Moving Beyond Structural Materials Traditionally Used in Singapore…

Newsletter of IStructE Singapore Regional Group ■■■■ Vol. 12 ■■■■ No. 2 ■■■■ May 2016

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Moving Beyond Structural Materials Traditionally Used in Singapore…

85 engineers at Parkroyal Hotel learning about

design of structural timber to the Eurocode 5

Continuous learning for engineers in 2016 kicked off in the first quarter of 2016 with two courses on

materials whose use had traditionally been limited to either non-structural building components, or to

smaller and simpler buildings. These two courses were part of a trilogy of courses planned to cover design

of timber, aluminum and structural glass according to the Eurocode.

On 26 Feb 2016, 85 engineers filled the ballroom

in the Parkroyal Hotel to listen to Prof Richard

Harris expound the design of structural timber to

the Eurocode 5.

Richard Harris is the Professor of Timber Engineering in the Department of Architecture & Civil

Engineering. Before joining the University of Bath in 2009, Richard was a Technical Director with Buro

Happold Consulting Engineers. In his 25 years with Buro Happold he led structural engineering design

teams, working on a range of structures in various sectors and using many construction methods and

materials. At Buro Happold, Richard led a team of engineers in the design of structures. In his specialist

field of Timber Engineering, he was responsible for a wide range of timber engineering projects, several of

which won awards. These include The Globe Theatre (Carpenters Award 1998), The Downland Gridshell,

(The Wood Awards Gold Award 2003), The Savill Building (The Wood Awards Gold Award 2006), The

Institution of Structural Engineers Supreme Award 2007 (for the Savill Building). Richard has chaired the

European network COST Action FP1004, which brought together researchers from institutions in 26

European countries as well as Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The objectives related to enhancing

the mechanical properties of timber, engineered wood products and timber structures, which were achieved

through meetings, seminars, conferences and publications.

On 8 April 2016, 89 engineers packed into the Hotel Novotel Clarke Quay to attend a course on Aluminium

Design to Eurocode 9 which was conducted by Professor John W. Bull from Brunel University. John

graduated from Cardiff University with a first class honours degree in Civil and Structural Engineering and

was awarded the Page Prize for the student with the highest marks. He gained his PhD for his thesis

‘Analysis of Shell Structures by Finite Elements’ and a DSc entitled ‘Computational Engineering Applied to

Engineered Structures’. He has 175 publications which include 17 authored or edited books.

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IES/IStructE Joint Committee IES Building 70 Bukit Tinggi Road Singapore 289758

Tel: (65)-6469 5000 Fax: (65)-6467 1108 Website: www.istructe.org/branch/singapore

Newsletter of IES/IStructE Joint Committee Vol. 7, No. 3, Sep 2011

IStructE Singapore Division Members’ Night Friday 2nd September 2011

The 2011 Annual Members’ Night was held on 2nd September 2011 at the M Hotel, Singapore. This regular annual event provides an avenue for IStructE members in Singapore to interact with each other in a relaxed atmosphere and to receive updates on major activities in the year ahead. It is also a great opportunity for the IES/IStructE Joint Committee to seek the views/comments from members on activities to meet the needs of members in Singapore. This year, Members’ Night was attended by more than 80 IStructE members and invited guests. This annual event will, in future, be held within the first 2 weeks of September after the announcement of the CME results. This year, the programme includes: • Introduction of the three 2011 IStructE Gold Medallists from National University of Singapore, Nanyang

Technological University and Singapore Polytechnic; • Presentation of Service Award Certificates to selected members of the Joint Committee; • Presentation of Congratulatory Certificates to successful April 2011 Chartered Membership Exam (CME)

candidates; • Presentation of Best Paper Award to authors of papers published in the IES Journal Part A (2009-2010); • Presentation of Appreciation Gifts to IES staff, Angela Loke and Flora Wang for their administrative support; • Address by eminent engineers on the topics of “Water Reclamation” and “Motor Car Racing”; • Musical presentation and rendition of the Dizi and other related Chinese woodwind instruments; • Lucky draw – prizes include Proceedings of Conference on Structural Marvels, Guide to EuroCode4 and Hotel-

sponsored promotional gifts; • Brief summary of event announcements and an outline of the work of the IES-IStructE Joint Committee. Among the special guests/members were Er. Ho Siong Hin (President of IES), Er. Lau Joo Ming (President, Professional Engineers Board), Er. Ho Wan Boon (President, Singapore Structural Steel Society), Prof Lee Seng Lip (Emeritus Professor at the National University of Singapore), all the 2011 CME successful candidates and the recipients of the 2011 IStructE Gold Medals from NUS, NTU and Singapore Polytechnic. The IES-IStructE Joint Committee and all IStructE members congratulate Certificate and Awards recipients, success-ful members of the 2011 CME and 2011 Gold Medal winners.

Members’ Night 2011


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89 engineers gathered at Novotel

Clarke Quay to learn about design of

aluminium structures to the

Eurocode 9

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Following his PhD, John worked on the design and construction of civil engineering structures; then he

moved into an academic career in civil engineering. He has been an Adjunct Professor at a University in

Australia and a Visiting Professor at a Japanese University. John is a member of the British Standards

Institution (BSI) for the ‘Structural use of Aluminium’ representing the Aluminium Federation. He is a

member of editorial boards for international journals, conferences and advises publishers on book

proposals, referees papers for journals, has given keynote lectures at conferences and provided industrial

consultancy services. Part of John’s present research is in the design of structural aluminium linked to his

work for the BSI committee.

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Having learnt previously on the use of

major construction materials such as

steel, concrete and their composites,

many participants of the timber and

aluminium courses came to complete

their knowledge on the Eurocodes 5 and

9 for timber and aluminium, respectively.

In these courses, participants not only learnt how to apply paragraphs and clauses of a code, but they

also learnt new ways to approach the use of timber and aluminium for structural design.

Both Prof Harris and Prof Bull guided participants to see how each these non-traditional structural

materials, i.e. timber and aluminium, were drastically different in nature from traditional steel and

reinforced concrete building materials; and how consequently different approaches were required in

designs that adopted them.

Timber, the most sustainable of all the Eurocode structural materials, could be developed by planting a

tree, leaving it alone for 30 to 40 years, and then harvesting it to get building material. So from the start

of a decision to the use of timber, one had to source for the material, and it varied from where the trees

grew, as well as from species to species. So one had to know how to select from various trees species

to find the most appropriate timber for use. Next, one had to know how to specify sections for use from

cut trees, how to saw in relation to the grain direction, how to cure the timber, right down to how to

balance defects in the form of timber knots (which gave the beauty of the timber). Only after this, did the

traditional use of codes for design begin, with the appropriate use of the timber codes heavily dependent

on the way the timer was sourced and parts selected.

In contrast to growing and nurturing trees to specific needs, the Eurocode governing Aluminium

appeared to be the most customisable of all the various codes for structural materials. Strength,

durability, fatigue and heat resistance, could all be tailored though the inclusion of various alloys. Whilst

structural steel could also be modified by inclusion of a limited selection of alloys, the Aluminium

Eurocode allowed the greatest variety of alloys and thus much greater opportunities to tailor the material

for design. Design opportunities did not stop at the variance of material strength, ductility and durability.

Because aluminium was extremely malleable, geometric sections could be customised and made-to-

order to a very fine level.

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The Structuralist Editorial Committee

Editors: Er Leonard HengDr Kong Kian Hau

Advisors: Prof Wang Chien MingA/Prof Lok Tat Seng

Dear Readers,Thanks for taking time to read this newsletter.We appreciate your continued support andwould also like to hear from you for whateverreasons. Please direct all yourcorrespondence and inquiries to:

Disclaimer:All views and opinions expressed therein aresolely those of the writers and its publicationdoes not necessarily imply that such views andopinions are endorsed by the IES, IES/IStructEJoint Committee and the editorial committee ofThe Structuralist.

Copyright:The reproduction in whole or in part of anymaterial in this publication must obtain writtenpermission from the editorial committee of thispublication and/or from the respective author(s).

IES-IStructE Joint Committee

Prof Wang Chien Ming (Chairman):[email protected]

Er. Dr. Ho Kwong Meng (Vice Chairman): [email protected]

Er A/Prof Lok Tat Seng (Hon. Secretary):[email protected]

Er Leonard Heng (Hon. Treasurer):[email protected]

Er Reve Chin (Asst. Hon. Secretary):[email protected]

Er Ms Jeslin Quek ( Asst . Hon. Treasurer):[email protected]

Er Wijaya [email protected]

Er Mak Yew [email protected]

Er Mah Guan Pangadmin@mabaengineering

Er Ang Chee [email protected]

Er Steve [email protected]

Er Ms Cong Zheng [email protected]

Er Kang [email protected]

Er Sam Tan Gak Peng:[email protected]

Dr Kong Kian [email protected]

Er Michael [email protected]

Ms Liu [email protected]

Thus not only was the material inherently lighter (one third of the

density of the traditional steel), the weight of aluminium

structures could be further reduced by finely optimising and

customising the geometric design of the sections to great levels

of structural efficiency.

Both courses did not offer the timber and aluminium as total

replacements for more traditional steel and concrete materials.

Rather, both professors showed how the materials could be

used together with steel and concrete to produce superior

structures. Participants were taught how to detail connections

and provided information of compatibility of different materials

with one another, particularly in the use of Aluminium with

concrete and steel components. As in many other courses

organised by the IES/IStructE Joint Committee, not only did

participants receive the distillation of years of knowledge and

wisdom of the lecturers in the presentations and notes, but they

also received large sets of references that they could draw upon

when needed in their engineering practice.

Finally, participants learnt that timber and aluminium were not

mere ‘minor materials’. The examples which follow show how

much the use of timber and aluminium could be stretched.

The Salzburg Arena has the largest wooden dome of Western Austria

For timber, this was through reference to wide span wood sports

structures, such as the Salzburg Arena which has the largest

wooden dome of Western Austria. The Arena had low rise

glulam arches varying in span to thrust against a lower

reinforced concrete ring of oval plan. The maximum span was

81m and the rise did not exceed 15m, creating a dome-like

space.

For aluminium, the two reticular geodetical domes of the Enel plant in Civitavecchia, Italy, Heron were cited.

Each dome was 144 m diameter and 50 m high, made of aluminum alloy tubes and stainless spherical nodes.

The two domes, used to store coal for a thermo-electric power plant, are the largest built in Europe and for

sure one of the largest aluminium structures in the world.

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One of two reticular geodetical domes of the Enel plant in Civitavecchia, Italy, Heron, each 144 m in diameter and 50 m high

The attendance of both the aforementioned courses has truly opened the eyes of participants beyond what

mere reading of books could have achieved. Professors Richard Harris and John Bull have helped

participants develop new perspectives of timber and aluminium structural designs, which are radically

different from traditional concrete and steel designs. They have also inspired participants by showing them

how the Eurocodes could be applied to produce magnificent timber and aluminium structures. Thank you

Professor Harris and Professor Bull for your marvellous lectures!

The long anticipated 2-day long Bridge Design Competitionfinally arrived at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) on

19 March 2016. A total of 68 Teams (two students per team)

participated.

Organised by the NTU’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Club

and the competition was jointly sponsored by the School of Civil

and Environmental Engineering, NTU, the IStructE Singapore

Regional Group (IES-IStructE Joint Committee), the Building &

Construction Authority of Singapore, Chye Joo Construction Pte

Ltd and Hardwareonline.

In order to give equal weightage to university and polytechnic

students, the competition was divided into two categories – a

University category and a Polytechnic/Academy category.

Participating Universities• Nanyang Technological University (8 Teams)

• National University of Singapore (12 Teams)

• Singapore University of Technology and Design (8 Teams)

• Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (2 Teams)

• University of Nottingham Malaysia (2 Teams)

• Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia (2 Teams)

• Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia (3 Teams)

• Maranatha Christian University, Indonesia (2 Teams)

• Parahyangan Catholic University, Indonesia (1 Team)

• Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology, Indonesia (2 Teams)

Participating Polytechnics/Academy• Singapore Polytechnic (13 Teams)

• Nanyang Polytechnic (4 Teams)

• Ngee Ann Polytechnic (2 Teams)

• BCA Academy (7 Teams)

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Vol. 12, No. 2, May 2016 5

Four judges were appointed to consider aesthetics of the model bridges and assessment of presentation of

conceptual design. They were: Er. Lung Hian Hao (Director of Policy and Regulations Department, Building

and Construction Authority of Singapore), Asst/Prof Poh Leong Hien (Department of Civil and Environmental

Engineering, National University of Singapore), Prof Fan Sau Cheong (School of Civil & Environmental

Engineering, Nanyang Technological University), and Assoc/Prof Li Bing (School of Civil & Environmental

Engineering, Nanyang Technological University).

Day One was reserved for briefing, discussion amongst team members, fabrication of the structure and

preparation for a short presentation on Day Two. On Day Two, participants were briefed to prepare for

questions by judges on the evolution of their structural concept, aesthetics, load-transfer, and on their

possible performance. Finally, load tests were conducted. The winner is the bridge model design with the

least weight supporting the greatest load.

It would have appeared that the Singapore home teams had all the advantages … but not so…

Check out these results ! The top 5 winners were :

Teams of two worked on structural concept and designCompleted model bridges

Each Team is given 3 minutes to present their bridge concept and 2 minutes to answer questions from

judges. And then, judgement …

Position University Category Polytechnic/Academy Category1st Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia BCA Academy

2nd Gajah Mada University, Indonesia BCA Academy

3rd University of Nottingham Malaysia BCA Academy

4th Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia BCA Academy

5th Parahyangan Catholic University, Indonesia Singapore Polytechnic

Winner of the University

Category – Team “Harjuna

Bridge” from Institut Teknologi

Bandung, Indonesi

Winner of the

Polytechnic/Academy

Category – Team

“Good Boy” from BCA

Academy

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Beyond organising courses for engineers and competitions for students, the IStructE also produces

excellent guides for various aspects of Structural Engineering.

Guidance notes for wind IStructE Singapore Regional Group has been tasked by IStructE HQ to publish Technical Guidance Notes

in The Structural Engineer magazine. Technical Guidance Notes are meant to guide Engineers in their

daily work and form the basis for best practice for the particular topic it is written on. For the first series of

Technical Guidance Notes, our Committee Member Er. Michael Sien from Arup Singapore will work

together with Arup Advanced Technology + Research Group to prepare notes on the topic of Cross-wind

effects to Eurocode 1. Cross-wind response of structures is introduced in Eurocodes and not found in the

previous British Standards. It will be of increasing importance when there are more free form, tall and

slender structures that render them aerodynamically sensitive. It is hoped that the Technical Guidance

Notes will bridge the gap and shed some light on this complex topic. So stay tuned!

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Whilst the competition was keen, with 10 of the 68 teams receiving awards, the IES-IStructE committee

hopes that the real winners were the students, both participants and audience, as they learnt new things

about structural engineering and sowed many new seeds of friendship across institutions in Singapore,

Indonesia and Malaysia.

After all, engineering is a life-long endeavour of diverse and increasingly multi-national teams. It is hoped

that this competition has provided life bridges to aid students on in their learning and friendships !

Acknowledgement – The Organising Committee of the NTU CEE Club wishes to acknowledge the

financial support from the IStructE Singapore Regional Group (IES-IStructE Joint Committee), Building &

Construction Authority of Singapore and other sponsors of this competition. They also wish to thank

faculty from NTU, NUS and the BCA for their time and effort acting as advisors and judges. Advice from

Assoc/Prof Lok Tat Seng is gratefully appreciated. Thanks are due to Prof Wang Rong, Chair of CEE, for

her approval of this competition. Finally, they wish to thank all participants from Singapore, Malaysia and

Indonesia, without whom there will be no competition.

Participants at the Bridge Design Competition 2016

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IStructE Singapore Structural Awards 2016

The IES-Institution of Structural Engineers Joint Committee invites you to submit an entry for the

IStructE Singapore Structural Awards 2016. The Singapore Structural Awards is a celebration of

engineering excellence; an acknowledgement of the versatility and dynamic contribution of structural

engineers in the built environment, to the economy and to the silhouette skyline of Singapore.

Participation in the IStructE Singapore Structural Awards is a wonderful opportunity to raise the profile

of your organization within the industry and the general public, and to acknowledge the hard work of

your project team.

The Singapore Sports Hub won IStructE Supreme Award

for Structural Engineering Excellence 2015

The IStructE Singapore Structural Awards

welcomes entries from any structural

engineer who works in Singapore, and are

open to projects large and small. Judging is

based on merit, not scale. The projectsubmitted must be completed withTemporary Occupation Permit (TOP)obtained between 1 January 2014 and 31July 2016. There are three awards

categories. They are:

Award for Structures - For

achievement in structural design of

commercial, retail, heritage,

education, healthcare, community,

residential, entertainment and

sports structures.

Award for Industrial or ProcessStructures - For achievement in

the structural design of offshore

facilities, chimneys, barrages,

petrochemical works, wafer plants,

water treatment plants and power

stations.

Award for Infrastructure - For

achievement in structural design of

road, rail, canal and airport bridges,

tunnels, underground structures,

ports and antenna structures. Interior view of The Singapore Sports Hub

Submissions will be judged on the following attributes encompassed in the structural design of the

project: Innovation, Buildability, Sustainability and Aesthetics. Judges are looking for clearly

presented materials that concisely convey the engineering highlights of the project and the work of the

structural engineer and why the entrant is worthy of an award.

The deadline for submission of entry form is Thursday 1 September 2016. Entries on CD should be

sent to: Er. Jeslin QUEK, FYFE Asia Pte Ltd, 6 Clement Loop, #04-00, Singapore 129814. Email

entries should be sent to : [email protected]

Winning and commended entries will be announced at the IStructE Singapore Awards 2016 ceremony

on 28 October 2016 at the banquet of the Members' Night held in the Marina Mandarin Hotel. For more

information or for dinner reservations, please contact Ms. Angela Loke on 65165048 or email:

[email protected]

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Vol. 12, No. 2, May 2016 8

What are the Activities for Young Members in 2016? You Decide!

Ms Liu Ziyue who sits in the IES Young Members’ Panel

was considering possible activities in 2016. What do you

think of these ? Let Ziyue know your top 3 favourites at

[email protected] by 30 June 2016.

1. 3D printing3D printing is an edging technology that young engineers will be interested in. With connections to plotting software, the printer is able to print out structures with uniform materials. A briefing, complete with hands-on trial sessions, will let you experience this magical technology yourselves!

2. Escape Room SessionReal-life room escape games are a type of physical adventure game in which people are locked in a room with other participants, and have to use elements of the room to solve a series of puzzles, find clues, and escape from the room within a set time limit. If you are fan of escape rooms, you will not want to miss this customized game with puzzles related to civil engineering.

4. Forum to discuss incentives to motivate member transitions

How to encourage students to convert into graduate members, and graduate members to run for cooperate

members? That is something we have been racking our brains on. On second thought, who are in better

positions than you to tell us how you want to be motivated! An open forum will be arranged for you to meet

the leaders from the industry, and let us brainstorm together. Your ideas may make a difference!

3. Appreciation for structures accompanied by good coffeeHave you ever been to any appreciation session for wine/coffee? How about an appreciation session for structures guided by experts (We do have a fantastic local structural award event coming soon. Stay Tuned!) A good structure goes best with a good cup of coffee. That is for sure!

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Er. Dr. Arumugam Vijiaratnam died peacefully at his home in Maryland Drive, off Holland Road on 18

February 2016, aged 94. In the 1984/85 session, Er. Dr. A. Vijiaratnam was the first Asian to be the Vice-

President of The Institution of Structural Engineers, UK. He was also the IStructE’s Singapore

Representative from the years 1974 to 1989.

Er. Dr. A. Vijiaratnam was born in Ipoh, Malaysia in 1921. He later moved to Singapore, where he studied

at Victoria School. In 1950, he received a government scholarship to study Civil Engineering at Brighton

College of Technology in Britain. Upon completing his studies, he returned in 1953 and joined the Public

Works Department until he was seconded to the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) in 1964.

In PSA, Er. Dr. A Vijiaratnam played a key role in PSA's formation, helping to develop PSA’s

Containerisation Programme and Changi Airport Reclamation Programme, among other contributions. He

retired from the PSA as the Director of Engineering at the age of 75. Er. Dr. A Vijiaratnam was also the

first Pro-chancellor of Nanyang Technological University, serving from 1992 to 2005. He was a Founding

Council Member of Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES) in 1966 and later elected IES President and

served in this capacity until 1974. He was also a World Bank Consultant and had done World Bank’s

projects through SPECS Consultants.

The IES/IStructE Joint Committee is deeply saddened to learn of his passing and offer sincere

condolences to his family.

The Gathering of IES/IStructE Joint Committee Members and Er. Dr. A. Vijiaratnam in the 1990s

Fourth from right is Er. Dr. A. Vijiaratnam

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Tribute to the late Er. Dr. Arumugam Vijiaratnam, former IStructE Vice-President and former IStructE Singapore Representative, passed away at the age of 94 on 18th

February 2016

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Coming soon … The third of the trilogy courses on non-traditional structural materials

(the others being timber and aluminum)

One-Day Course on Structural Glass Design 14 July 2016 @ Amara Hotel, Ballroom 1, Level 2, 165 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore

Course will be conducted by

Graham Coult, Associate Director of Eckersley O’Callaghan

Peter Hoad, Regional Resilience, Security and Risk Leader of Arup

Mo Wing Sze, Senior Blast Consultant of Arup

Participants will be provided with an understanding of approaches to structural glass design and the

latest innovations in glass technology. This will be achieved through a series of lectures and case

studies. Engineering consultancy Eckersley O’Callaghan is recognized as the industry expert at the

forefront of advancing structural glass design, in no small part due to an ongoing, long-term

collaboration with Apple which has resulted in a string of celebrated retail stores over the world. The

practice was awarded IStructE Supreme Award for Excellence in Structural Engineering 2014 for Apple

Zorlu, Istanbul. Graham Could will share his experiences.

With the increase of terrorism risks, there has been an increased intent to improve the blast resilience

within the built environment. As part of the fabric or façade of the building, a well designed blast

resilient façade can reduce the risk of casualties and fatalities to the inhabitants associated by acting as

a reflecting device to the potentially lethal blast energy wave that will propagate from the point of

detonation of an IED, and by being designed to fail “safely” when subjected to a blast load, thus

reducing the risk of the potentially lethal fragments of the façade that break up and are projected at high

velocity into the building. Peter Hoad and Mo Wing Sze from Arup will expound their approach to treat

glazing for blast.

Course Fees : $550 – IES and/or IStructE Corporate members, $450 Retired IStructE Members,Unemployed IStructE Members and IStructE Graduate Members, $650 - non-members, $350 -full time students of NUS, NTU and student members of IES/IStructE

Apple IFC Shanghai Apple Zorlu, Istanbul

Participants will receive a copy of the book on “Structural Use of Glass in Buildings” and course notes in PDF format.

Fees are inclusive of 7% GST. Lunch and light refreshments will be provided.

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Vol. 12, No. 2, May 2016 11

… Back by popular demand, for the third re-run …

Workshop on Avoiding Design ErrorsLessons from forensics and their applications to engineering design

Monday 19 September 2016, by Dr Sean Brady, BA, BAI, PhD, CPEng, FIEAust

@ Shaw Foundation Alumni House, Seminar Rooms 2 & 3, NUS, Singapore 11924

.

Course Fees : $388 – IES and/or IStructE Corporate members, $288 Retired IStructE Members,Unemployed IStructE Members and IStructE Graduate Members, $488 - non-members, $188 - fulltime students of NUS, NTU and student members of IES/IStructE

Owing to an overwhelming interest in this workshop when it

was first organized in March 2015, the IES/IStructE Joint

Committee is pleased to conduct a repeat of this workshop for

the third time. The objective of the one-day interactive

workshop is to provide and arm structural engineers with an

insight on how to avoid design errors that ultimately lead to

unsatisfactory performance or failure of engineering

structures.

About the speaker: Dr Sean Brady

Dr Sean Brady is a forensic structural engineer specializing in identifying the cause

of engineering failures and unsatisfactory performance in steel and concrete

structures. He is the managing director of Brady Heywood Pty Ltd and has

investigated the cause of engineering failures on a wide range of structures both in

Australia and internationally. Sean has over 15 years of experience as a structural

engineer, and he has published and presented internationally on the subject of

engineering forensics.

Sean is an Editorial Board Member of the ASCE Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities and

the ICE Forensic Engineering Journal. Sean writes a monthly article on structural failure for The

Structural Engineer magazine of the Institution of Structural Engineers, UK.

The workshop will be divided into 4 sessions, interspersed by tea, lunch. In Session 1 – Howstructures fail, the seven categories of structural failure are introduced, and the common failures that

can occur throughout a structure’s lifetime, from construction to daily operation, will be discussed.

Failure modes specific to various types of structures, such as bridges and buildings, will be explored,

along with the typical failure mechanisms of individual structural elements, such as beams and slabs.

This session provides participants with an understanding of how structures fail in reality. In Session 2 –The structural design process, design is explored as a process of synthesis together with its limit

state approach, the role of simplified analysis methods and its use of design assumptions. The session

examines how, despite sophisticated design codes and software tools, errors can still occur and failure

ensue. This session provides participants with an understanding of the robustness and versatility of the

structural design process, as well as its limitations in representing the behavior of structures in practice.

Session 3 – The non-technical factors, examines some of the common human factors, including the

dangers of Expertise Bias and Implicit Assumption, how Design Fixation can prevent the identification

of optimal solutions, and how Confirmation Bias and Normalization of Deviance can obscure the early

warning signs of impending failure. Finally Session 4 – Failure Prevention, explores the Swiss

Cheese Model of failure prevention, and how Latent Errors can contribute to failure. The importance of

the use of Near Miss theory as a warning system is highlighted, and the benefit of utilizing a Forensic

Process to identify errors and potential causes of failure is discussed. This session provides

participants with practical techniques that can be applied in the design office to assist in error detection

and failure prevention

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And finally, on a reflective note …

One-Day Course on “Why Structures Fail?” by Nick Russell, 2014 President of IStructE

Wednesday 12 October 2016

@ Hotel Novotel Singapore Clarke Quay, Cinnamon Ballroom, Level 5

.

Course Fees : $400 – IES and/or IStructE Corporate members, $300 Retired IStructE Members,Unemployed IStructE Members and IStructE Graduate Members, $500 - non-members, $200 - fulltime students of NUS, NTU and student members of IES/IStructE

The theme for the day will be the investigation of structural failures - why they occur, how they are

investigated, how they can be avoided and what to do if you find yourself defending a Claim. The

course will be based on events that have occurred and been investigated by Nick Russell himself.

About the speaker:Nick Russell

BSc (Hons First Class) Civil Engineering, NVQ Degree Strategic,

Business Management Chartered Engineer, Fellow of Institution of

Structural Engineers, Fellow of Institution of Civil Engineers, Fellow of

Association of American Civil Engineers & Member of

Chartered Institute of Management

Following early experience at the Transport and Road research laboratory, Balfour Beatty and Travers

Morgan, Nick has been responsible at Thomasons for leading significant projects from conception to

completion. Nick also looks after litigation work and technical studies for Thomasons and has overall

responsibility for the company’s QM and environmental management systems. Nick is currently

Visiting Professor at the University of Surrey and Vice Chair of the Joint Board of Moderators who

accredit UK Civil Engineering Degrees.

Nick’s Notable Experience• International expert, involved in cases in the Middle East and the UK over the last 25 years.

Nick has given evidence and been cross examined in court.

• Town center master planning for projects.

• Complex structures in the retail and commercial sector, often involving multi-storey basements.

• Industrial facilities, including cold stores, steel and aluminum works.

• Investigation of defects in projects and advising clients on suitable remedial works.

• Own center regeneration, involving complex contaminated sites

• Has lectured widely in the UK and overseas on engineering and management issues.

• Responsible for overseeing practice management and finance.

Did you know that …

When you join IStructE, a world of structural engineering resources is unlocked.

The Institution of Structural Engineers publishes a wealth of high quality

information spanning the entire breadth of the structural engineering discipline.

From its flagship monthly magazine, to a world-class research journal (Structures)

and a wide range of authoritative manuals, reports and guides, the Institution’s

publishing portfolio is a continually expanding source of reference material;

essential to structural engineers working in both practice and academia. Every

title is subjected to an exacting peer review process, commensurate with the

standards expected of the world’s largest membership organisation dedicated to

the art and science of structural engineering.


Moving Beyond Structural Materials Traditionally Used in Singapore…

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Transcript of Moving Beyond Structural Materials Traditionally Used in Singapore…