All the articles from the May 2020 issue of The Structural Engineer.
Publish Date – 1 May 2020
This paper, based on a winning entry to the Institution’s Excellence in Structural Engineering Education Award 2015, provides an account of action research in the application of inverted classroom principles to teaching first-year undergraduate civil engineering students.
Julia Allison presents the results of a survey of sources of stress among Institution members, and considers steps individuals and firms can take to address these problems.
Mark McBride-Wright provides an introduction to mental health issues in the engineering workplace, and ways that firms can support their employees.
Dr Kristy MacDonald, Secretary of the IStructE Benevolent Fund, outlines the assistance that is available to members and former members in times of need.
With several weeks’ experience of lockdown behind us, readers share their tips on how to make a success of home working in difficult circumstances.
This month we highlight a report from the latest CROSS newsletter raising further issues with defective RAAC planks in flat roofs.
This paper demonstrates that it can be appropriate to add part of the shrinkage strain to the cracking strain resulting from mechanical loads. A revision to the crack width expression 7.8 in Eurocode 2, which currently ignores this effect, is proposed and discussed.
This CPD module, sponsored by SCIA, introduces best practice guidelines for performing seismic analysis using the Modal Response Spectrum Method in finite element software. These principles ought to be well understood when applied to 3D models.
Richard Nicholl has exchanged his company saloon and brogues for a 4x4 and walking boots as the National Trust’s first full-time structural engineer.
David Blockley calls on young engineers to take to their keyboards and spread the message that engineering is a creative, people profession that improves the human condition.
Brian Clancy responds to continued recent discussion of subsidence matters with a call for structural engineers to develop the skills (and willingness) to investigate insurance claims and also to inspect and appraise existing buildings more widely.
Chris Vaughan raises a number of objections to a Viewpoint by Colin Jolly published in April, and the two debate UK planning and building control procedures.
This month's letters discuss shell structures, the cost of professional indemnity insurance, UK planning procedures, and offer further thoughts on floor loadings and embodied carbon.
This month we focus on e-learning opportunities, including new webinars on offer on the Institution website.
With Institution HQ closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this month's update highlights E-library services – with the collection now approaching 400 titles.
This month we highlight two ‘Featured Articles’ chosen by Editor-in-Chief, Leroy Gardner: one on developing a volume loss fatality model for as-built and retrofitted clay brick unreinforced masonry buildings; and one on slotted-hole bolted cover-plate connections.