8 Alternatives that Evaluate Cost, Maintenance and Environmental Impacts

Struggle with Deicing and Anti-Acing Waste Fluids?

EAGLE COUNTY CASE STUDY

While deicing and anti-icing glycol-based products are biodegradable, spent fluid that reaches habitable streams can adversely affect fish and other aquatic life. Disposal processes require large quantities of dissolved oxygen (DO) for microbial decomposition and additives that enhance deicing performance are non-biodegradable and toxic. As a result, airport operators are constantly on the hunt for cost-effective and environmentally sound solutions to dispose of waste deicing and anti-icing products.

Currently, many airports process deicing and anti-icing waste via managed drainage to underground storage and then transfer to local landfills, which still has environmental impacts. Others have successfully dealt with disposing of waste deicing fluid without harmful effects to the local ecosystem, but few have found a financially successful solution.

Our team recently worked with Jviation on a ramp improvement project for the Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE) that serves Vail and Beaver Creek ski resorts. Our task was to identify viable waste disposal alternatives and evaluate cost-of-ownership, considering first costs, operating costs, and major repair/replacement cost for a life expectancy of 20 years.

Read more about the 8 Alternatives for Deicing and Anti-icing Waste Fluids Disposal that Evaluate Cost, Maintenance and Environmental Impacts.

CFD Modeling for Controlled Environment Agriculture

Swanson Rink uses computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis to simulate the effects of plant transpiration in a controlled environment for improved facility design and performance. Understanding plant-air interactions is key to optimizing the distributed climate within indoor plant growth facilities.

Read more about the intricacies of plant transpiration and how Swanson Rink’s unique CFD modeling techniques can help optimize your facility.

Feature in Colorado Construction & Design Magazine

Colorado Construction & Design magazine featured Swanson Rink’s 75th Anniversary and recent leadership transition in the 2024 Spring/Summer issue. The article shared the impact of legacy projects and the firm’s continued dedication to responsibility, quality, and innovation.

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Swanson Rink Welcomes New President Rachel Barrett

After 31 years of dedicated leadership, Gary Orazio, PE, is stepping down as company President of Swanson Rink. He will continue to support the new officer group in his role of Design Principal and Chairman of the Board. Succeeding Gary will be Rachel Barrett, who has been named the new President of Swanson Rink. Ms. Barrett has been with the company for 24 years and previously served as the Vice President of Business Development. Ms. Barrett will work closely with Tim Chiddix, P.E. ATD who will continue in his role as the Executive Vice President of Engineering. Barbara Krucke will maintain her position as Treasurer and Kisa Hanlon has been named the new Corporate Secretary (a position previously held by Ms. Barrett).

Swanson Rink Announces $25,000 Endowed Scholarship

 For 75 years Swanson Rink has focused on providing a positive impact to our employees, our clients, our industry, and our community. This year philanthropic efforts continued with a $25,000 scholarship donation to the CU Boulder College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. This is the fourth endowment fund to CU Boulder from Swanson Rink.  In addition, the engineering firm also donated a special one-time $8,000 scholarship to cover a full semester of tuition for one lucky CU Engineering student.

Based in Denver since 1949, Swanson Rink has grown to become a top consulting firm as ranked by ENR Magazine for both Aviation and Data Center engineering design services. Their commitment to the local community and the future of the industry remains an integral part of the firm’s mission and values. 

 

 

6 Reasons Why Your Data Center May Need a CFD Model

Swanson Rink uses computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis to simulate how air behaves in the built environment. With a particular focus on data centers, and how air behaves both inside the data center and around the exterior of the building. CFD modeling is utilized to simulate airflow conditions that otherwise could not be accurately predicted with conventional engineering means.

Not all data centers will require CFD analysis. In this post we will look at 6 reasons why a CFD model may be valuable for your data center:

  1. Data Center Hot Spots
  2. Failure Scenarios
  3. Air Static Pressure Calculations
  4. Building Effects on Natural Wind Patterns
  5. Tracking the Dispersion of Heat and Humidity
  6. Tracking the Dispersion of Exhaust Fumes

Read more about how CFD modeling can help identify potential problem areas before design. 

Swanson Rink Announces $25,000 Endowed Scholarship

Swanson Rink, a 74-year-old consulting engineering firm based in Denver, Colorado, continues its philanthropic efforts with a $25,000 scholarship donation to the CU Boulder College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

This is the third endowment fund to CU Boulder from Swanson Rink.  “Investing in the engineering talent pipeline is critical to the success of our firm and the engineering industry,” said President, Gary Orazio.

“Having an industry partner who understands the importance of developing future engineers and investing in their success aligns with our college value of educating leaders,” said Dean Keith Molenaar, “When we can remove financial stress from our students, we open pathways for them to achieve their potential. I’m grateful to Swanson Rink for their support of our students – both the ones who are here today, as well as the ones who will matriculate for decades to come.”

 

Based in Denver since 1949, Swanson Rink has grown to become a top consulting firm as ranked by ENR Magazine for both Aviation and Data Center engineering design services.

San Luis Valley Regional Fuel Farm

Swanson Rink completed another successful fueling project, this time for the San Luis Valley Regional Airport. The fueling design for the installation of two new aviation fuel tanks (one for Jet A and one for AVGAS) helped the airport to comply with State codes and current industry standards. The airport’s transformation makes it a crucial tool for the region, giving the airport the resources to meet the standards of a Class 1 Commercial Service Airport, bringing both improved access and the potential for economic growth.

With more than 50 years of airport fueling system expertise, we engineer for JETA, MOGAS, AVGAS and CNG used for ramp vehicles; and our work has included design for tank farms and hydrant distribution systems as well as truck loading.

Click here to read more about the San Luis Valley Regional Fuel Farm.

Thought Leadership Series: Passenger Journey

Improving the Passenger Journey: A Systems Approach

In 2019, Swanson Rink analyzed the Passenger Security Screening Checkpoint at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF) to determine the right number of checkpoint lanes for passenger load. The study revealed interesting possibilities, but then the pandemic hit.

With the onset of the Covid pandemic, touchless processes and social distancing became pressing concerns, so we returned to the original study and expanded our analysis to encompass the entire passenger journey from curbside to boarding. We investigated new technologies and protocols to identify the most effective means of establishing a safe, secure, journey that is not only touchless and seamless but also cost effective for stakeholders and passengers.

The expanded study focused on reducing queues and time-in-system throughout the passenger journey. We captured metrics that included the percent of passengers processed in less than ten minutes, number of passengers in queue, number of passengers that missed their flights, and the number of lanes or pieces of equipment required to process passengers at each stage in the travel journey.

Read more about our findings based on a Systems Approach at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.