All the articles from the November/December 2017 issue.
(The issue was updated on 21 November 2017 to correct the image of the Severn Bridge on page 28.)
Publish Date – 20 November 2017
Jacob Borchers, winner of the Institution’s Pai Lin Li Travel Award 2016, used his grant to research the problems and complexity of implementing the design of seismic-resistant schools in rural Nepal. Numerous organisations face these issues as they attempt to rebuild the country in the wake of the 2015 earthquakes. The research is qualitative: based on interviews with experienced professionals and local residents; and on the observations of the author.
Following October’s article on risk and professional indemnity insurance, Mick Buck examines the types of claims that engineers may face and how these can be mitigated.
This note addresses the design of solid and glulam timber elements that are unrestrained against lateral torsional buckling, explaining how such beams are analysed and designed.
This year, we are delighted to mark the 50th Structural Awards – the Institution’s celebration of global structural engineering excellence – with a special issue showcasing the winning projects. From their beginnings as the ‘Institution Special Award’, first conferred on the Severn Bridge, the Structural Awards have grown into a truly international scheme that attracts over 100 entries each year from around the world – all competing for the ultimate accolade of the Supreme Award for Structural Engineering Excellence.
The 50th Awards have seen the categories revamped to place a stronger emphasis on the structural characteristics of a project, rather than the type of structure. The judging process has also been overhauled to avoid potential conflicts of interest and ensure independent scrutiny of the shortlisted projects.
Congratulations to all this year’s winning and commended entries! Read all about them in this special Awards section.
(The PDF was updated on 21 November 2017 to correct the image of the Severn Bridge on page 28.)
This article focuses on the use of proprietary equipment for the support of fresh concrete to horizontal surfaces. The principles and methods described are broadly applicable to all falsework.
Malcolm Turpin takes issue with the view that the structural engineering and construction sector is the ‘poor man’ of innovation, arguing that change is largely effected through an evolutionary approach of incremental steps.
This month's letters discuss 3D printing and its future in construction, defining 'risk', British Standards versus Eurocodes, fire regulations in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, professional scrutiny on site, load factors, and the merits of the now-defunct Institution Yearbook.
Iain MacLeod is impressed by this book discussing the latest developments in equilibrium models, which will prove invaluable to postgraduate students, researchers and industrial practitioners alike.
Upcoming events at HQ and around the Regional Groups.
In this section we shine a spotlight on papers recently published in Structures – the Research Journal of The Institution of Structural Engineers.
This month, we present an impact statement on 'Prestressing in Coventry Cathedral' - a paper by Chris Burgoyne and Owen Mitchell in which they describe a study of the cathedral to identify the locations of the prestressing tendons. The paper concludes with a question that should concern all engineers: “at what point does a perfectly adequate structure become compromised because of ignorance of what is going on internally?”
This month’s winner is Alasdair Massie of Peter Brett Associates, who receives an e-book of his choice from the Institution’s current catalogue. Alasdair’s sketches reproduced here illustrate how part of a chimney might be removed and re-supported.