All the articles from the October 2017 issue.
Publish Date – 2 October 2017
Three-dimensional (3D) printing is celebrated as part of the next Industrial Revolution, in which automation and artificial intelligence will transform the construction industry. It is at the forefront of building innovation and has the potential to have a revolutionary effect on how structures are built.
We are not the first industry to seek the benefits of robotically controlled, free-form manufacture: the medical, automotive and aeronautical industries are just some areas where 3D printed parts are now offered as standard products or component parts.
3D printing has proved particularly successful where rapidly produced, low-cost, unique products are needed. A recent surge in mass customisation has enabled industry to produce custom-made shoes printed to the form of one’s foot or to tailor a life-changing prosthesis adapted to one’s individual shape and size.
In this article, Victoria Richardson, winner of the Institution’s Pai Lin Li Travel Award 2016, discusses her research to explore how structural engineering and the construction industry can benefit from 3D printing.
The George Green Library at the University of Nottingham has been transformed from an underused 1960s building into a new, modern facility with high sustainability credentials, designed to achieve a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’. The redevelopment project consisted of two main parts: a complete refurbishment and overhaul of the existing library building (with low ceiling heights); and a new curved extension to increase the total useable space. A new facade ‘wraps’ around the existing building and extension, creating a unifying aesthetic. The works have doubled the number of individual and group learning spaces and the library is combined with a new ‘social hub’ catering area. The existing building has been transformed through major structural interventions and signifi cant repair works to address defects that were only uncovered as the refurbishment progressed. The library remained in use throughout the construction works.
John Underwood of the Health and Safety Executive introduces readers to the regulatory framework in the UK with regard to temporary works.
Rob Paul provides an introduction to the three main types of risk that engineering practices face and considers the steps they can take to minimise or mitigate these.
This note introduces structural engineers to the interfaces between a primary structure that is principally formed from steelwork, and a masonry cladding system.
Young structural engineers want variety, flexibility, recognition and challenge in their early careers. But above all they are eager to become chartered, as Jackie Whitelaw found out when she spoke to three members of the Institution’s Young Members’ Panel.
Peter Sparkes provides some background to the recent article on the strengthening of the Hammersmith Flyover, describing the investigations that triggered the strengthening programme.
This month's letters consider the role of professional oversight, the risks of fracking, potential changes to Building Regulations and product testing in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire, and also provide further details on the Comet aircraft failures of the 1950s.
Upcoming events at HQ and around the Regional Groups.
For members needing to get up to speed with the Eurocodes, the Library offers significant help by making a range of reading material available in the form of books, technical reports and journal articles – as well as the codes themselves. The Library aims to hold printed versions of all parts of the Eurocodes, as well as the UK National Annexes – it would be unrealistic to hold all national annexes.
In this section we shine a spotlight on papers recently published in Structures – the Research Journal of The Institution of Structural Engineers.
Structures is a collaboration between the Institution and Elsevier, publishing internationally-leading research across the full breadth of structural engineering which will benefit from wide readership by academics and practitioners.
Access to Structures is free to Institution members (excluding Student members) as one of their membership benefits, with access provided via the ‘My account’ section of the Institution website. The journal is available online at: www.structuresjournal.org
This month we present another question from the Institution's Structural Behaviour Course, looking at deflection of a portal frame.