Selected project examples that Dr. Michel S. Chalhoub, founder of IS-CEM, designed and implemented while serving with various firms.
For Splash Mountain, Magic Kingdom, Disney World, designed the steel structure and rail for the boat ride with the finale water chute, that supported the exterior rocky mountain finish, and performed an intricate dynamic analysis to sustain vibration and fatigue.
For this project which involved severe weather conditions, designed docking cells for steel modules accounting for material properties, loads, and soil subjected to freezing and thawing, under construction loads, and ice loads, performed with strict environmental considerations.
For Disney World's Tower of Terror, designed and analyzed the free fall drop of the elevator to provide the thrill level while meeting strict safety requirements. Performed a dynamic analysis of the 190ft tall tower to simulate effects of shock, vibration, and fatigue.
For Typhoon Lagoon, Disney World, designed a twelve-cell gravity wave maker with their steel gates for water control, analyzed the wave-maker water release lip and pool bathymetry to generate and propagate surfable waves.
At Launch Complex 40 for Space Exploration at Cape Canaveral, Florida, designed the umbilical steel tower with innovative mobile platforms as a structural electro-mechanical system to stage shuttles prior to launch. Performed dynamic analysis and optimization to meet performance accuracy.
For the Hyperion Treatment Plant 1990s expansion and modernization program, serving Los Angeles County, designed giant concrete tank digestors, process piping, and flare headers, with dynamic analysis to ensure safety. Today, anaerobic digestion is practiced worldwide.
For the Large Blast Thermal Simulator (LBTS), designed concrete shell and arched pressure-release steel louvers and performed a dynamic finite element analysis to simulate the tunnel's full-scale test of vehicles subjected to blast.
For Titan IV Solid Rocket Motor Upgrade (SRMU) Program test facilities built at Edwards Airforce Base, California, designed the steel tower test stand, its concrete flame deflector, platforms, and load measurement system supports, used to measure the SRMU thrust force.
Planned and managed a preservation program for Nahr Ibrahim River, Lebanon, to mitigate the effects of industrial and manufacturing facilities on riverbed ecosystem and riverbank biodiversity. Developed policy recommendations and environmental impact assessments as a pilot project for other rivers in the country.
Working with T.E.R.R.E. Liban, developed a national water strategy to be adopted by the Ministry of Energy and Water, with mechanisms to implement public-private partnerships for a sustainable and integrated national water strategy, including the adoption of renewable energy.
Performed a study for Strawberry Canyon in Berkeley, to mitigate threats from rapid housing development, independence from local fresh water supply, fertilizers runoff, and algal bloom. The project introduced water quality biomonitoring.
