A Study of Base Fixity Effects on Portal Frame Behaviour

Fabric laps Mr J. K. Botterill of Chessington has some queries about the lapping requirements for fabric in the concrete Codes, which he sees as giving quite inadequate guidance. Would any of our readers feel emboldened to offer their own opinions as to what should be done, and whether what Mr Botterill suggests can be justified? Verulam

Bernard Wex was one of those who came into engineering after serving in the armed forces during World War II. He wanted to become a pilot, but a minor eye defect precluded him from acceptance by the RAF and he joined the army in 1942. After Sandhurst he was commissioned in 1943 and spent the next 4 years as a tank commander with the 23rd Hussars. M.F. Parsons

The elastic behaviour of simply supported beams subject to mixed gravity loading is considered. This loading comprises a full uniformly distributed load acting in conjunction with various patterns of equally spaced concentrated loads. The results of the investigation are presented in the form of a design chart and general equation. These demonstrate the interaction between the distributed and concentrated loads, and may be used in practice to determine the critical values of the individual loads at which buckling will occur. Professor B.K. Dougherty