In the Building Act 1984 there came into force legislation which would allow private persons to act either as Approved Inspectors or Approved Persons. This had resulted from the Government’s intention to make building control more open to competition and to allow professionals to be involved in certifying not only their own work, but also that of others. The legislation, which was carried further by the coming into force of the Building (Approved Inspector, etc.) Regulations 1985, set down certain of the details which would be required to be satisfied which included, among other things, the matter of insurance. It was principally on that one point that the scheme foundered from l985 until the latter part of last year. B.A. Cox
Grouted post-tensioned concrete as a bridging material is compared with alternative choices for regularly occurring situations. Some examples are presented, and a commentary on comparative performance is included. Grouting of tendons is dealt with in some detail covering the development of current methods, design criteria, details, and inspection methods. The paper draws some tentative conclusions on the future of the material. M.V. Woolley and G.M. Clark
The planning and conduct of a series of tests on five full-scale, multistorey steel frames is reported. Each frame was three storeys in height X two bays wide and was tested under gravity loading in a non-sway mode. Comprehensive measurements were taken at all stages of deformations and struins; these permitted full histories of member deflections, joint rotations, bending moment distribution and column loading to be constructed. Examination of these has enabled several important observations on the influence of realistic forms of beam-to-column connection on overall frame behaviour to be made. Comparisons with predictions of member strength according to BS 5950: Part 1 show signifcant reserves of strength to be present. D.B. Moore, Professor D.A. Nethercot and P.A. Kirby
A companion paper reports on the testing of a series of five two-bay X three-storey plane frames at full scale. Different forms of beam-to-column joint were employed, the principal objective being to study the influence of connection properties on deflections, distribution of internal forces and eventual failure of the frames. D.B. Moore and Professor D.A. Nethercot
External, unbonded tendons have attracted much attention recently, while internal, bonded tendons have come into criticism and are going out of favour. It is important in future projects where external tendons are going to be used that suitable details and techniques are developed to give the desired strength and durability. A lot can be learnt from the way external tendons are used in other parts of the world, where the feature is more common. This paper describes the design of the Bangkok Second Stage Expressway which is currently under construction using the latest techniques developed in the United States and France and is one of the largest ever uses of external tendons for a viaduct project. N.R. Hewson
The question is, what is the legal effect of using the word ‘certify’ as opposed to some other wording such as ‘to the best of my knowledge and belief or ’in my professional opinion’? J.A. Welsh
Serving and protecting the profession In our column for 19 October, Hugh Woodrow, Chief Executive of the Association of Consulting Engineers, drew attention to the services provided by the ACE to chartered engineers, including structurul engineers, in private practice. This was in response to the need which had been expressed in a letter by Ken Burr (l7 August) for ‘a trading organisation representing the chartered structurul engineer in business’. Mr Burr responds as follows: It is interesting that Hugh Woodrow should respond to my recent letters under this heading. I took the opportunity to telephone ACE to discover whether it provides the type of service I feel is needed by me in particular and to members in private practice in general. The answer is a clear NO. The prime reason is that, to join ACE, applicants need to be either Fellows of the Institution or agree to seek election to Fellowship within 5 years. This could start another debate, but I for one cannot see the advantages of seeking Fellowship of the Institution. Also the interests of ACE are too diverse. It invites membership from about 14 Institutions and appears to be expanding this to include non-chartered engineers, yet has a membership of only about 700 firms. Mr Halstead is clearly a member of ACE and seems to think that so are we all. Verulam