Category: Green
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The Brilliance of Metal Prints
Top-quality metal prints are made using a sublimation process that creates sleek, vibrant, and long-lasting pieces. A boutique shop like Print Partner, that services professional photographers and artists, infuses dyes directly into a specially-coated, precision-cut aluminum panel. The image is therefore durable, scratch-resistant, water-resistant, resists fading for many years and is easy to take care of. If you want to know how to create aluminum photo prints using easy online tools and selections, Print Partner is happy to answer any questions about the process. The image has great resolution and precise detail, with a luminous, high-definition look. The colors are accurate and true to the original photo. Metal prints have a wide, brilliant color range that stays put. The panel is borderless and frameless providing a clean and modern look that is sure to impress in the home or in commercial settings. You can also choose a gloss white or matte white finish. Matte white reduces reflective qualities, while gloss white enhances them and enriches contrasts. These prints can be made to be several feet wide and larger images can be printed onto multiple sheets to create an attractive photo set. Virtually any image looks great as a metal print. The HD aluminum panel improves all elements of the image: its durability, color appearance, fade-resistance, etc., for any style of image, whether it be full color, black & white, or monochrome. A panoramic landscape and close-up photography both look optimal when printed onto metal. However, because of a metal print’s presentation qualities – borderless, sleek, and modern, and with glossy and reflective options – there are some styles of images that really shine when printed onto this medium. Metal’s specialty is vibrant colors and contrast. So, photos that feature interesting interplay between light and shadow are excellent. Think about when you have taken a photo on your phone or have accessed the editing tools on your computer. Turning up the contrast bar makes images bolder and creates a more dramatic difference between the light and dark. Metal prints do this in a much subtler way that stays true to the accuracy of the image (unlike cranking up your phone’s contrast to the extreme). It’s even more pleasing to the eye than the original photo. What subject matter and types of images look particularly good printed onto metal? Landscapes: a classic choice, especially ones with a broad range of nature’s stunning colors, sunlight, and shadows Sunsets & Sunrises: one of the most popular choices for photo prints in general, the gorgeous spectrum of colors of a unique sunset or sunrise are prime for metal Seasonal features: particularly fall for fantastic leaf colors and those beautiful autumn palates everyone loves Water: the reflective qualities of water look brilliant and striking on a high dimension metal print Black & White or Monochrome: though true and rich color ranges are great for metal, blacks look deeper, and, while contrasting with white, creates a spectacular effect Macro & close-up: the detail contained in these unique shots make for curiously attractive prints The professionals working at a boutique print shop can help you alter your image to meet the best specifications for your metal print. Look for teams comprised of professional photographers and artists to make the most of your metal masterpiece.
READ MOREDetailsWhat’s new in soil stabilization
With increasing urbanization, population growth and the need for reliable infrastructure, it’s not surprising that the need for a diverse set of soil stabilization techniques suitable for a variety of soil and project conditions has seen matching growth. In 2017, the global soil stabilization market reached a massive US $22 Billion, and is expected to reach US $29 billion by 2023. Here we take a look at some of the soil stabilization techniques leading the field in innovation and market growth. Chemical stabilization through the addition of Lime: The addition of lime, lime kiln dust or quicklime is a popular form of soil modification and stabilization for all types of soft soils, especially wet, fine-grained and clay soils. Essentially it reacts with clay molecules, which hardens and dries out the soil with which it is mixed, improving stability and soil compressibility. Lime is the oldest soil stabilization technique still in use today and can be greatly advantageous for particularly muddy construction sites which make accessing the site difficult, and it’s also cheap. It does, however, have several disadvantages too. The production process is very energy intensive, resulting in large CO2 emissions, as high as 1.2 tons of CO2 per ton of lime produced. Achieving homogenous application is tricky, there is risk of environmental toxicity, and application over very soft soil is problematic due to the heavy earth-mixing equipment required for application. Mechanical soil stabilization through the use of Geocell engineering: Although geocells have been around since the 1970’s, the increasing global demand for more environmentally sustainable and cost-effective construction techniques has seen renewed interest in their use. Geocells – a type of geosynthetic – are constructed from strips of a novel polymeric alloy called Neoloy, which are welded together to form a honeycomb-like grid when stretched out on site. They are then filled in with local granular materials that are readily available, such as sandy soils or even recycled asphalt paving (RAP). The main environmental benefits include the ability to utilize local granular materials for infill rather than hauling in high-quality aggregates from quarries, a reduction in the required pavement thickness, improved durability of projects, and the ongoing cost benefit of reduced maintenance requirements. While awareness of this technology remains its biggest challenge, it is gaining a reputation as a good option for projects with poor soil or challenging environmental conditions. One prime example of this was the construction of an all-weather access road for MEG Energy in the Muskeg peat bog, which made use of geocell engineering in Canada. Some of the challenges facing the engineers on site included moving vehicles and materials around on the saturated, acidic soil, as well as subzero winter temperatures, extremely poor drainage and heavy rains which meant much of the site was essentially a swamp – described, in fact, as an ‘engineering nightmare’. An example of the less than ideal working conditions – geocell layer visible in back Because the peat bog soil was too deep and poorly drained for soil replacement, it soon became clear that the use of heavy-duty Neoloy geocells was the only feasible solution. Local geocell experts designed a reinforced road using one to three layers of Neoloy geocells, depending on the saturation level of the area in question. Once in place, the geocells were filled in with sand from locally available borrow pits and then compacted. The geocell layers formed a semi-rigid mattress, or a ‘floating road’ over the swampy soil. The benefits of geocell mechanical soil stabilization include: reducing stress by distributing vertical loads and extending the life of the road – meaning that even heavy rigs and construction equipment could now traverse the peat bog on a regular basis. Compaction grouting for sinkhole remediation: Building much-needed apartment housing is one thing but doing so on an area of land which is essentially one giant sinkhole is another matter altogether! This was the challenge facing contractors trying to put up a new five story complex in King of Prussia in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Understandably, no work on the apartment building could begin until the underlying dolomite subsoil was stabilized. The solution they arrived at was the use of compaction grouting, which involves drilling columns in a grid-like pattern, and then injecting a low-mobility soil-cement grout into the holes at high pressures. This process compacts coarse-grained soils and displaces fine-grained soils, allowing the construction site to withstand higher bearing pressures and reduce settlement – both very important in an area to prone to sinkholes. Under normal conditions, a soil profile increases in strength with depth – but on this site, the dense clays were on the surface, with weaker soils above the bedrock – hence the tendency for sinkholes to form. Drilling down to reach the unstable layer was therefore the best solution in this scenario. To complete the stabilization, the contractor - Compaction Grouting Services, Inc. or CGS - needed to drill 626 separate holes, and pump in 820 cubic yards of grout at an average pressure of 300 psi. And despite a number of challenges, including snow, rain and muddy conditions as well as a small sinkhole which opened up in an area which hadn’t been grouted – they managed to finish a day ahead of schedule. Read Also: Proper Waste Disposal And Recycling: Things To Remember Edmonton Landscape Maintenance Tips
READ MOREDetailsProper Waste Disposal and Recycling: Things to Remember
Proper waste disposal is something everyone must remember these days. Gone are the days of indiscriminately throwing out the trash. Now we need to separate biodegradable waste from non-biodegradable waste. For example, when cleaning the yard after a party, you’ll have to separate the tissues from the plastic cups and the leftover food waste. There are a lot of things that can be found in the garbage, and a lot of them can be harmful to the environment. It is essential that you learn to segregate trash so that it can be appropriately disposed of and avoid being detrimental to nature. With that said, here are some things to remember when disposing of your waste: 1. Make sure to segregate your waste properly: Biodegradable waste like used medical supplies and broken sharp objects like glass are separated from the rest of the trash. Use different colored garbage bags or garbage containers to differentiate the items. This will ensure that contaminated items will be disposed of properly and the sharp objects will be handled properly, so no one gets hurt. 2. You can reduce the biodegradable waste you throw out: If you have a backyard with some soil or garden, dig two holes and bury biodegradable materials there instead of throwing them away, to create compost. It is a simple procedure: you dig a hole, put biodegradable waste into it, and cover the top portion again with earth. You don’t fill up the rest of the hole with dirt if you just threw in a small amount of waste. Instead, cover the trash with just enough soil to block it from smelling, and you do this until the hole is filled up. 3. Some materials, like eggshells or bones, take very long to become compost or don’t degrade at all: You may have to crush them into powder before burying them with the other biodegradable waste. If you don’t want to, you may dispose of your chicken eggshells and bones. 4. Recyclable materials must also be sorted out based on what they're made of for easier disposal: Grouping together aluminum cans separate from plastics will make it easier for the removal services. Also, you may want to find some things that are usable enough to keep, such as glass jars, which make excellent containers if cleaned well. Moreover, if you are looking for a trustworthy rubbish removal company then click here to find the best one. As an option, you may also want to call a yard waste removal service instead of waiting for the weekly public service to pick up the trash, especially if you have been clearing out a lot of things in your home to get ready for a home improvement project. These removal services will ask for some details regarding the junk that they will be picking up, so if, for example, you have a huge amount of garbage you want to get rid of, you’ll probably need to send them a picture and details about the trash. Not only will you be helping the removal service if you follow the tips above, but you can also help contribute to a cleaner environment by reducing your waste. It doesn’t take much to act on the suggestions above either, and you can plan on doing these tips in your own time thanks to junk removal services now being available to contact even on the internet. Read Also: 8 Plumbing Myths Busted 6 Tips For Keeping Your Home Clean (With Pets And Kids)
READ MOREDetailsProblems and Constraints of Small Scale Irrigation
A lack of water is one of the biggest issues facing many plants. As you probably know water is essential for every form of life; without it, you’ll struggle to grow weeds; never mind decent flowers or crops. That’s why you need an irrigation system to get your water to the plants; it simply isn’t possible to water them regularly and effectively enough manually. Create A Small Scale Irrigation System: Of course, you’ll need access to a good supply of water. You’ll also need quality dewatering pumps; one may be enough if you are very small scale but two is often better to give you a backup option. You’ll also need a network of pipes with tiny holes in; allowing the water to soak into the soil below ground level. This will help to prevent evaporation and allow the plants to pick the water up with their roots. Valves and other small pieces of equipment will make it easier for you to control the amount of water each group of plants gets. However, there are several issues when dealing with small-scale irrigation: Cost Of Pumps: To get the water from the source to the crops requires a pump or two. However, this will run on electricity and can cost a considerable amount if you need it running most of the time. A good alternative is to fit a solar panel; or more than one if necessary and use the electricity generated to power your pump. The cost of your irrigation system will be dramatically reduced! Water Wastage: It is also possible that you’ll be wasting large amounts of water when you irrigate. You can’t be sure that every part of your land needs water without checking and this is very time to consume as well as impractical. You can buy sensors to check the moisture content of the soil; these will help you to decide if you need to water or not. You can also buy a timer for your pump system that only switches it on and off at set times of the day. You can choose these for when it is most beneficial for your plants. Water Rights: You may not need to take water from the mains supply if you have a body of water or a steam near you. However, you’ll then have to consider the rights associated with that water. It may have already been claimed by someone else or it may be important for a group of people further downstream. It may even be that you inadvertently pollute the water or someone else has. To save yourself a lot of agro you need to establish the facts regarding any water source before you start using it. This is especially true if you’re thinking of adding a dam or similar to the water. Local Rules: If water is a relatively scarce commodity then there are likely to be constraints on how much you can use and when. This can make it extremely difficult to irrigate your plants; especially if you have no other source of water. It’s important you’re aware of the local rules before you start your farming activities. Read Also: Some Facts You Need To Know About Rainwater Harvesting
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