When I was a teenager, I had a real passion for aerospace topics, that still today remains and when I had to decide what I would do for living, I was clear that I wanted to go to the Polithecnic University far from my home city to learn Electronics Engineering. It was also clear for me that I would as soon as possible apply for a job candidacy at some NASA site in USA.
Sure enough I graduated in Electronic Engineering and a couple of years after this, I sent a letter of self-candidacy to the “Jet Propulsion Lab” of NASA in California.
I still probably keep somewhere on my old cardboard files the long and wonderful letter of response from NASA in which they very correctly ruled out my candidacy and gave me certain professional orientations to try to fulfill my dream.
I’m sure it was a wise decision on their part as I was just an average and moderately talented engineer and space rocket engines technology is well known as one of the most difficult fields of science application.
Drive a heavy load into an Earth orbit by means of a jet engine where the injection of a propellant mixture based on a high-pressure liquid fuel and a high-pressure liquid oxidant initially maintained at cryogenic temperatures to keep it liquid and optimize their density and then turbo pumped to end up on a combustion chamber where they are mixed in a sophisticated way to achieve an efficient combustion with very high temperature, that all the components must withstand without shrinking, sounds very difficult. If you disagree look below at the simplified block schemes of such full of pipes rocket engine.
I ended up working on quite easier and funny fields during all my professional live, but I also learnt to do not minimize the challenges behind any activity you make and to understand that there is a lot of science, physics and experience in the simpler activity you may work on. The better knowledge and experience you have about this science behind, the best will be the quality of your job.
This long preliminary is to explain that in our safety surfacing business we have also some technical challenges that the installers should master to get the best results.
As I often say, in your job sites you are managing a chemical plant outdoors without too much control on the environment and you are mixing several chemicals that interact among them and with the environment to achieve a good flooring performance if all goes well.
These are some of the main things you have to do:
- Check the weather forecast on the days of your planned installation.
- Check the status of sub-base, drain and edging before starting installation. Is it compacted enough? is there new asphalt or concrete? Is already dry enough? Is drainage correctly made?
- Keep the materials protected from moisture or extreme temperatures on your warehouse or on site before or during your installation.
- Select the most appropriate PU binder, curing behaviour and viscosity for the expected weather conditions (temperature and humidity).
- Prime the edges, play equipment or furniture foot and concrete or asphalt sub-bases to ensure the best gluing of the flooring.
- Careful measure the binder proportions recommended by the manufacturers.
- Keep the mixing times recommended and visually check the mixing was appropriate.
- Ensure the thickness of the different layers is according to the specifications by using screed rails or other equivalent tools or methods.
- When finished, ensure to protect the access to the area to persons or animals before curing is fully achieved and keep the recommended curing time before opening the area.
By the way, getting back to the top of this article, I understood after a few years that my dream to get a Space Technology job proposal was wishful thinking and I would never be in a team to lift off a space rocket and place a payload to orbit, but I was able to work in the USA on the Playground and safety flooring business. I enjoyed a lot both USA (miss you Texas) and all the lessons learnt and technical challenges I had to face.
Anyway, to be honest, I’m still following all Space Technology News and SpaceX innovations and looking at a Live Youtube Channel from Boca Chica (Texas) as a freaky. I may call Elon Musk one day.
Take care
Rubberman Blog 