Computer Aided Design of RC Beams: an Interval Technique

This paper is concerned with experimental investigations carried out to study the ultimate load behaviour of I-beam to box-column connections stiffened externally. Eight specimens were tested to failure under monotonically increasing load. Different types of stiffener (i.e. external T-stiffeners and angle stiffeners and internal continuity plate stiffeeners) were considered in the studies. The connections in all cases were made by butt welding. Ultimate loadcarrying capacity and load-defection characteristics of these specimens obtained experimentally are compared with the corresponding results obtained by using a non-linear finite element model. Comparisons are also made between the results for different types of stiffener. Different modes of failure for these specimens were observed. T-stiffeners are found to be the most efficient form. N.E. Shanmugam, L.C. Ting and Professor S.L. Lee

Dr Michael Fam Few engineers have contributed as significantly to Singapore as Dr Michael Fam, Executive Chairman of Fraser & Neave Group, Chairman of Nanyang Technological University Council, and a Member of the Council of Presidential Advisors of the Republic of Singapore. In the last 30 years, he has unhesitatingly responded to the call of public duty, performing the tasks before him with distinction. The Government of Singapore awarded him the Public Service Star in 1974, the Meritorious Service Medal in 1976, the Distinguished Service Order in 1983, and the Order of Nila Utama (First Class) in 1990. The National University of Singapore conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws in 1986; the University of Western Australia conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Engineering in 1988. Dr Arumugam Vijiaratnam Dr Vijiaratnam has had a long and distinguished career as an engineer and served in various capacities in the Public Works Department and the Port of Singapore Authority from 1954 to 1980. Since 1981 he has been Executive Chairman of SPECS Consultants Pte Ltd (a fully-owned subsidiary of the Port of Singapore Authority). Dr Tan Swan Beng Dr Tan Swan Beng is currently the Director-General of Public Works, Singapore, Chairman of the Construction Industry Development Board, and President of the Professional Engineers Board.

Singapore, an island city with a land area of only 640 km2 and with a present population approaching 3M, achieved independence only in 1965. The need to ensure sustainable development resulted in a nationwide programme for industrialisation. However, the lack of natural resources and the shortage of cheap labour, which became critical in the 1980s, inevitably culminated in the country’s approach towards high-tech, high value-added industries. E.P. Tan