The Institution’s 75th Anniversary Conference ‘The art and practice of structural design’ was formally opened at Imperial College, London, on the afternoon of 11 July 1984. The President, Dr. Roy Rowe, CBE, FEng, welcomed participants and stated The aim of the conference is to further the Institution’s purpose of promoting excellence in construction. It is to review the state of the art and practice and to point the way ahead for the future.
Mr I.P. Gillson (M) (Central Electricity Generating Board): I draw the attention of specifying engineers to the need to -study carefully the September 1983 draft ‘Guidance notes’ when dealing with particularly vulnerable structures -consider the relevance of tests on mortar prisms and cubes to the risk of ASR damage -consider the scale effects of concrete samples on the risk of ASR damage -examine evidence from concrete that has been damaged by ASR
This informative paper detailed the work which the writers undertook at Cambridge University. Relating as it does to the general subject of adjustable pallet racking the article was of direct interest to members of the Storage Equipment Manufacturers’ Association (SEMA). Mr. F.R. Neal
The opportunity to use a universally accepted, objective, and comprehensive guide to assessing crack damage in existing buildings is an appealing idea to every engineer involved in this field. It would no doubt be welcomed by the loss adjusters who have to advise insurers on claims, by chartered surveyors who often call in engineers for advice, and by Building Control Officers who have to vet and approve our solutions. Mr. S.V. Thomson
The following is the text of a report prepared by a Working Party of the Education & Examinations Committee, chaired by Mr Peter Campbell (Vice-president) and comprising Mr James Amstrong (F), Prof. Arthur Bolton (F), Prof. Kenneth Kemp (F), Mr David Lazenby (F), Dr. David Nethercot (M), Mr Edward Tufton (M), and Mr Keith White (Vice- President).
Presidential tour On 22 August, the President and Mrs Rowe, accompanied by the Secretary and Mrs Clark, embark on a 3-week tour of South Africa, taking in the principal centres of Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town, and Port Elizabeth. Obituary: Dr Oleg Kerensky
This paper describes the way in which the principles of soil-structure interaction have been applied in the analysis and design of rafts and other surface foundations. Various techniques of modelling the soil and structure are outlined, as is the method of coupling the foundation structure to a layered soil continuum. The general approach to design is also discussed, and summaries are given of eight structural design projects ranging from simple strip footings to complex raft foundations. J.A. Hooper
Structural masonry In April, we sought our readers’ views on what Mr T. J. Dishman described as an anomaly in BS 5628: Part 1: 1978, Code of Practice for the use of masonry (unreinforced). He noted that the design moment of resistance of a vertically spanning wall according to clause 36.4 was higher when using a low strength block manufactured with ‘special control’ than when using a higher strength block manufactured with ‘normal control’. Mr A. N. Beal of Leeds has followed up this point and has now drawn our attention to what he regards as a curious feature of clause 36.8. He writes: I can only point out that Mr Dishman has added another interesting example to the list of ‘anomalies’ in limit state Codes which is getting worryingly long and which seems to stem directly from errors and confusion at the heart of limit state theory. Verulam