Journal - Composite Reinforcement

Composite reinforcement for coastal defence project

This article demonstrates how when confronted with a problem, it often forces the development or improvement of new and existing materials. It discusses the sound advantages of using composite construction on large structures, in this case a seawall, in a harsh, salty environment where the use of stainless steel would be prohibitively expensive. To Counter this, two companies, Birse Coastal and Schock, developed 'ComBar', Using Glass-fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) The first application of its kind in the UK.

I thought it was an interesting article and related to our studies in that the construction industry is ever changing, and specific case studies can have a big impact on the industry as a whole.

Source: Journal Extract from 'Concrete for the Construction industry', Vol 42, No.4 "Composite reinforcement for coastal defence project pp22-24.

SRT251 Major Project

Here is the finished product. The challenge for me here was that i had rendered far too many images to fit on one page, so I've put a mini-storyboard of the modelling process down the right hand side, i think it helps to frame the poster. Watch out when you post these images, blogger has trouble with the size of them!

Under Construction - Edgewater development, Geelong Waterfront, 2nd visit

I included these shots as i saw that they were pumping concrete several floors up

Above: backing up the concrete truck to load up the concrete crane.

Above: The concrete crane being loaded up.

Above: The concrete crane pumping fluid concrete onto the 'Bondek' sheeting of the top floor.

Journal - Concrete panels speed sports hall build

Concrete Panels Speed Sports Hall Build

This article highlights the significant savings in time and cost that can be made using pre-cast concrete panel systems, just as we had discussed during the lectures and tutorials. in this case, a regional enlgish secondary school 'Burton-on-Trent,' was able to save two months worth of construction time on its new sports hall; This was mainly because the panels were loadbearing, which meant that there was no need to install a structural steel frame.

What was particulalry interesting in this case, however, is that the panels were of 'sandwich' construction, which meant that they were pre-cast in multiple layers. An inner skin, 170mm thick is separate from a 65mm outer skin by a 104mm layer of insulation. Pre-cast is very popular in the UK due to the simple fact it does not require waiting for a break to lay between inclement weather periods!


Journal source: 'Concrete for the construction industry,' Vol42, No.1, 'concrete panels speed sports hall build,' pp20-22.

Section of Portal Frame Construction

Journal - Steel Lightens Buildings Load on Landscape

Steel Lightens Concrete's Load on landscape

This article, a case study of 77 King street Sydney, highlights the advantages of structural steel can have when renovating existing buildings, heritage or other, particularly if adding extra floors. in this case the key factor, being the strength of the existing building below, meant that the lightweight composite steel frame construction was the least taxing and most time/cost effective design for the addition of extra floors.

Article Source: 'Steel Australia,' March '08, Vol.21, no.1, 'Cost model study- commercial buildings,' pp. 18 -19

Precast Concrete Construction

This construction detail shows how a pre-cast concrete panel can be connected to 'Kliplok' roofing.