Under the Chairmanship of the President the meeting was opened by Mr. D.R.R, Dick (Hon. Secretary) and Mr. R.L. Creasy (Vice-president). This discussion took place against the background of the note that appeared in The Structural Engineer in January 1969 on p. 13.
These reports of the performance of candidates in the Graduateship Parts 1 and 2 and the Associate-Membership (Part 3) examinations of January 1969 have been prepared from the examiners’ notes. It is hoped that those who attempted the examination and failed and those who are preparing for future examinations will find them of help, and that members and others responsibleforteaching in preparation for the Institution’s examinations will use them as guidance.
Mr. Andrew Short (Building Research Station): 'This is a particularly useful and distinguished paper not only because it is based on Dr. Bate's long and important experience at the Building Research Station and outside, but also because it includes the corporate experience and knowledge of two generations of structural engineers, mostly members of the Institution, men like Glanville, Thomas and many others who, over the past 50 years, have inscribed important chapters in the history of structural engineering research.'
The paper presents a new approach to the analysis of skew structures, based on the finite element method using a rectangle-triangle configuration. An automatic computer program based on the method is described. Comparison with existing experimental and theoretical results verify the accuracy of the new method, Problems of Poisson's ratio effect and orthotropy of skew slabs are investigated in some detail. Professor F. Sawko and R.J. Cope
Zero stiffness tests to determine natural frequencies are explained. These require no complicated mathematics but only the use of arithmetic in familiar moment distribution or type solution calculations. Good approximate methods are also described. Professor A. Bolton