N/A
Standard: £10 + VATMembers/Subscribers: Free
Members/Subscribers, log in to access
The Structural Engineer, Volume 77, Issue 3, 1999
Well known and well-used for management purposes, spreadsheets are user friendly and exceedingly poweful. However they are not perhaps being exploited as much as they should be in structural engineering design, where they have tremendous ability to speed up design processes. C.H. Goodchild and J. Lupton
The use of computers in structural engineering started with large mainframes and was restricted to specific tasks that justified the necessary time and expense. Now, relatively cheap, powerful desktop computers are commonplace in engineering and are having a profound influence on our profession. If computers merely assisted engineers in their traditional roles and offered only stand-alone design tools, their influence would be important but not critical. However, modern developments in software and hardware offer almost limitless possibilities, and the potential for change is enormous. Add the implications of training, manpower levels and the potential for restructuring and it starts to become apparent why an understanding of engineering computing is so important and why some commentators see the digital age as having the same significance for our generation as the industrial revolution had for our forebears. P.J. Gardner
This paper discusses the philosophy of computer use in engineering; gives an overview of the use of computers, particularly in structural engineering; and makes recommendations as to how computer use may be developed in structural engineering. It is based on a paper given before a meeting of the Scottish Branch of the Institution in December 1997. Professor I.A. MacLeod, R. Cairns and B. Kumar