Engineering and Storm Mitigation (Edited)

Engineering

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, we faced numerous engineering challenges in rebuilding this playground. We want to minimize the amount of damage from future storm surges. The challenges we face include

•      Minimizing the effect of beach erosion from long shore drift and storm surges

•      Protecting boardwalk and playground structures from future storm damage and flooding

•      Providing a barrier between the playground and beach while still making the beach accessible

•      Providing foundations for our proposed sea wall on soil with low bearing capacity

•      Providing structures which exceeds the recommended two foot freeboard (clearance) above the proposed Advisory Base Flood Elevation (ABFE) maps for New York along Rockaway Beach

•      Providing engineering solutions to meet all of the playgrounds’ redesigned aesthetic and functional requirements.

After much thought and research the following engineering solutions were developed. Consideration was given to the relative cost, ease of construction, effectiveness, reduced maintenance cost and environmental impacts. These engineering solutions were developed to adequately satisfy the above mentioned challenges.

•      The construction of groynes provides coastal protection and minimizes the effect of beach erosion and long shore drift on the coastline

•      The construction of a seawall along the length of Sand Piper playground provides added protection of on-shore structures and prevents them from being eroded ,flooded or destroyed by the forces of wave action

•      Cost saving design using concrete and high density foam as the main components of the seawall

•      Innovative design of the seawalls façade allows access to the beach, a seating area for views of the sunset, and a supporting structure for the boardwalk

•      End bearing piles support new structures on soils of weak bearing capacity

•      Increasing the height of our park to coincide with the proposed Advisory Base Flood Elevation (ABFE) maps for New York along Rockaway Beach

•      The use of solar powered lighting fixtures to provide light for safety and for after-hours access to park facilities

•      The design of ramps to allow for access and use of our park to the physically challenged and disabled

•      The design of plumbing needs to satisfy park features and comfort stations

•      The use of innovative wave energy converters such as the “ANACONDA” for the harnessing of wave energy for power generation.

SEAWALLS

Seawalls are designed to protect the shore from being eroded or flooded. It also protects recreational activities like parks from being destroyed by the force of the waves. Seawalls reflect the energy of the wave back to the ocean. Three types of seawalls include a curve, mound, and vertical sea wall. They can be made up of concrete, steel or rubble.

GROYNES

Groynes are used for coastal protection.  Also they are structures that absorb energy from the sea on the shore, which helps reduce the impact of the energy of the coast. Unlike seawalls, groynes are usually built at right angles to prevent sand erosion. The types of groynes include concrete, wooden, steel, and rubble mound.

Plumbing design for water feature:

To satisfy the requirements of sand pipers water feature potable water from the city’s water supply will be used to ensure health and safety, system includes:

•      Backflow preventer to prevent reverse flow to city supply

•      Pumps to maintain required flow pressure

•      Valve box and activators to regulate flow and sequence of water feature

•      Piping to individual flush mount and above grade sprays and showers

•      Drains and drain pipes to convey grey water to sediment traps before being released into city waste water

 

 

Storm Mitigation

While designing our project, we elevated our playground 4.5 feet above sea level, and made our comfort stations an additional 4.5 feet above the playground level. This in turn, will help minimize the damage of storm surges. We have added two further preventative measures to prevent the effect of future storm surges from destroying our playground. A concrete and high density foam seawall will be constructed along the beachfront of the playground. Groynes will be placed at right angles to the movement of the waves extending toward the shoreline of Far Rockaway beach. We have also added “anaconda” wave generators to harvest Eco friendly energy from the waves. The anaconda wave generator works by having a wave sent through its 200 meter long tubing along with the kinetic energy that comes along with it. This device will be floating just under the surface of the sea to get as much energy possible from each wave. With this technology a single anaconda wave generator can create up to 1Mega Watt of energy, which would be enough energy to power up to 1000 homes, or in our case our playground.

Autodesk Revit BIM program

        Throughout our project, Team 8 was searching for a model that conveyed our designs for the Sandpiper playground. The BIM modeling program, Autodesk Revit, helped us create our project. BIM or building information modeling is used by Architects and engineers to design, model, and construct their projects in the field today. BIM allows users to produce 3D models and generate floor plans to fully illustrate the components of a structure. The user can construct walls, floors, roofs, windows, doors, electrical wiring, mechanical ductwork, plumbing and other objects on a 3D platform.  BIM allows for an innovative display of new ideas in the fast-growing technological society we live in today. “While using BIM, I found that it is an innovative software which provides a more in-depth understanding of the designed structure” (Tynasia Hammond, Team 8 mentee).

Autodesk Revit BIM program

Throughout our project, Team 8 was searching for a model that conveyed our designs for Sandpiper playground. The BIM modeling program, Autodesk Revit, helped us create our project. This program stands for Building Information Model. BIM is used by Architects and engineers to design and model there projects in the field today. BIM allows users to produce 3D models and generate floor plans to fully illustrate the components of a structure. The user can construct walls, floors, roofs, windows, doors, electrical wiring, mechanical ductwork, plumbing and other objects on a 3D platform.  BIM allows for an innovative display of new ideas in the fast-growing technological society we live in today. “While using BIM, I found that it is innovative software which is similar to a blueprint, but provides a more in-depth understanding of the designed structure” (Tynasia Hammond, Team 8 mentee).

storm mitigation text for boards

Storm Mitigation

While designing our project, we elevated our playground 4.6 feet above the  9 ft elevation grade above sea level of the platform, and made our comfort  stations an additional 4 feet above the 4.6 ft. elevation. This in turn, will help prevent storm surge which occurs when high winds cause the ocean water to pile up higher than the regular sea level during a storm.  We have added two preventative measures to prevent storms from destroying our playground again, a seawall which is 4 feet 6 inches and groynes which would be placed in the waters near the shoreline of our beach. The groynes will be evenly placed along the length of our playground and what they do is slow down the waves so that when they hit our seawall, which is also placed along the length of the playground, it wont damage it as much. We have also added anaconda wave generators along with with our groynes to harvest the waves natural Eco friendly energy. The anaconda wave generator works by having a wave sent through its 200 meter long tubing along with the kinetic energy that comes along with it. This device will be floating just under the surface of the sea to get as much energy possible from each wave. With this technology a single anaconda wave generator can create up to 1Mega Watt of energy, which would be enough energy to power up to 1000 homes, or in our case our playground.

engineering text for boards

Engineering

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, we are faced with numerous engineering challenges in rebuilding this playground. We want to minimize the amount of damage from future storm surges. The challenges we face include

•minimizing the effect of beach erosion from long shore drift and storm surges;

•protecting boardwalk and playground structures from future storm damage and flooding;

•providing a barrier between the playground and beach while still making the beach accessible;

•providing foundations for our proposed sea wall on soil with low bearing capacity;

•providing structures which exceeds the recommended two foot freeboard (clearance) above the proposed Advisory Base Flood Elevation (ABFE) maps for New York along Rockaway Beach, and

•providing engineering solutions to meet all of the playgrounds’ redesigned aesthetic and functional requirements.

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After much thought and research the following engineering solutions where developed.  Consideration was given to the relative cost, ease of construction, effectiveness, reduced maintenance cost and environmental impacts. These engineering solutions were developed to adequately satisfy the above mentioned challenges.

•The construction of groynes to provide coastal protection and minimize the effect of beach erosion and long shore drift on the coastline

•The construction of a seawall along the length of Sand Piper playground provides added protection of on-shore structures and prevents them from being eroded ,flooded or destroyed by the forces of wave action

•Innovative design of the seawalls façade allows access to the beach, a seating area for views of the sunset, and a supporting structure for the boardwalk

•End bearing piles support new structures on soils of weak bearing capacity

•Increasing the height of our park to coincide with FEMA new flood level directives.

the use of solar powered lighting fixtures to provide  light for safety and after hours access to park facilities

the design of ramps to allow for access and use of our park to the physically challenged and disabled

The design of plumbing needs to satisfy park features, comfort stations etc..

The use of innovative wave energy converters such as the “ANACODA” for the harnessing of wave energy for power generation.

SEAWALLS

Seawalls are designed to protect the shore from being eroded or flooded. It also protects recreational activities like parks from being destroyed by the force of the waves. Seawalls reflect the energy of the wave back to the ocean. Three types of seawalls include a curve, mound, and vertical sea wall. They can be made up of concrete, steel or rubble. Overall, sea walls have disadvantages and disadvantages.

Vertical sea walls absorb wave energy which aids in helping the coast to not be destroyed. Unfortunately, vertical sea walls get destroyed at a faster rate than other types of sea walls, and will cost a lot of money to repair.

Curved sea walls are designed so that the waves would not reach the top of the wall. The curved design of the sea wall protects the base of the wall. The disadvantage of a curved sea wall is that the material beneath the wall becomes eroded when the energy of the sea wall is reflected back into the ocean.

Mound sea walls are often used when tidal waves are not so strong. They can be made up of sandbags, stones or porous rocks

Plumbing design for water feature:

To satisfy the requirements of sand pipers water feature potable water from the cities water supply will be used to ensure health and safety, system includes:

•Backflow preventer to prevent reverse flow to city supply

•Pumps to maintain required flow pressure

•Valve box and activators  to regulate flow and sequence of water feature

•Piping to individual flush mount and  above grade sprays and showers

•Drains and drain pipes to convey grey water to sediment traps before being                                 released into city waste water

Revit progress

Amada'sTEXT

Our playground allows for the full integration of all children participating in play activities, regardless of their impairment.  It allows for the handicapped children to operate the ship’s wheel at the lower level. There are three bays of swings, which have seats in the shape of flowers. One bay of swings is exclusively for handicapped accessibility, allowing for a handicapped child to roll their wheelchair directly on to a movable platform, which swings back and forth.  We also feature a spray shower, which is flush mounted to allow mobility impaired children to use this amenity. 

We have adequate seating throughout the playground. There are twenty wooden benches along the perimeter of the playground.  Additionally, we have a hammock area where we have eight hammocks that are arranged in the shape of a life preserver. This hammock area allows for parents, elderly and nursing mothers to be able to recline in a more comfortable position.  There is a trellis feature that is shaped like palm trees, and is covered with vines to provide shade from the sun in the summer.

Another interactive feature of the playground is an eight- tentacled octopus, which is mounted above the ship.  Two of the octopus’ tentacles provide accessibility to the ship via a stair and a handicapped accessible ramp.  The other two tentacles are designed as playground slides; a 3 foot high slide for pre- school children, and a 5 foot triple wave slide for older children.  The other four tentacles wrap around the ship to give the illusion of the ship being broken in half by the octopus.

The pirate ship feature will be the main attraction of the playground.  The two halves of the ship will be joined together by a rope ladder which is open to the children and allows for them to explore both sides of the ship.  The ship features two slides at the end of the ship, which slide down to the playground deck. There is a ship’s wheel, which is on the lower level and is handicapped accessible.  The ship also features telescopes for viewing, and there three teacup rides that allow for handicapped access as well.

There is five foot high perimeter fencing that has a seaweed design integrated into the fence itself.

Access to the playground is granted through five entrances, three of which are wheelchair accessible, and allow for access to the playground from the boardwalk.  

A “bounce pad” was incorporated into our team’s design, specifically for children ages 3 to years. This bounce pad is shaped like a birds’ best, and the walls’ of the bird’s nest serve as a protective feature to keep the children from harm. The bounce pad allows for the child’s motion to trigger a gentle bouncing motion as they jump up and down on a specialized elastic surface.

Finally, the playground site will be elevated 4’6” above the beach level.