantings provide additional roof insulation. 

Recycled materials 

Sustainable materials such as recycled timber, have been used 

for construction. 

Other factors 

A chilled ceiling at the Study Cluster at Level 1 maximises 

comfort, and the use of a total lighting management system 

in all study areas enables controlled dimming/light level tuning, 

scene zone control, occupancy and vacancy sensing, automatic 

daylight harvesting, solar-adaptive shading and scheduling, and 

personalised light control. 

EDUSPORTS 

EduSports, recently named the Stephen Riady Centre, is the 

focal point for the student community at UTown. Under one 

roof are education facilities (lecture theatres, seminar rooms and 

auditorium), cultural and performing arts spaces (performance 

and practice theatres, dance studios, a music library and individual 

practice rooms), sports facilities (swimming pool, gymnasium, 

rock climbing wall, as well as training and competition halls), an 

array of dining and retail outlets and a sheltered open space which 

is an attractive venue for performances, fairs and interactions. 

Sprinkled throughout the building are small gathering nodes to 

facilitate informal group learning opportunities. 

EduSports has been designed to optimise the building envelope and mitigate heat gain and cooling loads. 


COVER STORY 

EduSports has been designed to optimise the building envelope 

and mitigate heat gain and cooling loads. Daylight spaces were 

included to further reduce energy demands and provide a 

comfortable, sustainable environment for the user community. 

EduSports received the Green Mark Platinum Award in 2012. 

Sustainable features of EduSports 

Mitigating solar heat gain 

Extensive self-shading has created large, naturally ventilated, 

semi-exterior north-south corridors. Setbacks, overhangs, 

spandrels and high-performance glazing, at selected facades, 

further enhance shading and signifi cantly reduce solar heat gain. 

Highly insulated or vertical green walls, a green roof and large 

pockets of greenery, further improve the performance of the 

entire building envelope. 

Encouraging natural ventilation 

Spacing and layout have been optimised to funnel in air through 

public spaces and enhance breezes. Common areas that require 

a larger air velocity and lower radiant temperature, are fi tted 

with low-energy features such as high-volume low-speed fans, 

to improve thermal comfort during ‘still air’ weather conditions. 

Saving energy 

The air-conditioning system utilises variable speed drives on 

the Air Handling Units (AHUs), Fan Coil Units (FCUs) and 

motors, ensuring energy effi ciency. Motion sensors in toilets and 

corridors provide further energy savings. 

SUSTAINABLE BUILDING FOR RESEARCH 

NUS YONG LOO LIN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE BLOCK 

The NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine Block (MD1) houses 

both wet and dry laboratories, teaching spaces and offi ces. 

Designed with cutting-edge research and learning facilities and 

located adjacent to the National University Hospital, it allows 

students, researchers and clinicians the opportunity to interact 

in a seamless bed-to-bench environment. MD1 received the 

Green Mark Platinum Award in 2012. 

Sustainable features of MD1 

Energy effi ciency features 

Laboratory-type facilities are energy intensive compared to 

normal offi ce settings, due to the use of a single pass ventilation 

system. To achieve the energy effi ciency within MD1, the façade 

thermal performance has been maximised with the use of low 

E-coated double glazing, shading, and an effi cient chiller plant 

with variable speed control for pumps and cooling towers. For 

the ventilation system, the AHU is equipped with a heat pipe 

and heat recovery unit that harnesses energy which is utilised 

to maintain the desired temperature and relative humidity. 

The resulting Envelope Thermal Transmittance Value (ETTV) 

outperforms the national standards by 50%. 

Similarly, energy-effi cient lighting such as T5 and LED lights are 

installed in the laboratories, lobbies and common areas. Motion 

sensors are also deployed in laboratories and toilets to reduce 

energy wastage. 

SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS FOR 

ADMINISTRATION AND HOUSING 

VENTUS 

Ventus comprises offi ce, meeting and communal spaces for 

the four administrative offi ces within the University Campus 

Infrastructure cluster. The building is intended to exemplify both 

sustainable and passive design, complementing its surroundings. 

Ventus received the Green Mark Platinum Award in 2012. 

Ventus exemplifi es both sustainable and passive design, complementing its surroundings. 


17

COVER STORY 

Sustainable features of Ventus 

Responding to the site 

Removal of existing trees and excavation were minimised as the 

building was designed around the natural site elements, using 

trees as markers for the architectural form. As a result, there was 

a reduction in energy consumption and water contamination 

during the construction period, natural biodiversity is preserved, 

and thermal comfort conditions are provided for outdoor 

spaces. 

Wind scoop feature 

The wind scoop (integrated with the central spine of the 

building) is a key feature of the design, that takes advantage 

of the predominant wind for natural ventilation, through the 

venturi effect. The building is shaped such that the ends have 

large openings that capture high volumes of air and the middle 

portion narrows and accelerates the air through. This space also 

provides a thermal zone between the air-conditioned spaces 

and outdoor environment, minimising the associated transitional 

discomfort. 

Innovative structural design 

The shape of the central spine and the spacing in between the 

three offi ce blocks are tailored such that the blocks provide 

shading for one another, and the central spine provides overall 

shading for the circulation and activities housed within. This 

translates to a signifi cant reduction in the solar radiation profi le. 

KENT VALE 2 

Kent Vale 2 (KV2) comprises one 25-storey and two 24-storey 

residential blocks for staff, and a podium block housing communal 

facilities such as swimming pool, gym and lounge. Offering a 

good mix of apartment types, KV2 offers fl exible on-campus 

accommodation for families, couples or singles, in 3-bedroom, 

2-bedroom and 1-bedroom units. The intent is to provide an 

environment that encourages social interaction and crosscultural 

exchanges, whilst forging a strong sense of community. 

KV2 received the Green Mark Platinum Award in 2011. 

Sustainable features of Kent Vale 2 

Mitigation of solar heat gain 

Solar gain through the façade is minimised via optimum building 

orientation; strategic sunshading provided by modular green walls, 

balconies, fi xed and sliding screens on the east and west facing 

facades; and horizontal sunshading to all facades. Considered 

positioning of ventilation openings allows for adequate light and 

ventilation, without additional solar glazing systems. 

Off-form concrete and construction effi ciency 

The entire building façade, lobbies and common areas have 

concrete fi nishes, hence eliminating the need for external 

plastering or skim coat and external painting. The module design 

of the apartment blocks also encourages the use of standardised 

formwork, minimising on-site wet trade works. This resulted in 

a 25% improvement in productivity and signifi cant savings on 

fi nishing, without compromising building aesthetics. 

Kent Vale 2 comprises residential blocks for staff and a podium block housing 

communal facilities. 

Integrated building management system 

An Integrated Building Management System (IBMS) monitors 

and controls the consumption of electricity and water. 

User-controlled operable windows and screens 

The sliding screens deployed on the eastern and western 

facades are user-controllable and offer greater reduction in solar 

radiation. The onus is then shifted to the residents to optimise 

the use of these screens and the air-conditioning within the 

apartments, for thermal comfort. 

ACTIVE LEADERSHIP AND ENGAGEMENT 

A strong and active NUS management, together with the 

support of its student and staff community, ensures effective 

environmental stewardship that goes beyond the construction 

and operation of sustainable buildings. The NUS community 

is also constantly engaged in various outreach and education 

programmes to bring about greater awareness of and interest 

in being environmentally responsible. 

NUS believes that as a leading educational institution, it should 

contribute to efforts in tackling climate change and play an 

active role in incorporating sustainable development concepts 

in its activities and operations so as to reduce the university’s 

overall environmental impact. 

All images by the National University of Singapore. 



19


The advantages of fabric ducting 

by David Mackerness, General Manager, The LGM Group 

As an air distribution option, it is an alternative to a steel ducting and diffuser system. 

Fabric ducting is a common ACMV (Air-Conditioning & 

Mechanical Ventilation) component used all over the world. It 

offers great improvements in productivity as well as in energy 

effi ciency and thermal comfort. 

The heat load calculations and equipment sizing for fabric 

ducting remains the same as for traditional systems, but instead 

of using metal ducts to transport the air, patented fabric is used. 

fabric ducts can operate at signifi cantly reduced static pressure 

requirements as compared to steel ducting systems. This results 

in energy savings of up to 25%, as the AHU/FCU fans do not 

need to work as hard to push the air through the system. 

To cite one example, fabric ducting has enabled an offi ce in 

Singapore to generate energy savings and obtain a BCA Green 

The three main benefi ts of fabric ducting are a vast reduction 

in labour costs required to install the system (achieving up to 

80% reduction in man-hours), energy effi ciency (generating up 

to 25% savings), and better comfort. 

Productivity 

Fabric ducting systems are mounted on aluminium rails which 

hold the fabric ducts in place. This simple and reliable mounting 

system allows contractors to reduce installation times by up to 

80% and the lightweight characteristics of the system allow it to 

be installed on any ceiling (including false ceilings). 

Energy efficiency 

Fabric ducting systems should be custom designed with the 

help of local suppliers who understand the energy effi ciency 

and performance goals of the project. If designed correctly, 

The use of fabric ducting in this factory at Tuas reduced installation times by 73%. 

Steel Ducting and Diffusers 

Fabric Ducting 

27 AHUs 

1 m 2 of steel duct requires 0.5 man hours to install 

Each diffuser requires 0.5 man hours to install 

SAD = 250 m 2 per AHU = 125 man hours x 27 = 3,375 

RAD = 250 m 2 per AHU = 125 man hours x 27 = 3,375 

Diffusers = 864 in total = 0.5 man hours x 864 = 432 

TOTAL = 7,182 Man Hours 

27 AHUs 

2.5 m 2 of fabric duct requires 0.5 man hours to install 

Each diffuser requires 0.5 man hours to install 

SAD = 180 m 2 per AHU = 72 man hours x 27 = 1,944 

RAD = 0 m 2 per AHU = 0 

Diffusers = 0 

TOTAL = 1,944 Man Hours 

Comparison between installation times required for conventional ducting systems and for fabric ducting systems. 



Mark Platinum rating. The original ACMV design for this offi ce 

used three FCUs and a traditional ducting and diffuser system. 

During the fi t-out stage, fabric ducting was retrofi tted to the 

existing FCUs and it reduced the fan motor power requirements 

by 23%. 

Better comfort 

Fabric ducts are custom-made for every project, ensuring optimal 

air distribution throughout the space. This allows designers to 

accommodate any temperature or velocity requirements and 

results in a good indoor environment. 

Given the challenge of cooling a 15 m by 35 m space with sidewall 

diffusers, an advertising agency opted for a custom designed 

fabric ducting system. The design incorporates three different 

throw lengths and angles to achieve uniform air distribution 

and temperatures throughout the space with no draughts 

or hotspots. 

Types of fabric ducting 

The technology for fabric ducting is not new. Fabric ducts have 

been used in Europe and the US for the past three decades. 

Most manufacturers can offer fi breglass-based, PVC-coated 

ducts but these are not recommended for use in Asia as 

they are not permeable and condensation may form on the 

outside of the ducts, due to the humid conditions here. This 

could result in dripping water which can damage equipment in 

the space. 

To prevent the condensation problem, fabric ducting systems for 

Asian markets must be permeable. 

Until recently, none of the permeable fabric ducts could 

comply with the Class ‘O’ fi re certifi cation standards required 

by Singapore. 

Recent advances in technology have now enabled some of the 

fabric ducting manufacturers, in Europe and the US, to produce 

permeable ducts which meet the Class ‘O’ fi re certifi cation 

standards. 

And now, there are local suppliers who offer design, supply and 

installation services for this type of fabric ducting, for projects in 

any Asian environment. 

Such ducting has already been installed in over 30 high profi le 

projects in Singapore. 

Fabric ducting can be used in any project and there are examples 

of fabric ducts being used in warehouses, sports halls, offi ces and 

even a sound stage. 

For installations that require a high indoor air quality, the ducts 

can be taken down and washed. To ensure that warranties are 

Fabric ducting has enabled this BCA Green Mark Platinum-rated offi ce in 

Singapore to generate energy savings of 23%. 

FCU Parameters Steel Ducting Fabric 

and Diffusers Ducting 

Airfl ow 7001 7001 

Static Pressure 218 195 

Fan Motor Power each 2.0 1.55 

No. of Fan Motors 3 3 

in Operation 

Total Power in Operation 6.0 4.7 

Annual Operation Hour 2,730 2,730 

Annual Energy 16,380 12,695 

Consumption 

Annual Energy Savings = 3,686 kWh 

% of Annual Energy Savings = 23% 

Comparison between energy consumption of offi ce with conventional ducting 

systems and with fabric ducting systems. 

maintained, the manufacturer’s guidelines for washing must 

be followed. 

In Europe and the US, fabric duct installations have shown no 

signs of deterioration or damage during the 30 years that they 

have been in service. 

More information on fabric ducting may be obtained from the author 

(Tel: 6586 9015. Email: david.mackerness@thelgmgroup.com) 


21


2 

1 

3 

A research and development facility with fabric ducting - (1) Equipment sizing remains unchanged. (2) Cool air leaves the Air Handling Unit (AHU) / Fan Coil Unit (FCU) 

and is transported along the fabric duct. (3) Once the duct is infl ated and pressurised (in 5 sec to 10 sec), cool air enters the space through the permeable fabric as well 

as custom designed, laser-cut holes. 

Advertising agency using side-wall mounted fabric ducting. 

Fabric ducting installed in the sports hall of an international school in Singapore. 

A Green Mark Platinum-rated engine assembly plant that uses a custom designed fabric ducting system. 



23

ACOUSTICS ENGINEERING 

Aeroacoustics simulations for the aerospace industry 

by Fred Mendonça & Deborah Eppel, CD-adapco 

The article presents two case studies, one on the airframe noise simulation of a complex nose landing 

gear, and the other on the aeroacoustics analysis of an avionic cooling rack in an Airbus cockpit. 

One of the greatest challenges facing the aerospace industry 

is improving the aeroacoustic noise generation of its products 

to meet today’s more stringent noise pollution standards. As 

fl ow-induced noise makes a signifi cant contribution to the overall 

decibel output, it is essential to fi nd out how aircraft design can be 

optimised in order to minimise the fl ow-induced noise without 

impairing the general performance of the air vehicle. 

Sources of fl ow-induced noise are varied. Typically, 

for commercial aircraft, they are mainly associated with 

high-lift devices, landing gear, jet nozzles, and cabin and cockpit 

climate control devices. For military air vehicles, structural and 

aerodynamic instabilities of weapons and weapon bays are 

additional issues that need to be addressed. 

Case Study 1 

Case Study 1 was implemented as part of Problem 4 of the First 

AIAA Workshop on Benchmark problems for Airframe Noise 

Computations (BANC-I), which was held in Stockholm, Sweden, 

on 10 and 11 June 2010. The geometry is a simplifi cation of 

the Gulfstream G550 nose landing gear, confi gured as Partially- 

Dressed Cavity-Closed (PDCC). Experiments on a quarter-scale 

model were performed in the NASA-BART acoustic tunnel and 

at the University of Florida. 

The computational model contained complete component details 

and resolved the geometry down into the laminar sub-layer 

(nominally y+ < 1). The mesh comprised trimmed hexahedra 

with extruded prisms in the normal-to-wall direction, totalling 39 

million cells. In the vicinity of all the landing gear components and 

wheel, uniform cubic cells of 0.75 mm were used. 

In addition, a mesh coarsening exercise was performed. Two 

coarse meshes were successively run, in which the cell size in 

the core fl ow region was increased from 0.75 mm (fi ne) to 1.00 

mm (medium mesh, resulting in 22 million cells) and 1.25 mm 

(coarse mesh, 13 million cells). 

First, a steady-state simulation was performed in order to 

determine where volume mesh refi nements were needed, as 

well as calculate the mesh frequency cut-off measure to size 

the cells. The applied mesh was well able to capture frequencies 

up to 5 kHz in the vicinity of the landing gear components, as 

shown in the accompanying images. 

The results from the transient compressible simulation, using 

DES and applying non-refl ective treatments at the infl ow and 

outfl ow boundaries, delivered a high level of confi dence that 

both the mean and fl uctuating fl ow fi elds were well predicted. 

The total computational time for 0.25 seconds of simulated time 

on the fi ne mesh was approximately 16000 CPU-hours on a 

modern 3.0 GHz Linux platform. 

This corresponds to just over 5 days on 128 CPUs. Likewise, the 

coarse 13 million cell case took just under 2 days. 

1/4-scale model of 

the Partially-Dressed 

Cavity-Closed (PDCC) 

Gulfstream G550 nose 

landing gear. 

Mesh Frequency 

Cut-Off estimator along 

the model centre-line. 

Uniform cubic cells were used in the vicinity of the 

nose-gear components: 0.75 mm (left), 3.0 mm (centre), 

6.0 mm (right). 

Transient Mean 

Static Pressure 

Coefficeint on the 

Wheel. 

Mean two dimensional (x-y) 

turbulent kinetic energy 

- STAR-CCM+ prediction (top) 

and PIV results (below) 

(Mean) transient (DES k-ω-SST) (left) and steady-state k-ω-SST (right). 

Case Study 1: Aeroacoustics of a complex nose landing gear. 


ACOUSTICS ENGINEERING 

Case Study 2 

Case Study 2 demonstrated the up-front use of the steadystate 

turbulence synthesisation method to improve the 

noise signature of an avionics cooling rack. The electronics 

sit on shelves which are actively cooled by air channels 

within the shelving, supplied by ducts which are fed from the 

Environmental Control System (ECS). 

[2] ‘Effi cient CFD Simulation Process for Aeroacoustic Driven 

Design’, Mendonça et al, presented at the II SAE Brazil 

International Noise and Vibration Congress, 17-19 October 

2010, Florianopolis, Brazil, SAE-2010-36-0545. 

(More information about methodologies and best practices for 

aeroacoustics simulations in the automotive and aerospace sectors 

can be obtained from Reference [2]). 

Debatin’s technique [1] was used to modify the original 

designs of the plenum and shelf fl ow restrictor. The effects of 

the modifi cations were then assessed by quantifying the noise 

reduction through CFD simulation and comparing the results 

with the measured noise reduction. A DES simulation was used 

for the transient fl ow-fi eld predictions. Microphones were placed 

in arbitrary locations in the plenum and in the shelf restrictor. 

It was found that the modifi ed plenum design signifi cantly 

reduces the volume of fl ow recirculation, and consequently the 

shear-noise generating mechanisms. The result was a reduction 

of noise levels across the full range of the human hearing 

spectrum. The DES simulation succeeded in predicting the level 

of noise reduction correctly (approximately 3 dB in the range 

300-10,000 Hz), but over-predicted the improvement in the 

lower frequency range. 

The fl ow turbulence through the shelf restrictor was found to 

be greatly reduced, resulting in a 2-5 dB reduction is noise levels 

between 100 Hz and 10,000 Hz. The predicted levels of noise 

reduction were excellent across this full range. 

The total model size was approximately 1.5 million cells. 

Calculations in steady state and transient state (DES) were 

performed by a graduate intern student and completed within a 

period of three months, using computer resources limited to a 

maximum of eight CPUs. 

Acoustic Pressure (Pa) at the driver’s ear location for the three different materials. 

Conclusion 

As part of its close working relationship with the transport 

industry, CD-adapco provides validated tools to predict and 

design against aeroacoustical effects early in the design process. 

From among a multitude of possible applications in the 

aerospace industry, two industrial aeroacoustics case studies 

have been briefl y described in this article. 

Plenum noise reduction due to modified design 

(vertical grading corresponds to 2 dB). 

The results proved to be accurate and the study helped illustrate 

how a deeper understanding of acoustical phenomena can be 

gained through the use of CD-adapco’s STAR-CCM+, thereby 

enabling a higher degree of engineering value to be added while 

reducing costs and timescales in the CAE process. 

Aeroacoustics best practices are now included in the 

STAR-CCM+ online documentation. 

References 

[1] ‘Chasing Noise with Simulation’, Debatin, ECOMAS CFD 

2006, The Netherlands, 5-8 September 2006. 

Shelf restrictor noise reduction due to modified design 

(vertical grading corresponds to 1 dB). 

Case Study 2: Noise signature from an Airbus cockpit avionics cooling rack. 


25

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and the contributing countries are starting to manufacture the 

equipment such as super-conducting conductors. 

During the plant design, construction, and completion/start-up 

phase, SmartPlant Enterprise for Owner Operators will provide 

pre-confi gured processes to support engineering and project 

execution work processes, and SmartPlant Foundation will play 

a key role in data synchronisation and data sharing. The project 

will benefi t from synchronised information and centralised 

data that SmartPlant Enterprise offers, to better manage work 

processes, control equipment and maintenance, coordinate 

contractors and manage change. ITER aims to build an effi cient 

and safe plant that can provide energy to an increasingly 

demanding world. 

The fi rst equipment for this major project will be delivered 

on-site in 2014. The construction is to be completed in 2019 

and operation is expected to commence in 2020. Once this 

experimental reactor is complete, every contributing country 

will have the right to build fusion plants. 

Integrated engineering for nuclear power projects 

Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute 

(SNERDI) is the leading technology research and design institute 

for nuclear electric power in China. SNERDI is responsible for 

the engineering and design of several nuclear power plant 

projects in China and overseas. This includes Westinghouse 

AP1000 nuclear projects, such as the Sanmen and Haiyang 



nuclear power plants in China, and 

Chasma Unit 2 in Pakistan. 

To continue driving its expertise 

in nuclear power plant design and 

support an increasing number of 

global projects, SNERDI decided 

that it needed to move away 

from traditional design methods 

and leverage intelligent, advanced 

technology to support an integrated 

design platform. The institute has 

been an Intergraph customer since 

1997 and it selected SmartPlant 

Enterprise engineering solutions to 

improve its design processes for its 

global nuclear power projects. 

SmartPlant Enterprise enabled 

SNERDI to establish and develop 

an integrated design platform to 

enhance global collaboration and 

meet project requirements. The SNERDI won fi rst place in the Animation category, in the 2012 Golden Valve Awards. This animation was generated 

integrated engineering environment in SmartPlant Review. The SmartPlant Review Photo Realism module was used to create high-quality images, and 

combined with the SmartPlant Review Simulation and Visual Effects module to create animation parts. 

enables SNERDI’s engineers to 

perform global, concurrent engineering for multiple projects, 

thereby improving the quality and effi ciency of the design work 

involved. For example, the integration of SmartPlant P&ID with 

the 3D design platform enables SNERDI’s engineers to quickly 

view the relevant P&ID data and generate the associated reports, 

without having to refer to a large number of documents separately. 

The integration also improves the consistency and accuracy of the 

data which can be reused with other engineering applications to 

minimise errors. 

Other international power projects 

There are several other successful applications of SmartPlant 

Enterprise solutions in power generation projects all over 

the world. For example, in South Korea, the Industrial Plant & 

Engineering division of Hyundai Heavy Industries has selected 

SmartPlant 3D and other SmartPlant Enterprise solutions 

to boost productivity of power plant projects. In China, East 

China Electric Power Design Institute designed the world’s 

largest underground substation to supply power for Expo 

2010 Shanghai, using SmartPlant 3D. In Spain, Empresarios 

Agrupados is using SmartPlant Enterprise to improve the 

development of combined-cycle power generation plants. 

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co Ltd, another South 

Korean company, has utilised Intergraph technology to establish 

an engineering standard for its power projects. In Europe, 

Hitachi Power Europe has chosen SmartPlant 3D for its future 

design and construction projects, to improve productivity and 

intelligent collaboration. 

More information can be obtained from www.intergraph.com. 

Enquiry No: 

SNERDI won second place in the Visually Complex category in the 2010 Golden 

Valve Awards. This image depicts the layout design of the Annex Building of the 

AP100-SWI subcontract project in China. 

Bureau ESG won the Judges’ Choice Award for the Power Industry in the 2012 

Golden Valve Awards. SmartPlant Review was used to create this image of a power 

plant with transparent walls. 


27


Leveraging M2M technology to preserve the 

Amazon rainforest 

Machine-to-machine (M2M) communication is a technology 

that is quickly maturing and is being applied across diverse fi elds, 

from healthcare to transportation to industrial production. The 

strategic importance of companies connecting their non-IT 

assets through M2M, which is said to be one of the top 10 

technology trends for 2013, is becoming harder to ignore, as 

it increases effi ciency whilst reducing operational costs. At the 

same time, the constant technology innovation in this fi eld by 

companies like Gemalto, to improve reliability, security and 

service quality, is making M2M’s value proposition increasingly 

attractive. 

An interesting application of M2M technology today is in Brazil 

where the technology is helping to protect the Amazon rainforest 

from illegal logging and deforestation. The strong global demand 

for rainforest wood combined with the enormous profi tability of 

illegal logging has fuelled the decimation of this precious resource 

- more than 4,000 square miles of the Amazon rainforest has 

been destroyed in the last two years alone with 224,000 square 

miles decimated since record keeping began in 1980. 

While satellite and radio monitoring have been traditionally 

deployed to protect the massive area, illegal loggers have become 

increasingly adept and sophisticated at avoiding detection. These 

groups have abandoned clear-cutting for stealthy new logging 

strategies that target small tracts with the most prized trees. As 

a result, new methods of detection were needed. 

The solution 

Gemalto and Cargo Tracck teamed up to devise and execute 

a pilot programme that leveraged on M2M technology to stop 

the loggers. The discreet tracking solution, designed by Cargo 

Tracck, uses Gemalto’s tiny and powerful Cinterion BGS2 M2M 

module to enable cellular communications between trees and 

law enforcement agencies. With the rainforest spanning such a 

wide area, Radiation Data Exchange (RED) technology was used 

to boost the range of wireless communications to cover even 

extremely remote areas that lack mobile network coverage. 

Smaller than a deck of cards, the tracking device is camoufl aged 

in a resin case made to blend in with the trunks of trees and was 

subsequently installed in remote active harvesting areas deep 

in the jungle, with night vision cameras installed in nearby trees 

to capture visual evidence of illegal logging. The tracking devices 

can remain in the fi eld for over a year without recharging, thanks 

to the Cinterion module’s sophisticated power management 

system which provides superior power effi ciency. The devices 

are also rugged enough to operate reliably in rainforest heat and 

moisture, while being powerful enough to track trees through 

remote and dense forests. 

The moment a tagged tree is harvested, offi cials are immediately 

notifi ed by the tracking device. Cutting-edge geo-location 

algorithms allow precise tracking with unprecedented accuracy, 

as location data is transmitted the moment harvested trees pass 

within 20 miles of a cellular network. This allows offi cials to remotely 

track trees and intercept illegal loggers in the act of selling timber at 

sawmills, which ultimately leads to quicker prosecution. 

The results 

The effectiveness of this solution in reducing the deforestation of 

the Amazon rainforest has been proven. According to reports, 

deforestation has slowed and is now at its lowest level since 

monitoring began. The Cargo Tracck devices have overcome 

the challenges faced by old tracking strategies using satellites 

and other methods which were unable to track activities in 

no- or low- GSM coverage areas. They have also addressed 

the challenges posed by the humidity and density of the forest 

environment. 

The Cargo Tracck solution highlights how M2M technology can 

be applied to help deter crime and protect the environment. 

But beyond that, it can also be used to enable secure POS 

(point-of-sale) transactions; manage assets, buildings and 

industrial operations 

remotely; and improve 

productivity of fl eet 

operations as well 

as power specialised 

industrial PDAs for 

work forces. In short, 

M2M opens up a 

whole new world 

of possibilities for 

organisations and 

governments to 

improve processes, 

productivity and 

effi ciency. 

Enquiry No: 

The Cinterion M2M module. 

The Cargo Tracck tracking device. 



29

PRODUCTS & SOLUTIONS 

TA Hydronics launches the TA-FUS1ON range 

TA Hydronics, a leading global provider of hydronic distribution 

systems and room temperature control, has launched the 

TA-FUS1ON range of control valves that combine both 

control and balancing functions within a single unit. Together 

with the corresponding actuator, these new solutions provide 

absolute control over hydronic systems, enabling designers and 

contractors to correctly size control valves, every time. 

The customer’s problem 

Modern demands on HVAC systems have become more 

complex than ever before and research suggests that well over 

50% of control valves within hydronic systems are wrongly 

sized due to the fi xed Kvs values proposed by control valve 

manufacturers. This leads to poor control performance and 

ineffi ciency within the system. Oversizing valves increases 

investment and energy costs due to larger dimensions and 

risk of poor authority and control hunting, while undersizing 

increases pump heads and energy costs. 

TA-FUS1ON 

TA-FUS1ON combined control and balancing valves feature a 

series of new innovations designed specifi cally to address the 

needs of the industry, so as to achieve optimal authority and 

facilitate control and balancing in complex hydronic systems. 

Special features of TA-FUS1ON 

• The TA-FUS1ON range incorporates fully adjustable Kvs 

values with inherent, independent EQM characteristics, 

ensuring precision sizing and optimal control performance for 

onsite fl exibility and maximum energy effi ciency. This feature 

enables easier and more accurate dimensioning of the range 

- made possible by fl exible Kvs values which eliminate the 

common problem of undersizing or oversizing. 

• The 2-in-1 valve design reduces investment cost and 

installation time. 

• Outstanding capabilities for measuring differential pressure, 

fl ow, temperature, power and available differential pressure 

ensure a high degree of hydronic diagnostic control over 

complex HVAC systems. 

• Designed to work seamlessly with TA-SCOPE and TA Select 

4, TA-FUS1ON valves enable easy and precise balancing, 

system monitoring, power measurement and troubleshooting. 

• The TA-FUS1ON range is available in DN 32-150, with or 

without an integrated Dp controller to suit the system design. 

• A wide range of high performance proportional actuators 

provides accurate modulating or 3-point control. 

TA Hydronics 

TA Hydronics is a leading global provider and expert in 

hydronic distribution systems and room temperature control, 

with experience in more than 100,000 construction projects 

worldwide. The company helps clients optimise their HVAC 

(Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) systems by 

providing products and knowledge to deliver the right indoor 

comfort at the right energy cost. TA Hydronics is part of 

the international engineering group IMI plc. With a turnover 

of £2.13 billion, IMI plc is listed as a member of the FTSE 

100 on the London Stock Exchange. In 2011, TA Hydronics 

brought together three leading brands in the world of 

hydronic distribution - TA, Pneumatex, and Heimeier. 

More information on the new TA-FUS1ON range can 

be obtained from www.ta-fusion.com or by emailing 

steven@tourandersson.com.sg 

More information on TA Hydronics can be obtained from 

www.tahydronics.com 

Enquiry No: 

The TA-FUS1ON range of control valves combine both control and balancing 

functions within a single unit. 



Expertise in green building certifications 

A pioneer in the fi eld of sustainability and energy effi ciency, Kaer 

has participated in the emergence and progress of the green 

building initiative in Singapore. 

When the Green Building Certifi cation scheme was launched in 

Singapore, all of the awards went to ‘New Buildings’ and very few 

to ‘Existing Buildings’. All of the iconic new developments were 

represented. Over the years, there has been a shift, with more 

and more existing buildings going for certifi cation. The drivers for 

this were the solid business case for greening existing buildings 

as well as the support given by the Building and Construction 

Authority (BCA), through the Green Mark Incentive Scheme for 

Existing Buildings (GMIS-EB) and the Singapore Green Building 

Council’s (SGBC) product certifi cation scheme. Kaer believes 

this trend will continue and predicts that in the near future 

more building tenants will jump on the bandwagon and go for 

certifi cation of the interior spaces they occupy. 

New 

Buildings 

Shifts in BCA Green Mark certifi cations. 

Existing 

Buildings 

Interior 

Spaces 

KAER 

Established in 1993 as Asia’s fi rst Energy Services Company 

(ESCO), Kaer (the company was originally called Supersolutions) 

delivers value-added and innovative engineering solutions that 

are said to improve a building’s performance with more comfort 

and up to 70% in energy savings. 

The company’s footprint extends throughout Asia Pacifi c, with 

offi ces in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. With holistic views 

on building performance, Kaer looks after all of its clients’ needs, 

from the design stage through to management and certifi cation. 

To cater for the expected growth in Green Mark certifi cation 

of Offi ce Interiors, Kaer has developed a specifi c ‘building-totenant’ 

programme, allowing it to work with tenants of green 

buildings to get certifi cation with minimal time and cost. 

Green certification capabilities 

Kaer’s regional green certifi cation team offers clients its expertise 

in Green Mark, Green Building Index, Greenship, BREEAM and 

LEED standards. 

The company has completed over 50 Green Mark projects in 

Singapore, 15 Green Building Index projects in Malaysia, and its 

green certifi cation managers were part of the inaugural batch of 

Greenship Professionals certifi ed for Indonesia. 

Regional headquarters 

Kaer’s regional headquarters is located in SOLARIS at 

Fusionopolis. 

SOLARIS has incorporated ground-breaking design concepts 

and technologies that helped it achieve a Green Mark Platinum 

rating. Kaer’s offi ce takes up the mezzanine fl oor which is the 

incremental Gross Floor Area (GFA) awarded to SOLARIS for 

achieving the Green Mark Platinum rating. 

The 8,000 ft 2 (743 m 2 ) completely ‘open plan’ area incorporates 

numerous creative spaces that encourage collaboration 

between teams. 

The offi ce features many energy-effi cient technologies and Kaer 

is continuously tweaking the M&E systems to fi nd new ways to 

bring effi ciency and comfort to the staff. 

In recognition of this green design, the Kaer offi ce was amongst 

the fi rst to receive the Green Mark Platinum rating for Offi ce 

Interiors. 

More information can be obtained from www.kaer.com 

Enquiry No: 

Milestones in Kaer’s progress. 

Kaer’s Green Mark Platinum-rated regional headquarters. 


31


3M innovation for a bright future 

3M is a recognised leader in research and development (R&D), 

producing thousands of innovative products for dozens of 

diverse markets. The company’s core strength is the ability to 

apply its more than 40 distinct technology platforms, often in 

combination, to a wide array of customer needs. 

3M’s technology platforms include biotechnology, displays, electronic 

materials, fl uorinated materials, light management, metal matrix 

composites, microreplication, nanotechnology, and sensors. 

3M Aluminium Conductor Composite Reinforced 

3M Aluminium Conductor Composite Reinforced (ACCR) is 

a lightweight, low-sag, high-capacity conductor that can carry 

twice the current (or more) carried by conventional steelcore 

conductors of the same diameter, on existing towers, 

thereby helping utilities avoid a wide range of problems in 

environmentally sensitive areas and in crowded urban settings. 

The conductor’s strength and durability result from its core 

composed of aluminium oxide (alumina) fi bres embedded in 

high-purity aluminium. The constituent materials can withstand 

high temperatures without appreciable loss in strength, even 

over long periods of time. 

Renewable energy and energy conservation 

3M Renewable Energy Division maximises the company’s 

technologies, products and responsiveness in the growing 

renewable energy industry. The division provides advanced 

materials technologies for solar, wind and biofuel-based 

energy generation as well as materials technologies for energy 

conservation, such as window fi lms for commercial, residential 

and automotive applications, that also provide safety and security. 

Solar Mirror Film 1100 is a silver metallised, weatherable acrylic 

fi lm that offers a number of signifi cant advantages over tradition 

glass mirrors, including higher refl ectance, less weight and 

improved mechanical properties. These features can increase 

the output and design fl exibility of concentrated solar power 

systems. 3M’s cost-cutting solar fi lm, Solar Mirror Film 1100, 

outfi ts solar concentration troughs in turnkey renewable energy 

systems. 

3M Window Films Prestige Series use non-metallised 

nanotechnology to create refl ectivity that is actually lower than 

that of glass. The spectrally-selective fi lms reject up to 97% of 

the sun’s heat-producing infrared light and 99.9% of ultraviolet 

rays to ensure a cool, comfortable and protected interior 

environment. 

Architectural lighting and design 

3M Architectural Markets brings the company’s strong tradition 

of innovation into the design world to help commercial 

architects, designers and building owners create attractive, 

dynamic, enduring exteriors and interiors. 3M offers a wide 

range of architectural fi nishes and decorative glass fi nishes, as 

well as natural and artifi cial lighting solutions. 

3M DI-NOC Architectural Finishes mimic the aesthetics of 

natural and other materials at a fraction of the price. 

3M Lighting Solutions is on the leading edge when it comes 

to energy savings, safety, ease of installation and cuttingedge 

aesthetics. The 3M Sunlight Delivery System, the latest 

innovation in daylighting, enables the sun’s light to be harnessed 

and directed into the deepest recesses of a building. 

Solar Mirror Film 1100 

3M Window Films Prestige Series 



Sustainability 

In 1975, 3M became one of the fi rst manufacturing companies 

to establish a formal environmental policy. That same year, 3M 

adopted its voluntary Pollution Prevention Pays (3P) programme, 

based on the then-novel idea that pollution prevention is both 

an environmental and competitive/fi nancial strategy. 

Sustainability at 3M grew from a commitment to both innovation 

and ethical conduct. By continually increasing sustainability at the 

economic, social and environmental levels, the company believes 

it is building a strong, vital company today, and leaving a rich 

legacy on which future generations can build. 

3M is guided by three strategic principles that make sustainability 

implicit in everyday practices: 

• Economic success: Building lasting customer relationships by 

developing differentiated, practical and ingenious solutions to 

their sustainability challenge. 

• Environmental protection: Providing practical solutions 

and products to address environmental challenges for the 

company and its customers. 

• Social responsibility: Engaging key stakeholders in dialogue and 

taking action to improve 3M’s sustainability performance. 

Light management 

3M has pioneered the use of tiny, precisely-shaped structures 

to give materials new physical, chemical or optical properties. 

Microreplicated prisms are used in road signs, electronic displays 

and exterior building illumination to capture and refl ect light 

more brilliantly. 

Light management combines microreplication and multilayer 

optical fi lm technologies with 3M’s historical expertise in optical 

science. Extruded multilayer fi lms refl ect light of specifi ed 

wavelengths and polarisations. This technology enables better 

lighting solutions through improved effi ciency, colour control 

and thermal management. 

3M Company 

3M’s culture of creative collaboration inspires a stream of 

powerful technologies that make life better. The company 

employs about 88,000 people worldwide and has operations in 

more than 70 countries. 

3M Singapore 

3M Singapore is a wholly owned subsidiary of 3M Company. 3M 

Singapore markets nearly all of the company’s major products. 

Major product categories include industrial tapes and adhesives, 

abrasives, safety and security solutions, commercial graphics, 

refl ective fi lm, homecare and stationery products, and health 

care solutions. 

The company serves a multitude of consumer and industrial 

markets and is a leader in many areas including the electronics, 

oil and gas, shipbuilding, automotive aftermarket, construction, 

health care, semiconductor, aerospace and consumer markets. 

3M’s presence in Singapore today includes a Sales and Marketing 

offi ce, the APAC manufacturing & supply chain hub, the 3M 

Woodlands Plant, the 3M Tuas Plant and the 3M R&D Centres. 

In addition to serving its customers in Singapore, the company 

provides sales and support services to selected export markets. 

Enquiry No: 

3M DI-NOC Architectural Finishes 

3M Sunlight Delivery System 

Microreplication 

Multilayer fi lms 


33

INTERVIEW 

Moving towards the smart grid 

Mr Willie Chan, Director of Strategy, Schneider Electric Singapore, highlights the 

challenges arising from, and the opportunities created in, a changing power generation and 

distribution scenario. 

Question: How would you defi ne 

‘smart grid’? 

Answer: We at Schneider Electric 

defi ne the smart grid as a combination 

of electricity and IT infrastructure 

to integrate and inter-connect 

all users (generators, operators, 

marketers and consumers) in order 

to effi ciently balance demand and 

supply over an increasingly complex 

network. 

Mr Willie Chan 

While today’s grid functions in mainly in a top-down manner, 

tomorrow’s grid will be bi-directional as electricity fl ows into 

homes and offi ces as well as out of them. The smart grid is all 

about creating the capability for electricity demand and supply 

to interact intelligently, and integrate intermittent renewable 

generation. With the smart grid, cities like Singapore will be 

able to generate energy savings, reduce related emissions and 

enhance the quality of service to residential, commercial and 

industrial buildings. 

The smart grid will also give consumers and businesses a better 

understanding of their energy consumption, which allows 

them to adjust their energy demand to moments when prices 

and demand are at their lowest, thus creating considerable 

cost savings. 

We believe that the implementation of smarter grids worldwide 

calls for smarter interactions. The smart grid will emerge from 

smarter supply and demand as well as demand response. It 

also requires smart investments, smart savings and a smart 

regulatory framework. 

The smart grid is about collaboration, between companies, 

citizens and governments. This collaboration extends beyond 

a single country, as shared concern between countries, on the 

limited energy supplies, will only facilitate greater collaboration 

in areas such as standardisation to integrate smart grid areas of 

energy effi ciency as well as renewable resources. This will create 

more opportunities for businesses in the smart grid areas. 

Q: Why is there so much interest in the subject all over the 

world, and particularly in Asia? 

A: We have witnessed three main triggers which are driving 

smart grid adoption. 

The fi rst is the growing demand for electricity. As Asia’s 

population continues to grow, so does the demand for electricity, 

not only in cities but also on the outskirts and suburbs. And 

as more and more corporations set up their operations and 

headquarters in various parts of Asia, corporate demand for 

electricity will also increase. 

Secondly, the growing demand will increase the strain on 

existing electricity distribution networks. Rapid urbanisation and 

increasing industrialisation will mean that more energy has to 

be generated over the same area and networks will have to 

cope with increased loading especially during peak hours. New 

technologies like electric vehicles which are being added to the 

grid in countries like Singapore further increase this strain. 

And fi nally, regulations on carbon dioxide emissions will require 

utilities to cut down on their energy expenditure, in order 

to match these requirements. Hence, the challenge becomes 

twofold - supplying more energy while reducing emissions at 

the same time. 

As the smart grid neatly addresses all these pressing and critical 

issues, it only makes sense that utilities and cities start exploring 

their options in this space and that explains why there is such an 

intense interest in smart grid technology. 

As mentioned earlier, the smart grid will help cities do more 

with less - they will be able to use energy more effi ciently, 

generate energy savings, reduce related emissions and enhance 

the quality of service to residential, commercial and industrial 

buildings. 

Q: What is the progress in Asia, in this area, and what are the 

main challenges and constraints in moving further forward? 

A: Firstly, smart grid technology does not exactly come cheap, 

and would require huge capital expenditure. This could mean 

that governmental fi nancial support is necessary for the smart 

grid to take off in some countries in Asia. Additionally, under the 

current economic climate, where all parties are more cautious 

about spending, there will be a further reduction in the funds 

available for investing in the development of the necessary 

infrastructure for the smart grid. 

Concerns also exist regarding the security of smart grid 

infrastructure. As the smart grid involves a myriad of 

communications taking place between various points, very large 

amounts of data are being exchanged at any one time. There 


INTERVIEW 

is a very real risk, in an era of cybercrime, that the data could 

be tapped and exploited for criminal or even terrorist activities. 

For example, criminals could tap into the grid using computer 

malware like Stuxnet that is typically used to target industrial 

SCADA systems. 

For the smart grid to succeed, there has to be an extremely high 

level of collaboration between utilities, their business partners 

and end users in order to ensure effi ciency and power savings. 

Stakeholders require a clear understanding of their individual 

roles and responsibilities, and in this context, education is 

paramount. However, as we know, education is another 

challenge which can be overcome only over time and through 

continuous effort. 

Q: What are the suggestions that you have for overcoming 

these challenges and constraints? 

A: Despite the number of challenges outlined above, we 

believe that there is still a strong business case for smart grid 

developments in this part of the world. The inevitable need 

for a greater degree of automation in the transmission and 

distribution space, a growing number of electric vehicles and 

increasing penetration of renewable sources of energy into the 

grid are all drivers which will help catalyse the penetration of 

the smart grid. 

As for security, consider using a DNP3 or ‘Distributed Network 

Protocol’ for inter-device communication. This protocol was 

developed to allow for fl exible, secure communications 

between devices and excels where requirements call for reliable 

communication between separate devices. With DNP3, it is 

possible to greatly improve security using both data encryption 

and authentication. 

Stakeholder engagement requires a concerted effort from the 

industry, in order to succeed. In Singapore, I do see initiatives 

such as the Intelligent Energy System being publicised through 

the mainstream media to educate consumers about the benefi ts 

of the smart grid - a step which I feel is crucial for the smart 

grid to take off. Consumer acceptance and understanding of the 

role they need to play will be key in ensuring that the smart grid 

takes off. 

Q: What are some of the products and technologies that 

Schneider Electric is offering in the area of the smart grid? 

A: Schneider Electric’s smart grid solutions are helping public 

and private network operators worldwide make electric 

power distribution through increasingly complex networks 

more effi cient and reliable for growing urban populations. With 

improved network operations, they are able to help reduce 

energy consumption, lower energy-related emissions and 

enhance quality of service and customer satisfaction. I wish to 

mention some of the solutions we have today. 

Network automation and fl exible distribution 

The smart grid incorporates powerful remote terminal 

units (RTUs) that collect and relay real-time transmission 

and distribution information. Reliability at this level is vital to 

subsequent smart grid performance. Schneider Electric offers 

a wide variety of proven-performance telemetry solutions that 

provide real-time grid information to centralised and highly 

advanced supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) 

systems for automated network operations control. 

Smart metering and demand-response 

Schneider Electric’s smart metering platform helps utilities 

deploy advanced metering and communications technologies 

to implement options such as dynamic, time-of-use and other 

pricing alternatives - all to help reduce electricity network 

congestion and energy costs. The demand-response capability 

is key in successfully meeting the demand and supply challenges, 

and the environmental and commercial benefi ts, of electric 

vehicles (EVs), energy storage, as well as distributed energy 

resources including renewable energy integration. 

Advanced distribution management systems 

Our Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS) 

seamlessly integrates advanced SCADA technology with 

distribution management and dedicated outage management 

solutions. This solution then serves as the brain of the distribution 

network, performing real-time network analysis supporting 

improved power effi ciency throughout the network, faster 

identifi cation and resolution of outages, and most importantly, 

helps the utility gain a more detailed understanding of losses 

and improve real-time reconfi guration capability that minimises 

those losses. 

Renewables integration and management 

Schneider Electric’s smart grid solutions also make distributed 

energy resources (DERs) viable. These renewable energy and 

energy storage components, typically supplying less than 10 MW 

and located throughout the distribution network, are effi ciently 

and effectively integrated through the advanced software 

analytics of our ADMS. 

Asset management 

Schneider Electric provides an enterprise geographic information 

system (GIS) which is a unifi ed set of tools that consolidates 

management, maintenance and access of the electric utility 

network asset data. Utilities can use this centralised asset database 

to streamline planning and analysis of new construction and 

make network facilities information readily available anywhere 

it is needed, in the fi eld and across the organisation for vital 

decision-making. 


35

EVENTS 

A 3-in-1 event covering the entire 

construction industry 

Visitors at last year’s INTERCLIMA+ELEC. Image by Salon interclima+elec 2013. 

France’s three fl agship building shows, BATIMAT, 

INTERCLIMA+ELEC and IDEO BAIN, will be staged together, 

from 4 to 8 November 2013, at Paris Nord Villepinte Exhibition 

Centre. Organised by Reed Expositions, it will be the world’s biggest 

and most comprehensive building and architecture showcase. 

All trades, techniques and solutions will be on show under 

one roof with maximum interconnection between the sectors, 

making the event the world’s number one construction and 

architecture exhibition. The exhibition will feature the offerings 

of more than 3,000 exhibitors. Around 400,000 trade visitors 

are expected, with 20% of them coming from outside France. 

The three exhibitions have been combined in response to 

demand from the manufacturers who are keen to keep pace 

with the changes sweeping through the construction sector. 

The joint exhibition will have four key themes: 

• Energy effi ciency and the low energy building. 

• Building accessibility and convenience. 

• Architecture and the cities of the future (with London in the 

spotlight at BATIMAT). 

• The technological aspect of building (IT, new digital tools). 

Focus on innovation 

Around 96% of exhibitors and 99% of visitors cite innovation 

as the main reason for participating. A total of more than 2,000 

new products will be unveiled, making this the leading innovation 

showcase of 2013 for the entire construction industry. 

Awards at INTERCLIMA+ELEC 2013 

The Energy Performance Grand Prix + Architecture Award, 

which over the last four sessions has established itself as an 

internationally recognised competition, will again single out the 

work of one architect and the architect’s approach to energy 

performance in building design, through recent projects. 

The Smarthome awards will focus on home automation. 

Clean Power Asia 2013 to be staged 

in Bangkok 

Clean Power Asia 2013, the third event in the series, will be held 

at the Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld, Bangkok, 

Thailand, from 29 to 30 April 2013. 

Organised by Clarion Events, Clean Power Asia 2013 conference 

and exhibition will address policies, new technologies, strategies 

and fi nancing for key renewable energy developments. 

Clean Power Asia provides a platform for public and private 

power generating utilities/IPPs, government bodies and policy 

makers, legal and fi nancial advisors, and technology solution 

and service providers, interested in renewable energy initiatives, 

projects and technologies. 

More information on the event can be obtained from www. 

cleanpower-asia.com 

The Singapore Engineer 

Products & Solutions Enquiry Form 

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37

NEWS 

JTC’s CleanTech Park clinches BCA’s Platinum 

Green Mark for Districts Award 

CleanTech Park won the Platinum Green Mark for Districts Award for its energy-effi cient infrastructure and public amenities. 

JTC Corporation’s (JTC) CleanTech Park, said to be the fi rst 

eco-business park in Singapore, is also the fi rst development to 

clinch the Building and Construction Authority’s (BCA) Platinum 

Green Mark for Districts Award. 

CleanTech Park won the award for its energy-effi cient 

infrastructure and its public amenities which can potentially help 

save more than 40% in energy consumption and 25% in potable 

water usage. This translates to about 40% of cost savings for 

utilities, annually. 

Mr Manohar Khiatani, CEO, JTC, said, “We are very honoured 

and encouraged that CleanTech Park is the fi rst development to 

clinch this prestigious accolade by BCA. It is a strong affi rmation 

of our efforts to promote responsible and sustainable 

environmental practices in our developments. CleanTech Park is 

a business park with unique clean technology features and is an 

example of JTC’s efforts to develop infrastructure solutions that 

offer a differentiating advantage for Singapore”. 

“Since the launch of the BCA Green Mark for Districts scheme 

in October 2009, CleanTech Park is the fi rst project to attain the 

highest Green Mark Platinum rating. I am glad to note that JTC 

has also committed to lead by example such as setting Green 

Mark Platinum rating for all of the buildings developed by JTC 

within CleanTech Park, and setting parcel design guidelines such 

that buildings developed by other owners within CleanTech 

Park are to attain a minimum Green Mark Gold rating. BCA 

encourages more owners, developers and master planners to 

consider greening their districts and enjoy the environmental 

benefi ts and cost savings of a BCA Green Mark district”, said Dr 

John Keung, CEO, BCA. 

CleanTech Park 

JTC is developing CleanTech Park within a 50-hectare site next 

to Nanyang Technological University (NTU). 

The masterplan for the development was launched in February 

2010. Its aim is to position Singapore as a global test-bed and the 

preferred site for early adoption of clean technology products 

and solutions for urbanised settings in the tropics. 

The development of CleanTech Park at Nanyang Avenue will be 

carried out in three phases over 20 years, Phase 1 commenced in 

July 2010, with the development of the infrastructure within the 

development and has provided approximately 14 ha of business 

park land ready for allocation. CleanTech Park is projected to 

house a working population of 20,000 when it is fully built in 2030. 

The development is located on a large contiguous greenfi eld 

site. It has a natural undulating terrain and matured lush greenery 

with natural streams running through it. The master plan seeks 

to optimise the natural environmental heritage to create a 

conducive eco-environment for the CleanTech Park community. 

CleanTech Park is developed around a central green core which 

serves as a social node for the community of researchers and 

professionals. The emphasis rests on the efforts to maintain a 

long-term sustainable balance between the commercial needs of 

the development and the preservation of the site’s biodiversity. 

CleanTech Park is specially designed with a ‘blue network’ of 

water bodies, including streams, bioswales and ponds. It is made 

possible by retaining the natural undulating topography in the 

development which allows for a substantial catchment area 

for stormwater to be stored for reuse. An estimated 150,000 

litres of stormwater will be stored yearly for sanitary fl ushing 


NEWS 

JTC LED Challenge 

Under the CleanTech Park Living Lab Programme, 

JTC launched the ‘LED Challenge’ inviting companies to 

use the roads in CleanTech Park as a testbed for LED 

street lighting. 

CleanTech One is a multi-tenanted building in CleanTech Park. 

which accounts for 25% of the savings in potable water usage. A 

central Green Core has been planned as the ‘green lung’ of the 

eco-business park. When completed by March 2013, the Green 

Core would allow the CleanTech Park community and visitors 

to enjoy the local fl ora and fauna. The Green Core was the fi rst 

development in Singapore to achieve the BCA-NParks Green 

Mark Platinum Award in the New Parks category in May 2011. 

Another key feature of CleanTech Park is its compact and 

‘walkable’ district pattern with sheltered walkways, which ensures 

easy mobility for the working community in the eco-business 

park. Secure bicycle parking facilities will also be installed to 

encourage eco-friendly modes of transportation. 

JTC has also planned for a district-level energy monitoring and 

automatic control system that benchmarks energy consumption 

rates of buildings in CleanTech Park. The system will monitor 

and optimise energy consumption and performance to maintain 

the eco-business park’s energy effi ciency. 

In addition, JTC also runs the CleanTech Park Living Lab 

Programme which is aimed at engaging external partners and 

the CleanTech Park community to test-bed ‘yet to commercialise’ 

sustainable solutions at the eco-business park. 

BCA’s Green Mark for Districts Award 

BCA’s Green Mark for Districts Award was launched in 2009 to 

promote and recognise environmentally friendly and sustainable 

practices in master planning, design and implementation of 

district developments. It places emphasis on energy- and watereffi 

ciency, management of infrastructure and public amenities, 

environmental planning, and green buildings and green transport. 

Buildings developed by JTC in CleanTech Park 

CleanTech One, a multi-tenanted building developed by JTC in 

CleanTech Park, has an occupancy rate of more than 70%. It 

has anchored world class research institutes like the Nanyang 

Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI) and the 

Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS), and top 

global companies such as DHI, Toray and Yingli Solar. 

The second building in CleanTech Park, that is also being built by 

JTC, has A*STAR’s Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology 

Centre as its anchor tenant. 

In November 2011, JTC invited companies via a 

request for proposal, to install LED street lamps along 

three stretches of roads within the CleanTech Park 

development, namely, CleanTech View, CleanTech 

Heights and CleanTech Loop (totalling 1.3 km in length). 

Each stretch of road has 32 lamp posts. 

Companies were challenged to deliver LED street lamps 

that can perform as well as the current HPS (highpressure 

sodium) lamps in terms of both luminosity and 

uniformity, while providing maximum energy savings. 

Companies were given a six-month test-bedding period 

during which the performance of the LED street lights 

is to be measured and compared with that of HPS 

lamps. Two companies, Fitilite and Philips Electronics 

Singapore rose to the challenge and their LED lights 

are currently installed at CleanTech View and CleanTech 

Heights, respectively. The performance of the LED lights 

is monitored by both JTC and LTA via digital meters 

installed at the respective roads. 

Since these are public roads, other LED technologybased 

companies are free to monitor and observe the 

performance of the incumbent participants. If they are 

able to prove that their LED technology offers more in 

terms of performance, they will be able to participate in 

the next round of test-bedding and stand a chance to 

showcase their technologies. 

Given the keen interest, JTC has set the bar higher 

by setting more challenging requirements for the 

latest edition of the LED Challenge. Named the ‘LED + 

Challenge’, participants are required to have additional 

‘green features’ to challenge the existing HPS street 

lighting performance. Three proposals were received 

following the launch of the request for proposal in 

March 2012 and the challenge was awarded to LG 

UPlus for its constant light output technology. Due 

to the overwhelming response, JTC has launched the 

second challenge, named ‘Intelligent Street Lighting 

Challenge’ where test-bedees are required to propose 

an effi cient street lighting system (LED street lighting 

with intelligent control system and enhanced features 

or other emerging trends in LED street lighting) that 

gives the most energy savings and meets LTA’s minimum 

street lighting performance requirements. 


39

NEWS 

Dyson sets up digital motor manufacturing 

facility in Singapore 

The new automated production line at Dyson’s high technology digital motor manufacturing facility in Singapore will produce 4,000,000 DDMs a year. 

British technology company Dyson has invested S$ 100 million 

in a new high technology digital motor manufacturing facility at 

Pioneer Crescent in Singapore. The new automated production 

line will produce 4,000,000 Dyson digital motors (DDMs) a year. 

The company has been researching and developing motors 

for nearly 15 years. Since 2004, Dyson has been producing its 

own motors in Singapore, working with a local manufacturing 

fi rm. The opening of the new Dyson-owned facility will give 

the company greater control over intellectual property, and 

production processes. Most importantly, it will help Dyson 

meet growing demand for its DDM-powered technology from 

markets including the US, Japan, and China. 

The new facility will create 210 new jobs, drawing on Singapore’s 

pool of highly skilled engineers with the expertise to support 

Dyson’s ambitious growth plans. It is also geographically close to 

the supply chain, whichå is an advantage. 

“Building a complex motor with minute tolerances requires the 

precision of a fully automated production line. There is no room 

for error. Dyson engineers spent a year developing the lines, 

searching the globe for the most effective robotic equipment. 

This has allowed us to double our output”, said Sir James Dyson, 

Founder of Dyson. 

“We warmly welcome Dyson’s decision to locate its high 

technology motor manufacturing facility in Singapore. It 

affi rms Singapore’s value as a strategic base for advanced 

manufacturing in Asia, given our skilled workforce, world-class 

logistics infrastructure and strong IP protection”, said Mr Leo Yip, 

Chairman, Singapore Economic Development Board. 

Automated production 

Fifty robots and 22 components are needed to produce each 

Fifty specially designed robots precisely place 22 components together to create 

each DDM. The result is a motor capable of spinning 100,000 times a minute. 

motor on the highly automated production line. Only 13 

operators are needed to operate the entire line. Each production 

process is isolated, to prevent disruption if a fault occurs. At the 

centre is a clean isolation room in which the high speed motor 

bearings are inserted into the motor, free from contaminants. 

Dyson digital motors 

Since 1999, Dyson has invested over S$ 200 million researching 

and developing DDMs. Supported by a team of 100 motor 

engineers, including specialists in aerospace, mechanics, materials 

and electronics, the DDMs power Dyson’s cordless machines 

and Dyson Airblade hand dryers. 

The DDM V4 has fully integrated electronics, allowing it to spin at 

up to 100,000 revolutions a minute. Advances in the technology 

enabled the creation of the new range of Dyson Airblade hand 

dryers, and it is a core technology that is expected to power 

future Dyson machines. 


NEWS 

Singapore winner of the James Dyson Award 

Fil’o alerts deaf parents when their child needs them. 

Fil’o, a communication aid that alerts deaf parents when their 

child needs them, won the Singapore leg of the James Dyson 

Award 2012. 

When the child cries, wakes up from a nap or simply wants attention, 

a sound detector transmits a signal to a specially programmed watch 

or lamp. For use during the day, the watch vibrates and displays the 

information. At night, a lamp fl ashes to wake the parent. 

Jaren Liow Wei Ting, the designer from National University of 

Singapore, was inspired after spending time with a child born 

of deaf parents. It was diffi cult for the child to get his parent’s 

attention unless he was in their sight. 

Dr Tsai, inventor and national judge for the James Dyson Award 

commented, “This design is borne out of empathy which is a 

great place to start. In Fil’o we see a communication tool to help 

families where the parents are deaf. This is an overlooked need. 

The soft toy, the watch and the lamp show the innovative use of 

different elements to alert and simulate in ways sound cannot”. 


41

NEWS 

Another success for H-class gas turbine 

power plant solution from Siemens 

Siemens has won the order for the supply of a single-shaft power 

island with H-Class technology for the Samsun Cengiz Enerji 

combined-cycle power plant in Turkey. The customer is Cengiz 

Enerji Sanayi ve Ticaret AS, an independent power production 

(IPP) company which will build and also operate the plant. With 

the SGT5-8000H as its core component, the plant will feature 

an installed capacity of approximately 600 MW and an effi ciency 

of almost 61% per cent. This is expected to make Cengiz’s plant 

in Samsun the most effi cient fossil-fi red power plant in Turkey. 

Commissioning is scheduled for the start of 2015. The total 

order volume, which includes a long-term service contract, will 

be almost € 300 million. 

Cengiz Enerji’s Samsun combined-cycle power plant is located 

east of Samsun, the largest city in the Black Sea Region of Turkey. 

It will operate on natural gas. The Siemens scope of supply 

comprises a power island which includes an SGT5-8000H gas 

turbine, an SST5-5000 steam turbine and an SGen5-3000W 

generator. Siemens will also supply a Benson heat recovery 

steam generator, the electrical system, the SPPA-T3000 control 

system, and auxiliary and ancillary systems. 

On top of this, Siemens has signed a long-term service contract 

for the equipment, which will help reduce emissions, and 

ensure reliability and availability of the plant. The power plant 

will be confi gured as a single-shaft plant. Plants of this kind are 

very fl exible and designed for 250 starts per year. They are 

capable of producing full load in as little as 30 minutes after six 

hours shutdown. Furthermore, they react very quickly to grid 

fl uctuations and can adapt their output by more than 35 MW 

within one minute to meet the changing power requirements. 

Siemens has won the order for the supply of a single-shaft power island with H-Class 

technology for the Samsun Cengiz Enerji combined-cycle power plant in Turkey. 

The Turkish power plant market is developing dynamically and is 

subject to stiff competition. It requires fl exible, environmentally 

benign power generation plants. 

High effi ciency combined cycle power plants are part of 

Siemens’ Environmental Portfolio. In fi scal 2012, revenue from 

the portfolio totalled about € 33 billion, making Siemens one 

of the world’s largest suppliers of eco-friendly technologies. 

In the same period, Siemens products and solutions enabled 

customers to reduce their carbon CO 2 

emissions by more than 

330 million tons. 

Built-in wireless sensor to diagnose ‘stressed’ 

machines remotely 

A*STAR’s Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) 

and Singapore’s Hoestar PD Technology Pte Ltd are working to 

deploy wireless piezoelectric sensors that will track vibrations 

and stresses that affect the ‘health’ of machinery such as motors, 

pumps and generators. The technology increases productivity by 

saving time, reducing manual checking and offering precision at 

detecting defects via its automated remote monitoring. 

Local small and medium enterprise (SME) Hoestar has licensed 

IMRE’s piezoelectric sensor technology to automate the 

monitoring of vibration and physical stresses that impact the 

effi ciency and lifetime of machinery. 

The technology gives users real-time updates on the physical 

integrity of the machine and acts as an early warning system 

to alert users about impending machine failures. Data on 

deteriorating equipment ‘health’ allow factories and businesses 

to plan for a timely replacement of crucial components 

before they fail completely, thereby minimising costly delays in 

production. The system also raises productivity by removing the 

laborious task of manually checking the equipment and reducing 

the chances of undetected defects due to human error. 

The technology couples Hoestar’s expertise in diagnosing 

machine health with IMRE’s know-how in piezoelectric and 

sensor research. IMRE customised its piezoelectric technology 

so that the extremely miniature millimetre-sized sensing element 

could be integrated with wireless technology to enable remote 

monitoring. 


The IES Journal Part A: Civil & Structural Engineering 

Vol. 6 is finally available with new cover design! 

Early Bird Promotion: 10–15% Off! 

Volume 6, Number 1, February 2013 ISSN: 1937-3260 

THE IES JOURNAL PART A: 

Civil & Structural Engineering 

Contents 

Technical papers 

Effects of coordinated crowd motion on dynamic responses of composite floors 

in buildings 

Arash Behnia, Hwa Kian Chai, Navid Ranjbar, Nima Behnia, Amir Fateh and Nima Mehrabi 1 

Anti-seismic reliability analysis of continuous rigid-frame bridge based on numerical 

simulations 

Z.H. Li, Y.L. Jin, Y.F. Chen and R. Chen 18 

Analogy of TE waveguide and vibrating plate with sliding edge condition 

and exact solutions 

C.M. Wang, C.Y. Wang and Z.Y. Tay 32 

Geothermal desalination in Singapore 

Lee Siu Zhi Michelle, Andrew Palmer, Grahame Oliver and Hendrik Tjiawi 42 

Buckling and vibration of stepped rectangular plates by element-based differential 

transform method 

S. Rajasekaran 51 

Essay 

Supreme structures: reflections on the IStructE structural awards 

David A. Nethercot 65 

The IES Journal Part A: Civil & Structural Engineering Volume 6, Number 1, February 2013 

Volume 6, Number 1, February 2013 ISSN: 1937-3260 

THE IES JOURNAL PART A 

Civil & Structural Engineering 

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 

C. M. Wang 

National University of Singapore 

Dear Members 

TIEA_06_01-Cover.indd 1 

1/17/13 10:26:37 PM 

Now indexed by SCOPUS and Compendex, the IES Journal is written by world 

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The papers cover a wide range of engineering issues in structural, geotechnical, water 

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Email jeremy@iesnet.org.sg for the order form. 


43

NEWS 

Senoko Energy completes its Stage 2 

repowering project 

Senoko Energy’s Stage 2 repowering project involved the conversion of three oil-fi red 250 MW steam plants into two technologically advanced, gas-fi red CCPs. 

Senoko Energy, recently held a ceremony to mark the completion 

of its Stage 2 repowering project. 

Mr S Iswaran, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Offi ce and 

Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade and Industry, 

was the Guest-of-Honour at the company’s Repowering 

Completion Ceremony. During the event, Mr Iswaran also 

awarded scholarships to ITE students, under the Senoko 

Energy Scholarship programme which has been designed to 

provide structured career development opportunities for fresh 

graduates entering the power industry. 

The Stage 2 repowering project involved the conversion of three 

oil-fi red 250 MW steam plants into two technologically advanced, 

highly effi cient and environment-friendly gas-fi red combined cycle 

plants (CCPs). The repowered plants have a total capacity of 862 

MW and use state-of-the-art Mitsubishi gas turbine technology. 

The S$ 1 billion investment in the project is expected to result 

in an estimated reduction in CO 2 

emissions of up to 1,000,000 

tons per year. 

Mr Brendan Wauters, President & CEO of Senoko Energy 

said, “The Stage 2 Repowering Project again illustrates Senoko 

Energy’s consistent focus on environmental sustainability. The 

completion of the project is a signifi cant further step in the 

conversion from oil- to gas- fi red generation. The new plant 

uses highly-effi cient combined-cycle technology, and as part of 

the repowering concept, a substantial portion of the existing 

equipment was re-cycled, refurbished and re-used”. 

More than 4,000,000 man-hours were needed for this large 

project, over a period of 32 months. This was also a complex 

project with the need to manage, for instance, the interface 

among a large number of contractors, especially for the 

refurbishment activities. And, as with any construction project, 

there were a number of challenges but Senoko Energy was able 

to complete this project on schedule, and on budget. 

Senoko Energy’s enlarged portfolio of gas-fi red generating 

units will continue to use Piped Natural Gas (PNG), and, 

going forward, will also use Liquefi ed Natural Gas (LNG) from 

the LNG terminal on Jurong Island, that is scheduled to be 

completed by the middle of this year. 

“The investment we have made in these new units is in line 

with our vision to continue to position Senoko Energy as the 

leading energy supplier in Singapore. We are very pleased that 

reliable supply from the new units has started on schedule. We 

are also particularly happy that a strong safety record has been 

ensured throughout this complex construction project”, 

Mr Wauters added. 

Senoko Energy Pte Ltd 

Senoko Energy has an installed capacity of 3,300 MW and 

provides more than a quarter of the nation’s electricity needs. It 

is said to be the fi rst power generation company in Singapore 

to import clean natural gas for power generation (in 1992), 

launch a combined cycle plant (in 1996) and be certifi ed to the 

following standards - ISO 9000 (in 1998), OHSAS 18001 (in 

2003) and ISO 14001 (in 2004). 

Senoko Energy is owned by an international consortium 

comprising Marubeni Corporation (30%), GDF SUEZ SA 

(30%), The Kansai Electric Power Co Inc (15%), Kyushu 

Electric Power Co Inc (15%) and Japan Bank for International 

Cooperation (10%). 


NEWS 

Encouraging data centres to go green 

achieve energy savings of more than 1,000,000 kWh annually. 

Congratulating the winner, Dr John Keung, Chief Executive 

Offi cer of BCA, said, “The data centre market is set to 

grow rapidly in the next few years and this represents many 

opportunities for companies to step forward not only to do 

their part for the environment, but also to realise cost savings 

for their business. Aside from cost savings, green data centres 

may also open up market opportunities through increased 

credibility and recognition by clients for their environmentfriendly 

initiatives. Going green is a win-win solution and I hope 

that more data centre owners will be inspired by our inaugural 

award winners and come onboard the scheme”. 

Singapore’s total commercial data centre capacity is forecast 

to rise by 51% to 336,900 m 2 by 2015, from 222,829 m 2 , 

according to a 2010 Broadgroup report. There are currently 

more than 50 data centres in Singapore, of which 20 are 

large data centres. A typical large data centre in Singapore is 

estimated to consume energy equivalent to that consumed by 

10,000 households, and therefore there could be signifi cant 

cost savings with Green Mark certifi cation. 

Dr John Keung, Chief Executive Offi cer of BCA speaks at the event. 

The BCA-IDA Green Mark for New Data Centres scheme 

was offi cially launched at the Green Data Centre Forum 2013, 

held recently at Mapletree Business City. 

Jointly developed by the Building and Construction Authority 

(BCA) and Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), this 

category is a new addition to the BCA-IDA Green Mark 

Scheme fi rst launched in October 2012. 

The fi rst of its kind in Asia, the BCA-IDA Green Mark for 

New Data Centres encourages such facilities to adopt energyeffi 

cient design, technologies and systems in the planning and 

design phase. The scheme relies on energy modelling, to assess 

the performance of a proposed data centre design. Key criteria 

for the assessment include energy effi ciency, water effi ciency, 

sustainable construction and management, indoor environment 

quality and other green features. The data centres are given 

Green Mark Platinum, Gold Plus , Gold or Certifi ed ratings. 

Abbott Laboratories Singapore is the fi rst recipient of the 

BCA-IDA Green Mark Award for New Data Centres. The 

data centre was rated Green Mark Gold for its efforts to 

introduce effi cient design strategies such as the use of modular 

design, the selection of energy-effi cient IT equipment and the 

deployment of virtualisation technology. Abbott’s experience 

serves to underline how data centres can potentially realise 

signifi cant cost savings by targeting energy effi ciency in design. 

When fully operational, Abbott’s data centre is expected to 

Mr Leong Keng Thai, Deputy Chief Executive & Director- 

General (Telecoms & Post) of IDA said, “Data centres can 

improve their cost-competitiveness by reducing overall energy 

use, as the energy bill makes up a signifi cant portion of their 

operating budget. Thus, it makes good business sense for data 

centres to go green and be energy-effi cient. We encourage 

data centres to strive to attain the BCA-IDA Green Mark. 

Those who can achieve the highest rating under this Green 

Mark can potentially reap energy savings of at least 30%”. 

Mr Quek See Tiat, Chairman of BCA presented BCA-IDA 

Green Mark Platinum, Green Mark Gold Plus , and Green Mark 

Gold Awards, for Existing Data Centres, to representatives 

from Credit Suisse Asia Pacifi c Regional Data Centre, Equinix 

SG2 Data Centre, and Singapore Tourism Board Data Centre, 

respectively. These data centres, along with Abbott Laboratories 

Singapore, the inaugural winner in the BCA-IDA Green Mark 

for New Data Centres category, constitute the pioneer batch 

of data centres to be formally recognised under the scheme. 

The BCA-IDA Green Mark for Data Centres is the result of 

a two-year collaborative effort between BCA and IDA, with 

support from partners Energy Research Institute@Nanyang 

Technological University (ERI@N) and Lawrence Berkeley 

National Labs (LBNL) in the US. It is an extension of the 

successful BCA Green Mark for buildings scheme launched 

in 2005. 

The BCA-IDA Green Mark for Existing Data Centres scheme 

was launched in October 2012. The scheme covers both data 

centres that occupy a purpose-built data centre building and 


45

NEWS 

Representatives of the winners of the BCA-IDA Green Mark for Data Centres Awards pose with Mr Leong Keng Thai, Deputy Chief Executive, IDA (on extreme left); 

Dr John Keung, Chief Executive Offi cer, BCA (second from left); and Mr Quek See Tiat, Chairman, BCA (third from right). 

those that are part of a larger building. It assesses data centres 

based on fi ve key criteria - energy effi ciency, water effi ciency, 

sustainable construction & management, indoor environment 

quality, as well as other green features. 

Based on the combined scores obtained in the assessment, 

data centres will be awarded Green Mark Platinum, Gold Plus , 

Gold or Certifi ed status. The scheme is applicable to existing 

data centres that have been built and are operated, adopting 

energy-effi cient design, technologies and practices. 

The BCA-IDA Green Mark for New Data Centres is an 

expansion of the scheme, to cover data centres that are still 

in the planning / design phase. Unlike the existing data centre 

scheme which requires onsite measurements of operating 

performance, the criteria for new data centres rely on a 

simulated approach to assess the performance of proposed 

designs, through the use of energy modelling. 

Green Mark Certified Existing Data Centres 

Credit Suisse Regional Data Centre 

The building is a purpose-built facility for use as a fi nancial 

institution’s regional data centre. The facility was awarded a 

Green Mark Platinum rating under the special building category 

in 2009, as well as a Green Mark Platinum rating in 2010 under 

the offi ce interior category. It has now acquired the Green 

Mark Platinum rating for Existing Data Centres. 

Equinix SG2 Data Centre 

Equinix Inc connects more than 4,000 companies directly 

to their customers and partners inside the world’s most 

networked data centres. Today, businesses leverage the Equinix 

interconnection platform in 31 strategic markets across the 

Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacifi c. 

While data centres are traditionally known for being energyintensive 

facilities, Equinix sought to break the norm with its 

SG2 facility which was designed to operate in an energyeffi 

cient manner. 

For example, Equinix deploys cold aisle containment 

infrastructure to support higher power density installations in 

its sites, with the help of a physical barrier to reduce the mixing 

of cold supply air and hot exhaust air in data centre aisles, 

resulting in lower energy consumption and more effi cient 

cooling. In addition, an automated system of electrically 

commutated fans improves air fl ow and air distribution, while 

reducing noise levels. 

Other green features include the use of motion-activated LED 

lights across the entire SG2 site, as well as the use of NEWater 


NEWS 

for cooling purposes. Equinix is committed to continually 

evaluating new technologies, alternative energy options and 

new designs, to operate its IBX data centres as effi ciently as 

possible while maintaining the reliability its customers expect. 

Following the implementation of these eco-friendly practices, 

Equinix has seen a 10% reduction in the electricity requirement 

for SG2, which translates to a saving of 4,300,000 kWh annually. 

Singapore Tourism Board Data Centre 

The data centre supports the entire IT infrastructure 

across the STB building. It is integral to STB’s network and 

systems infrastructure, supporting IT operations, Intranet 

and applications. The data centre was designed and built 

based on green technologies, with the objective of achieving 

a better Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). Power savings of 

approximately 280,022.4 kW were brought about directly as 

a result of the data centre redesign. The data centre achieved 

a PUE of 1.74 - an improvement of more than 50% from the 

previous value. 

Methods used to reduce power usage in STB’s green data 

centre include: 

• Selection of data centre with high power effi ciency - Data 

Centre TIER II Level with N+1 redundancy and UPS 

effi ciency at 94.5%. 

• Balancing of UPS output loads by distributing the load to 

each equipment rack equally. 

• Installation of motion sensor-activated lights - the lights used 

are T-5 fi xtures. 

Effi cient cooling is achieved in STB’s green data centre as a 

result of: 

• Airfl ow regulation through raised fl oors (underfl oor air 

distribution) and through a hot aisle / cold aisle confi guration. 

• Alignment of cooling units with the hot aisle. 

• Placement of perforated tiles exclusively in cold aisles and 

solid tiles in hot aisles. 

• Installation of blanking panels on unused space in racks to 

seal unnecessary perforation. 

• The use of a higher perforation rate for rack doors. 

• Optimised space utilisation. 

• The employment of a precision cooling system for high 

density equipment racks. 

With these methods, the data centre’s room temperature is 

set at 25º C. 

Green Mark Certified New Data Centre 

Abbott Data Centre 

Abbott is a global company devoted to improving life through 

the development of products and technologies that span the 

breadth of healthcare. With a portfolio of leading, sciencebased 

offerings in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals 

and branded generic pharmaceuticals, Abbott serves people 

in more than 150 countries and employs approximately 

70,000 people. 

The company has been operating in Singapore since 1970 and 

has approximately 900 employees working in manufacturing, 

research & development, training & education, sales and 

marketing. They are located across Abbott’s headquarters 

offi ces, as well as its manufacturing, research & development 

and training facilities in Singapore. 

The company works diligently to reduce its global 

environmental impact, by addressing everything, from the 

sourcing of raw materials to the manufacture and distribution 

of its products, and to the use and disposal of its products, by 

patients, consumers and health care providers. 

Abbott is increasing efforts to integrate green engineering 

technologies and concepts into its regularly scheduled 

projects, as well as new building design. In 2010, the company 

implemented a front-end planning process and assessment 

tool for evaluating the energy and environmental impact of 

capital projects. This front-end planning tool gives project 

managers a checkpoint and processes for ensuring the best 

environmental and energy practices for a project. The tool 

also estimates energy usage and costs over a building’s useful 

life. In addition, the assessment tool provides reports on, and 

presents optimisation alternatives that can improve, a building’s 

carbon footprint. Abbott is committed to using green building 

guidelines when planning or evaluating each construction 

project, whether it is the construction of a new building or the 

renovation of an existing building. 

Green Data Centre Innovation Challenge 

In 2011, IDA issued a Call for Collaboration (CFC) to facilitate 

collaboration between data centre operators and their 

business partners, to develop and deploy holistic and innovative 

solutions. More than just point solutions, these solutions should 

comprise a combination of technologies that will signifi cantly 

improve data centre energy effi ciency such that they can be 

used as showcases. The CFC allowed data centre operators/ 

vendors to choose their own partners, and have ownership 

of their ‘Green DC’ pilot deployment, so as to help them to 

understand and assess the technology and business viability 

of Green Data Centre solutions. This lowers the risk of failure 

of commercial deployment. Furthermore, with co-funding 

from the government on the pilot implementations, data 

centre operators can try out new and innovative Green Data 

Centre solutions. 

The winners of the challenge have conducted pilot deployments 

of Green Data Centre technologies in their own data centres 

or at their partners’ premises. The four winning consortiums 

are led by Equinix Singapore Pte Ltd, Toshiba Asia Pacifi c Pte 

Ltd, ClearManage Pte Ltd, and 1-Net Singapore Pte Ltd. 


47

NEWS 

Graduation of the first cohort from the 

Master’s programme in Facility Management 

The BCA Academy, together with University College London 

(UCL), recently announced the graduation of the fi rst batch 

of students from the UCL Master of Science in Facility and 

Environment Management Programme, taught at the BCA 

Academy in Singapore. 

Dr John Keung, Chief Executive Offi cer of the Building and 

Construction Authority (BCA) commented, “The rising 

trend towards sustainability and energy effi ciency in our built 

environment will create job opportunities and a demand for 

well-trained facility managers to manage the operations and 

maintenance of green buildings equipped with modern facilities 

and green features”. 

The Master of Science in Facility and Environment Management 

Programme was initiated by the BCA Academy in 2010, in 

partnership with UCL, one of the world’s leading universities, to 

deliver UCL’s global postgraduate Master of Science degree in 

Facility and Environment Management, in Singapore. 

Programme leader Prof Alexi Marmot, Head of the UCL Bartlett 

School of Graduate Studies and Bartlett Vice-Dean for Teaching 

and Learning, said, “We have been running this MSc programme 

at UCL in London since 1992, and it was logical for us to 

consider expanding it into Singapore, given that the government 

of Singapore has calculated that it needs to train 6,000 ‘green’ 

specialists in the operation and management of buildings over 

the next 10 years. We look forward to many more students 

graduating out of Singapore in the future”. 

The programme received encouraging support from the built 

environment industry. The inaugural cohort from the facility 

management industry underwent a two-year part-time course 

which commenced in September 2010 and was taught by UCL 

lecturers through face-to-face teaching, small group discussions 

and practical site visits to leading facilities in Singapore. To-date, 

a total of 62 students from three cohorts have embarked on 

the MSc programme, including the 20 graduates from the 

fi rst cohort. 

The Master’s programme has received accreditation from the 

International Facility Management Association (IFMA). This is a 

further affi rmation that the knowledge and expertise acquired 

by the graduands through the programme and their skill sets will 

be highly valued by employers both locally and internationally. 

In addition, the programme was also recently accredited by 

BCA as having fulfi lled the requirements of its Certifi ed Green 

Mark Facility Manager course. 

The graduates will work primarily as facility managers as 

they step into the industry in the face of a growing need to 

incorporate sustainable practices and technologies to enhance 

productivity. Hence, having a ready pool of facility management 

professionals is crucial to supporting the rapid growth in 

construction, in the Asia Pacifi c region.“The BCA-UCL Master 

of Science in Facility and Environment Management programme 

has equipped me with a broader and deeper understanding of 

the knowledge and operational skill set required for the proper 

management of buildings and the environment. In particular, I 

have acquired the right managerial tools to identify problems, 

analyse situations and formulate appropriate strategies to 

meet stakeholder requirements whilst supporting Singapore’s 

sustainability agenda for the built environment”, said Mr Lincoln 

Teo, a Project Director with Times Properties Pte Ltd. 

“This programme offers an excellent upgrading platform for built 

environment professionals seeking to expand their capabilities 

in facility and environmental management. The curriculum is 

rigorous and provides a solid foundation in the various core 

aspects of the subject, with a choice of electives to cater to 

specifi c interests”, he added. Mr Teo graduated with distinction 

from the fi rst cohort and also received the IFMA Gold Prize. 

Another graduate, Mr Loh Long Chiang, an Operations Manager 

from AsiaMalls Management Pte Ltd, said that the programme 

has given him a deeper grasp of what sustainability means in 

the broadest sense. It also helped bring together a group of 

like-minded individuals to tap into each other’s specialties and 

knowledge for work-related questions. 

He strongly recommends the intensive two-year programme to 

those who are able to commit to it, as it combines best practice 

in facility management with a special focus on environmental 

sustainability. 

Since 2009, the BCA Academy has trained more than 1,500 

‘green’ FM practitioners, under academic programmes from 

diploma to postgraduate courses, as well as professional 

development and certifi cation programmes. 

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX 

CSC –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– PAGE 19 

JK LIGHTING –––––––––––––––––––––––––––– PAGE 9 

JTC CORPORATION ––––––– – INSIDE FRONT COVER 

MESSE DUSSELDORF –––––––––––––––––––––– PAGE 29 

NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY ––––– INSIDE BACK COVER 

NYC SYSTEM ENGINEERING ––––––––––––––– PAGE 41 

PHILIPS ELECTRONICS ––––––– OUTSIDE BACK COVER 

PHILIPS ELECTRONICS –––––––––– –––––– – PAGE 4 & 5 

SAA GLOBAL EDUCATION CENTRE ––––––––– PAGE 3 

SIEMENS PTE LTD –––––––––––––––––––––––––– PAGE 7 

TAYLOR & FRANCIS –––––––––––––––––––––– PAGE 37 

WORLD ENGINEERS’ SUMMIT 2013 ––––––––– PAGE 23

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