The Waterview Tunnel forms part of Auckland’s Western Ring Route and incorporates New Zealand’s

Jan 23, 2018  -  Automakers will have another shipping option from the United States to New Zealand and Australia when Hoeegh Autoliners begins offering a monthly direct service from the Port of Baltimore in March.  The impetus for the new route is a new contract with a ‘Detroit three’ automaker (General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Fiat Chrysler), Shane Warren, head of the Americas region, told Automotive News.

Jan 23, 2018  -  A $45 million new food spray dryer is being planned for Food Waikato at Waikato Innovation Park, to cope with an increase in demand from the sheep milk industry.  The existing open access development spray dryer, which came online just five years ago, is already at capacity, says Waikato Innovation Park CEO Stuart Gordon.

Jan 22, 2018  - Innovative New Zealand ISP Wireless Nation is launching an asset locating tracker whichcould save thousands of dollars for many businesses and individuals.  The Fox Tracker is a small device which connects to the global Sigfox network being rolled out throughout New Zealand.  The network is specifically designed to enable Internet of Things devices because it draws far less energy from connected devices than traditional networks.

19 January, 2018 - A newly-signed contract discloses key details of Russia’s design goals for the country’s first high-bypass gas turbine engine in the 75,000lb-thrust power class launched on 19 January to support the CRIAC CR929 widebody, Ilyuishin Il-96-400 and several military projects.

The $1.13 billion (₽64.3 billion) contract awarded by the Russian government on 19 January calls on United Engine Corporation-Aviadvigital to develop a demonstrator engine named the PD-35-1 by 2023 featuring several state-of-the-art technologies, including wide-chord composite fan blades and composite fan case, ceramic matrix composites and advanced cooling systems.

The PD-35-1 also will be designed with a compressor pressure ratio measuring 23:1, the contract documents posted on the Russian government’s procurement agency says. That falls a step below the 27:1 ratio planned for the high-pressure compressor section of the GE Aviation GE9X engine now in development testing for the Boeing 777X.

But the documents still reveal a plan for Russian industry to make dramatic progress over the next decade. Building on the advanced metallics now in testing in the 28,000lb-thrust PD-14 turbofan, the PD-35-1 will drive Russia to introduce composite materials pioneered by GE over the last 15 years. The Aviadvigital PD-14 is Russia’s homegrown alternative to the Pratt & Whitney PW1400G on the Irkut MC-21 narrowbody.

In a statement posted on his Facebook page, Russia’s deputy prime minister for defence and space industries Dmitry Rogozin notes that the Soviet Union never produced a turbofan engine over 70,000lb-thrust and the PD-35-1 will become the first in the region’s history.

“We really need it,” he says.

Russia and China have teamed up to develop the CR929 under the CRIAC joint venture beween Comac and United Aircraft Corporiation. CRIAC is expected to select an engine made by GE or R-R to introduce the CR929 into commercial service by the end of the next decade. Separately, China and Russia each plan to develop indigenously-sourced alternatives to the Western powerplants for the CR929. The PD-35-1 also would be used to power several Russian air force development projects, including the Il-476 airlifter, Il-478 tanker and a long-term effort to replace the Antonov An-124.

Mimicking the structural configuration of the Boeing 787’s GEnx-1B engines, the PD-35-1 engine will be designed with widechord composite fan blades and a composite, the contract documents show. The documents don’t specify if Russian industry plans to use a similar process as GE’s 3D woven composite materials.

The turbine of the PD-35-1 will be exposed to temperatures as high as 1,450°C (2,640°F), exceeding the melting point of most advanced metal alloys. To help the turbine survive, the contract documents say Aviadvigital must integrate exotic new materials and advanced cooling systems. Two types of ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) – silicon carbide-silicon carbide (SiC-SiC) and carbon-silicon carbide (C-SiC) will be used in the PD-35-1 demonstrator engine, the contract documents say. GE pioneered the use of CMCs in the Leap-1 series of engines that it produces with Safran under the CFM International joint venture.

SOURCE: Flight Dashboard BY: Stephen Trimble Washington DC   ||  January 19, 2018   |||

Jan 17, 2018  -  International shipping firm A.P. Moller-Maersk is partnering with IBM to build a blockchain-based platform that seeks to make global trade more efficient.

Jan 15, 2018  -  The Consumer Technology Association has identified the 13 most innovation countries.  The Association is an American standards and trade organisation that represents the $351 billion U.S. consumer technology industry.

Jan 15, 2018  -  The Eugene-based distributor of an imported electric motorcycle is counting on the street-legal version of the vehicle to boost sales in 2018.  Ubco Bikes US LLC is the exclusive United States distributor of an all-­electric motorcycle from New Zealand-­based Ubco Ltd. The Eugene company was started by Bob and Ethan Ralston, father and son, respectively, who formerly owned Feeney Wireless in Eugene.  Since last summer, the Ralstons’ new firm has been distributing off-road Ubco motorbikes to dealers in Oregon, California and six other states.

Jan 15, 2018 - When trying to come up with a new idea, untangle an existing one or solve a problem we all have times when we get stuck. But according to research by behavioral and learning scientist Marily Oppezzo, getting up and going for a walk might be all it takes to get your creative juices flowing. In this fun, fast talk, she explains how walking is not just for your physical well-being but a mental resource. 

Jan 10, 2018  -  DS Smith’s UK packaging division has partnered with The Amazing Chocolate Workshop once again to develop and test new e-commerce packaging.  The mission of the Amazing Chocolate Workshop is to ‘take the boundaries of chocolate to a whole new level’ – creating a world of mesmerising, mind-boggling and quirky chocolate creations. Its chocolate products are hand-made to look exactly like everyday objects such as tools, cameras, kitchen utensils and other paraphernalia.