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PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

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1www.innovationandresearchfocus.org.uk Innovation & Research Focus Issue 101 MAY 2015

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FIN THIS ISSUE Award winning wireless sensors

for built environment monitoring In February 2015 the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) announced the winners of its annual International Innovation and Research (I&R) Awards. The awards were founded over 10 years ago, and highlight the importance of innovation and research within the CIOB’s remit. There are six categories of awards, one of which, the Digital Innovation Award, was won by UtterBerry Wireless Sensors for Built Environment Monitoring. The other categories are discussed on page 6.

The CIOB Digital Innovation Award aims to recognise the most innovative and forward-

thinking use of digital technologies in the design, construction or operation of the built environment. Submissions for the Award cover any advanced implementation of digital technologies (e.g. building information modelling, advanced visualisation or simulation, mobile technology, e-commerce) that has improved upon, or extended beyond, current expectations of best practice.

The 2014 Digital Innovation Award went to UtterBerry Wireless Sensors for Built Environment Monitoring. UtterBerry Wireless Sensors are a system developed and patented by Heba Bevan, a PhD Student at the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction, University of Cambridge. Utterberry Sensors fit in the palm of a hand, weighing less than 15 grams each, and are the smallest and lightest wireless sensors of their kind in the world. Hundreds of sensors can be carried by an individual to enable installation in one go. Despite their size, the sensors work to sub-millimetre precision,

measuring multiple variables, collecting, processing and interpreting data at source and transmitting information in real time. The sensors use almost no power, are highly accurate and cheaper than both the traditional alternatives and newer

technologies such as fibre-optic.The sensors are a significant

breakthrough for the construction and civil engineering industries, able to gather information about the entire infrastructure being monitored. They sense their environment and orientation, and measure multiple parameters at once, ensuring a rich dataset is generated so all significant events are recorded and communicated in real time. This allows engineers to quickly make better-informed and cost-effective decisions and reach accurate conclusions regarding structural movements.

UtterBerry sensors are suitable for a wide range of industries and applications. They have already been successfully deployed on tunnelling projects. For example 29 sensors have been installed by Crossrail at the Eleanor Street construction site in London. The sensors have enabled Crossrail and Costain to remotely monitor the condition and structural health of the tunnel in a safe and effective manner. They have been able to monitor movements in real time while new tunnel and shaft excavations are conducted.

Above: Heba Bevan holding an Utterberry SensorBelow: Size of an Utterberry Sensor relative to a £1 coin

Cast iron lined tunnel in London where sensors have been installed

For further information please contact Dr Chung-Chin Kao, Head of Innovation and Research, the Chartered Institute of Building (E-mail: [email protected]).

BUILDINGS Dynamic response of tall timber buildings 4

COASTAL EROSION Real time laser mapping for monitoring coastal erosion and rockfall 2-3

CONSTRUCTION CIOB I&R Awards: 2014 winners 6 Understanding the social impact of construction 5

CONSTRUCTION FUTURES ICE and I&R: a look to the future 7

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Understanding the social impact of construction 5

ENERGY CIOB I&R Awards: 2014 winners 6

MODELLING & TESTING Dynamic response of tall timber buildings 4 Real time laser mapping for monitoring coastal erosion and rockfall 2-3

PROCUREMENT Understanding the social impact of construction 5

RESEARCH & INNOVATION Access the launch of Structures for free 8 CIOB I&R Awards: 2014 winners 6 ICE and I&R: a look to the future 7

STRUCTURES Access the launch of Structures for free 8 Dynamic response of tall timber buildings 4

www.innovationandresearchfocus.org.ukInnovation & Research Focus Issue 101 MAY 20152

COASTAL EROSION, MAPPING, MODELLING & TESTING

Real time laser mapping for monitoring coastal erosion and rockfall 3D Laser Mapping, a global laser scanning technology provider and Durham University have created an innovative monitoring system to provide real time 3D data on coastal cliff erosion. The project is part of a KTP (Knowledge Transfer Partnership), a scheme funded by Innovate UK, which has a track record of improving businesses’ competitiveness, productivity and performance by accessing the knowledge and expertise available within UK Universities and Colleges.

Understanding the nature and mechanisms of cliff erosion is of vital importance to predicting the likely

future movement of the coastline. Research on eroding coastlines has been limited by the need for surveys of coastal areas, which are restricted to periods of low tides each month.

The project aims to try to understand the processes of coastal erosion by looking at projected increases in sea level and stormy weather. It aims to understand the process through which wave erosion at the base of the cliffs causes undercutting of the cliff slope which results in an unstable cliff and failure of material that falls into the sea. Whilst this process may at first glance appear straightforward, research by Durham University over the last decade has shown current understanding to be largely anecdotal. The linkage between waves and erosion evolves gradually through time, and is one that responds to a wide range of factors, and not just the action of waves alone.

The project seeks to take advantage of uniquely high-resolution, 3D data being continually captured, to generate unprecedented detail on the changes experienced at cliffs. The 3D Laser Mapping Site Monitor system automatically schedules the capture and analysis of 3D laser scan data in parallel

with environmental monitoring data. The seaside town of Whitby now has one of – if not the most – intensively monitored rock faces in the world.

The project provides constant and frequent measurement of the cliff face, to

allow changes resulting from rockfall to be recorded and analysed in real time. The system is designed to scan the cliff face 24 hours a day at 30 minute intervals. Within each scan measurements of the cliff face are taken at approximately 10 cm

Whitby webcam, 31 March 2015

Diagram of the full instrumentation used to make up the system


COASTAL EROSION, MAPPING, MODELLING & TESTING

intervals, generating over 2 million points per scan. Whilst this data capture is itself uniquely innovative, the analysis of such a large volume of information presents significant challenges. To overcome this, the system streams data live from Whitby to Durham, where new algorithms have been developed to process the 3D data to extract rockfall volumes in real time.

Using these results, the project is designed to tackle the challenge of precisely monitoring coastal cliff erosion and gain a new understanding from this. For example, it is known that many landslides and rockfall are preceded by precursors, such as smaller-scale movements or smaller rockfall, yet capturing data with sufficient resolution and frequency has up until now not been possible. The intention of this analysis is to investigate these processes with a view to both better forecasting erosion, and also assessing whether such precursors can be used as warnings for future rockfall.

The intention of the research is to move beyond Whitby and the UK’s coasts. The more usual location of 3D Laser Mapping’s Site Monitor system is in some of the world’s largest open pit mines, where rockfall and slope failure presents a significant challenge for sustaining mine productivity. The insight into the fundamental mechanics of how rockfall evolves, gained from the research at the cliffs in Whitby, is designed to be transferrable to these settings and enhance the reliability of slope failure early warning systems.

The help of the local community has been key in enabling the infrastructure for this project. The findings will be available through an open access website soon so everyone involved will be able to see the results as they happen.

3D Laser Mapping are supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering under the Pathways to Growth scheme. For more information

on the scheme please contact Catherine Lawrence (Email: [email protected]). For more information on the activities detailed in the article please contact Eileen Pegg (01949 838004; E-mail: [email protected]) and /or visit www.3dlasermapping.com and www.dogweb.dur.ac.uk/cobra.

A screenshot showing the live streaming of the data from the monitored cliff face

An example of the data that is captured by the system every 30 minutes is shown above. This image shows a 3D view of the cliff, captured in February 2015. On the right it is possible to see the cottages at the end of Henrietta St, the walkway down to the pier, and East Cliff. This image is taken from measurements every c. 10 cm across the cliff face. On the page opposite (page 2) is an image of the same area of the cliff, taken from the viewpoint of the monitoring system.

Monitoring 3D laser mapping


BUILDINGS, STRUCTURES, MODELLING & TESTING

Dynamic response of tall timber buildingsTimber buildings have well established economic, social and environmental advantages over other structural options. In particular, their low carbon footprint and high strength to weight ratio makes tall timber construction an attractive solution for satisfying the pressing housing demands in densely populated areas at minimum environmental costs. However, due to the low mass and flexibility typical of tall timber construction, concerns regarding their dynamic behaviour have been raised.

An MSc research project conducted at Imperial College London by Ishan Abeysekera, funded by the

Institution of Structural Engineers, has examined the dynamic response of tall timber buildings of different configurations subjected to Tornado and Downburst wind loading. Four buildings incorporating: i) solid cross-laminated-timber (CLT) shear-wall systems, ii) glued-laminated (Glulam) frames, and iii) hybrid systems, were studied.

Buildings of 7, 11, 20 and 30 storeys were modelled and analysed in the Finite Element software SeismoStruct. Particular attention was given to the accurate representation of the connection behaviour as well as material and structural damping. Wind velocity series were generated following typical Tornado and Downburst distributions and extensive response history analyses were performed. The results were discussed in terms of peak acceleration levels attained at selected locations throughout the height of the building considering varying frequency ranges. The software SeismoSignal was employed for post-processing.

A comparison against international performance criteria for user comfort as set out in ISO10137 revealed the inability of the buildings studied here to satisfy the codified acceleration limits. Therefore, additional analyses employing tuned-mass-dampers (TMD) tailored to the most demanding frequency response in each case were carried out. It was found that TMDs with an active mass of 5% of the total building mass are able to produce up to a 50% reduction in peak acceleration levels. The models proposed as part of the present study constitute a fundamental step towards the assessment of alternative response modification strategies as well as the development of numerical tools for the future optimisation of TMD designs.

A poster giving further details of this project and details of the Institution of Structural Engineers Grant Scheme are available at: http://www.istructe.org/education/scholarships-grants-and-bursaries/msc-research-grants. Diagrams and their explanations featured in this article have been taken from the poster.

For further information about this research please contact the project supervisor, Dr Christian Málaga-Chuquitaype, Imperial

Dynamic Response of Tall Timber Buildings Ishan K Abeysekera

Supervisor: Dr Christian Málaga-Chuquitaype

1.Introduction • Tall timber buildings are gaining importance as a sustainable alternative to concrete and steel buildings.

• Due to their low mass and high flexibility the performance of tall timber buildings under transient wind loads are under question.

• This study aims to assess the performance of 4 configurations of timber buildings under transient wind loads by means of numerical analysis against the comfort criteria set out in ISO10137[1].

2.Modelling

3.Wind Loading Two types of wind profiles are considered: i) downburst, and ii) tornado (see Figure on the right). Generated wind load profiles were applied to all 4 building under consideration in the direction parallel to the strong axis (i.e. causing bending about the weak axis).

Based on experimental data the analysis was run for various values of damping ranging from 3 to 13% of the critical value.

5.Results The floor acceleration histories were post-processed in order to compare the building response with codified criteria. Results are presented below for the top floor in all buildings under study with approximately 10% viscous damping.

Building 1

• Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) building with steel connections.

• The CLT panels were modelled as rigid frames and the connections as equivalent springs. This is justified by the fact the most of the flexibility of the building comes from the connections (shown below).

• Floor modelled as rigid constraints with concentrated masses at floor levels.

Building 2

• This building employs Glued-Laminated (GluLam) beams and columns, CLT cores and a CLT slab flooring system.

• Floors are modelled as rigid constraints, with all the building mass concentrated at the floor levels.

• CLT cores modelled with equivalent elastic beam-column sections.

Buildings 3 and 4

• Based on the research project by Skidmore Owings and Merrill, SOM [2].

• These buildings use a composite framing system with concrete and timber elements.

• Walls and columns are modelled as elastic frame elements.

• Full-strength connections assumed for beam-column joints.

• Floors are modelled as rigid constraints with floor masses and vertical loads simulated as lumped mass elements.

6.Conclusions • Downburst loading appears to be more critical for lower buildings

(Buildings 1 to 3) whilst tornado loading is more critical for tall buildings (Building 4).

• When subjected to downburst action, all buildings fail to meet the ISO10137 criteria for the full range of frequencies analysed.

• TMDs with an active mass of 5% the total building mass are able to reduce in nearly 50% the peak accelerations. Further studies should be performed leading to optimized designs of TMDs.

Building 1 7-storey

Building 2 11-storey



Natural modes along weak axis – Period (s)

Mode 1: 0.68s Mode 3: 0.16s

Mode 1: 1.17s Mode 4: 0.28s

Mode 1: 1.24s Mode 4: 0.38s

Mode 1: 1.76s Mode 4: 0.54s

Rigid panel

Rigid panel

Link elements

Node Rigid bar

Figure: Modelling of CLT panels

4. Tuned Mass Damper (TMD) The effectiveness of Tuned Mass Dampers (TMD) to mitigate the high levels of floor acceleration was examined. Up to a 50% reduction in the peak acceleration values was possible in most cases by employing TMD with a mass equivalent to 5% of the building mass. No design optimization was performed.

References [1] ISO 10137:2007 Bases for design of structures - Serviceability of buildings and walkways against vibrations. [2] Skidmore Owings & Merrill. Timber Tower Research Project. Available from: http://www.som.com/ideas/research/timber_tower_ research_ project [3] SeismoStruct v6.5 available from http://www.seismosoft

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Acknowledgements The financial support of the IStructE through a MSc Research Grant for the research described in this poster is gratefully acknowledged.

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w/o TMDwith TMDOffice CriteriaResidential CriteriaDynamic Response of Tall Timber Buildings

Ishan K Abeysekera Supervisor: Dr Christian Málaga-Chuquitaype

1.Introduction • Tall timber buildings are gaining importance as a sustainable alternative to concrete and steel buildings.

• Due to their low mass and high flexibility the performance of tall timber buildings under transient wind loads are under question.

• This study aims to assess the performance of 4 configurations of timber buildings under transient wind loads by means of numerical analysis against the comfort criteria set out in ISO10137[1].

2.Modelling

3.Wind Loading Two types of wind profiles are considered: i) downburst, and ii) tornado (see Figure on the right). Generated wind load profiles were applied to all 4 building under consideration in the direction parallel to the strong axis (i.e. causing bending about the weak axis).

Based on experimental data the analysis was run for various values of damping ranging from 3 to 13% of the critical value.

5.Results The floor acceleration histories were post-processed in order to compare the building response with codified criteria. Results are presented below for the top floor in all buildings under study with approximately 10% viscous damping.

Building 1

• Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) building with steel connections.

• The CLT panels were modelled as rigid frames and the connections as equivalent springs. This is justified by the fact the most of the flexibility of the building comes from the connections (shown below).

• Floor modelled as rigid constraints with concentrated masses at floor levels.

Building 2

• This building employs Glued-Laminated (GluLam) beams and columns, CLT cores and a CLT slab flooring system.

• Floors are modelled as rigid constraints, with all the building mass concentrated at the floor levels.

• CLT cores modelled with equivalent elastic beam-column sections.

Buildings 3 and 4

• Based on the research project by Skidmore Owings and Merrill, SOM [2].

• These buildings use a composite framing system with concrete and timber elements.

• Walls and columns are modelled as elastic frame elements.

• Full-strength connections assumed for beam-column joints.

• Floors are modelled as rigid constraints with floor masses and vertical loads simulated as lumped mass elements.

6.Conclusions • Downburst loading appears to be more critical for lower buildings

(Buildings 1 to 3) whilst tornado loading is more critical for tall buildings (Building 4).


• TMDs with an active mass of 5% the total building mass are able to reduce in nearly 50% the peak accelerations. Further studies should be performed leading to optimized designs of TMDs.

Building 1 7-storey




Natural modes along weak axis – Period (s)

Mode 1: 0.68s Mode 3: 0.16s

Mode 1: 1.17s Mode 4: 0.28s

Mode 1: 1.24s Mode 4: 0.38s

Mode 1: 1.76s Mode 4: 0.54s

Rigid panel

Rigid panel

Link elements

Node Rigid bar

Figure: Modelling of CLT panels

4. Tuned Mass Damper (TMD) The effectiveness of Tuned Mass Dampers (TMD) to mitigate the high levels of floor acceleration was examined. Up to a 50% reduction in the peak acceleration values was possible in most cases by employing TMD with a mass equivalent to 5% of the building mass. No design optimization was performed.

References [1] ISO 10137:2007 Bases for design of structures - Serviceability of buildings and walkways against vibrations. [2] Skidmore Owings & Merrill. Timber Tower Research Project. Available from: http://www.som.com/ideas/research/timber_tower_ research_ project [3] SeismoStruct v6.5 available from http://www.seismosoft

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Acknowledgements The financial support of the IStructE through a MSc Research Grant for the research described in this poster is gratefully acknowledged.

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Bulding 2 - Downburst


• Downburst loading appears to be more critical for lower buildings (Buildings 1 to 3) whilst tornado loading is more critical for tall buildings (Building 4).


• TMDs with an active mass of 5% the total building mass are able to reduce the peak accelerations by nearly 50%. Further studies should be performed leading to optimized designs of TMDs.

Results and conclusions

The floor acceleration histories were post-processed in order to compare the building response with codified criteria. Results are presented below for the top floor in all buildings under study with approximately 10% viscous damping.

Buildings modelled

Wind loading and Tuned Mass Damper (TMD)Two types of wind profiles are considered: i) downburst, and ii) tornado. Generated wind load profiles were applied to all 4 buildings under consideration in the direction parallel to the strong axis (i.e. causing bending about the weak axis). The effectiveness of Tuned Mass Dampers (TMD) to mitigate the high levels of floor acceleration was examined.

College London (02075 946003; E-mail: [email protected]).


CONSTRUCTION, PROCUREMENT, CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Understanding the social impact of construction: connecting CSR with public sector procurementPublic sector procurement represents approximately 26% of all construction work procured in the UK (Office for National Statistics, 2015). Arguably long overdue, public sector workload is being consolidated into packaged frameworks via a variety of novel organisations acting as agencies. Essentially, these organisations act to increase public sector buying power and widen the requirements to work with the public sector beyond the traditional project deliverables of time, cost and quality, to include aligning contractors’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities with that of the clients’ responsibilities to the public.

The frameworks potentially offer a high value workload over a long duration, which allows the

public sector to demand in an ever more authoritative voice that their CSR targets are met. Concurrently, public sector budgets are being subjected to unprecedented cuts, and to an increase in public scrutiny. The accumulation of these arguments concludes that public sector bodies want to achieve ‘more for less’ when financing construction projects, and have the long-term high-value frameworks to add weight to their demands. Consequently, public procurement is now a powerful vehicle to drive and govern their CSR agendas in society, with meeting these CSR requirements pivotal to a main contractor’s ability to win public sector construction work.

However, stating their CSR commitments is the easy and well-used rhetoric of main contractors; capturing, measuring and illustrating the positive impact their CSR agendas have upon society is the difficult, but increasingly expected, next step. In the awarding of public sector contracts, clients will review this impact and so, to gain any real competitive advantage, main contractors will need to ensure their CSR agendas are thoroughly adopted internally, with rigorous measurement and communication processes in place to guarantee the impact assessment implemented is accurate.

There is therefore a need for research to further explore CSR, demonstrating

how construction works can meaningfully contribute to society. Of particular importance is the way CSR agendas are set by main contractors, internally and externally communicated, and then mobilised and measured at a grass roots level. It is only with success in all three of these areas that a main contractor has a CSR agenda that will positively influence their public procurement opportunities.

An ongoing collaborative research project between Loughborough University and Wilmott Dixon is actively exploring CSR strategy in the public procurement arena within the areas outlined above.

To date, the research has successfully completed a pilot study of how CSR strategies are communicated within the hierarchy of a main contractor’s organisational structure, to help explain any gaps between CSR ideals and the delivered reality. The research found that, as the CSR strategy diffused down the organisational hierarchy, the knowledge and awareness of its wider societal and business impacts reduced.

By actively exploring how actors made sense of and engaged with a CSR strategy, opportunities to improve the delivery of CSR and the inherent

limitations of current models of delivery were highlighted. Future research is planned to further explore the role of CSR, and will seek to establish any links from the success of internal CSR communication to the effectiveness of CSR measurement, and in turn how the accuracy of this measurement data can lead to public procurement success.

For further information please contact Greg Watts (07894 560998; E-mail: [email protected]).

CSR in action: A site visit for school pupils to see what working on site entails

CSR in action: Construction professionals speaking to school pupils about the industry


RESEARCH & INNOVATION, CONSTRUCTION, ENERGY

CIOB Innovation and Research Awards: 2014 winners Each year the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) recognises the highest levels of achievement in research and innovation across the built environment through its International Innovation and Research (I&R) Awards. In the first quarter of each year, the judging process is concluded and awards for the previous year are announced. By recognising best practice, the awards aim to raise performance levels and ultimately improve the quality of the built environment. Importantly, the awards also encourage the brightest industry newcomers, the recent graduates and postgraduates who are already making a valuable contribution and could lead on innovation in the future. The 2014 competition registered 178 entries from 17 different countries. Six Premier Award winners were selected to recognise their outstanding achievements in academic research and industry innovation. You may remember that the 100th issue of Innovation & Research Focus also included an article on the I&R Awards, covering the 2013 winners.

CIOB’s International I&R Awards cover any built environment related-area and this is reflected in the range of

winners that cover the six different categories of awards. The six categories are: Innovation Achiever’s Award, Digital Innovation Award, Undergraduate Dissertation Award, Masters Dissertation Award, Research Paper Award and Innovation in Education & Training Award. On page 1 you will find an article on Utterberry Wireless Sensors, winner of the Digital Innovation Award. For each category there are three levels of awards – the highest ranked Premier Award, the Highly Commended, and the Merit Award.

The Innovation Achiever’s Award recognises outstanding industry-based innovation that has improved upon – or extended beyond – current expectations of best practice. The Award aims to celebrate individual excellence in innovation. The 2014 Premier Award winner in this category went

to Robert Harris and Stanley Whetstone for their innovation ‘OxypodTM: A Clear Solution to Energy Efficiency’.

The OxypodTM is an egg shaped device developed by Stanley Whetstone from an original idea formulated by builder Robert Harris. The development received financial support from the Goodwin Development Trust. Used in closed-looped heating systems, the device removes trapped and dissolved air from the system, boosting energy efficiency by as much as 30%. Air trapped in water in closed-loop heating systems causes corrosion in the pipes, leading to the formation of magnetites, or “black sludge”. It also slows the water down, makes it harder to heat and causes extra pressure and strain on the system. The benefits of installing OxypodTM include: significant energy reduction in all types of systems; faster heat up and recovery times; lower running temperatures and greater comfort levels. Radiators

single 2+1 carriageways as an effective road safety engineering solution to Northern Ireland’s single carriageway network.

The importance of research and innovation in the safety performance of building projects was highlighted in the Research Paper category. The Premier Award went to Dr Yingbin Feng from the University of Western Sydney, Australia. His study investigates the effect of investment on safety performance, and identifies some key influencing factors. A key finding in his study indicates the importance of site culture and project conditions. Investment in basic safety has a stronger positive effect on accident prevention if the project already has a robust safety culture and project hazard level. On the other hand, corresponding levels of investment in projects with a poor safety culture will not yield such positive results. The findings suggest that increasing protection and creating a safer environment will not necessarily raise safety performance if site culture has also not improved. So contractors’ interventions should combine physical protection with other cultural safety measures.

The last award category is the Innovation in Education and Training Award. The top award in this category went to Dr Robby Soetanto who teaches construction management at Loughborough University. He is responsible for developing the BIM-Hub, an innovative teaching and learning approach for future built environment professionals to work in a BIM (Building Information Modelling) environment. With increasing international collaboration in the building industry resulting in fast-growing demand for professionals that can work in virtual teams within online BIM environments, built environment students with BIM competencies will have a competitive advantage in the job market. The BIM-Hub initiative explores how educators can help students hone their BIM competencies, and their ability to collaborate internationally in a real time collaborative BIM environment.

For further information on the CIOB I&R Awards 2014, please visit http://iandrawards.ciob.org/winners/2014 . Alternatively please contact Dr Chung-Chin Kao, Head of Innovation and Research, the Chartered Institute of Building (E-mail: [email protected]).

hold the heat for longer, reducing the frequency of boiler ignition and burn times. Systems are quieter and the circulation pump runs without any vibration.

Two of CIOB’s award categories are open to students, either undergraduates or masters students. The international nature of the awards was highlighted amongst student award winners with universities represented from the UK, Singapore and Nigeria. In the Masters Dissertation Category the Premier Award went to Dean Elder from the University of Ulster. His research looks at improving the safety of single carriageways in Northern Ireland. His study examines road traffic collisions on single carriageways, exploring the performance of wide

Left: The OxypodTM in action - pressure drop above the water creates bubbles of air. The vortex tears the surface tension of the water away, releasing the bubbles, which are sucked out through the air vent at the top.Right: Pipes and radiators with and without an OxypodTM.

Thermal image of a radiator before (left) and after (right) OxypodTM is fitted.


RESEARCH & INNOVATION, CONSTRUCTION FUTURES

ICE and Innovation & Research: a look to the futureRoger Venables, IRF Editor writes: In Issue 100 of IRF, we carried Mike Chrimes’ reflection on the history of ICE’s involvement in research & innovation in civil engineering. It therefore seems more than appropriate to carry in this starter issue for IRF’s second century a look forward in the same area by Mike’s successor, Nathan Baker, Director, Engineering Knowledge at the Institution of Civil Engineers.

With the volume of data about our environment and infrastructure ever increasing

– and seemingly the pace of change – there is a growing demand to be able to deal with the challenges in civil engineering and the wider infrastructure communities with increasingly innovative, yet still straightforward, solutions.

The global challenges that we face – such as climate change and mitigation and adaptation to it, increasing populations, increasing resource scarcity and the digital revolution – are compelling us to approach problems from a number of different angles and in different ways.

In addition, it seems that experience is being gathered earlier in people’s lives – the definition of experience is changing as people are less specialised and less concerned about detail – often due to a reliance on experts and the use of regulation and standards.

Engineers have a huge opportunity to lead innovation. They deal with real problems (we are sometimes allowed to call them problems, not just challenges!) that need solutions that work today and can be adapted and continue to be used in the future. They understand the detail as well as strategic issues in infrastructure, and the need to be able to set standards. Most importantly perhaps, engineers see the value their solution adds to people’s lives on a daily basis.

So what drives innovation? My view is that, first and foremost, innovation comes from constraint. If there are boundaries or issues that have not been solved, innovative thinking can get around the block to get to a solution. The second component in innovation is to take a risk or two and do something that has not been done before. In the 19th Century, engineers all dealt in risk to solve problems within constraints.

Those constraints may have been about materials performance, time, money or the environment but the engineering ‘gods’ thought innovatively and took a calculated risk – but it was risk.

The issues of the modern world require engineers to take a similar approach. The global challenges we face are enormous and can only be solved by creative thinking, effective risk management and sustainable application.

For civil engineers and the ICE this means we must work collaboratively,

not just with each other and our supply chain partners but with other sectors, stakeholders and decision makers.

Materials technology, people management, academic research and risk mitigation have all moved on. As we become a global community, the diversity of thinking required to solve problems means that we must all embrace change, promote diversity and work together.

We need also to recognise that great ideas can come from anywhere – to exclude them just because they do not come from our current perceived field of expertise is wrong. Academia, by definition, is pushing the boundaries of thinking – this needs to be embraced and harnessed and be applied to today’s and tomorrow’s solutions.

The Institution of Civil Engineers is the logical home for the bringing together of this thinking and the facilitation of

networks and conversations to drive innovation. As the facilitator, the ICE will make a step change in bringing stakeholders together to debate and solve issues. These issues will not just focus on today but also seek to identify issues for the future, to enable debate, planning and mitigation strategies to be implemented.

The ICE learned society is a network of subject experts and special interests. We are moving towards being the home for innovative thinking and, as we begin to think about the ICE bicentenary in 2018, we are reflecting on the lessons

of the founders – to promote the art and science of civil engineering.

We should try to identify what lessons we have learnt from them that they applied successfully to drive their generation’s revolution – and those that we have forgotten. From that, we need to draw out what we can then apply to our revolution. The ICE evolves to the environment in which it works, but a constant is the need to

innovate and solve societal problems to improve people’s lives.

ICE knowledge sits within the minds of the people with whom we interact and, in the modern digital world, we can make it more accessible than ever before. Increased use of technology and bringing the lessons of the past to life will enable innovation to flourish and for civil engineering to come to the fore within the minds of decision makers and the public alike.

For further information, please contact Nathan Baker, Director, Engineering Knowledge, Institution of Civil Engineers (020 76652246; E-mail: [email protected]). For further information on the ICE’s activity in Innovation & Research, visit http://www.ice.org.uk/topics/innovationandresearch.

The challenge for innovation in design and construction of infrastructure is how that infrastructure will need to change in the light of many factors, including the digital revolution, our increasing understanding of global warming and climate change and how to adapt, increasing size and mobility of populations, and how best to

use new materials, to name but a few (images cour tesy of Roger Venables).

SPONSORING ORGANISATIONS

ABOUT INNOVATION & RESEARCH FOCUS

GOVERNMENTDepartment for Business, Innovation & SkillsFloor 4, Victoria 2 within 1 Victoria St, London, SW1H 0ET (0207 215 1630)E-mail: [email protected]

PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTIONSChartered Institute of Building1 Arlington Square, Downshire Way, Bracknell, RG12 1WA (01344 630700; fax: 01344 306430)E-mail: [email protected]

Institution of Civil Engineers1 Great George Street, Westminster, London, SW1P 3AA (020 7222 7722; fax 020 7222 7500)E-mail: [email protected]

Institution of Structural Engineers47-58 Bastwick Street, London, EC1V 3PS (0207 201 9125; fax: 020 7201 9159)E-mail: [email protected] www.istructe.org

Royal Academy of Engineering3 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5DG (020 7766 0600; fax 020 7930 1549)E-mail: [email protected] www.raeng.org.uk

RESEARCH ORGANISATIONSCentre for Innovative and Collaborative Construction Engineering (CICE)Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU (01509 228549)E-mail: [email protected]

Centre for Window and Cladding Technology (CWCT)The Studio, Entry Hill, Bath, BA2 5LY(01225 330945; fax 01225 330031)E-mail: [email protected]

Aims – The aim of Innovation & Research Focus’s sponsors is to promote the application of innovation and research in building, civil engineering and the built environment by disseminating new information as widely as possible.

Its sponsors wish to promote the benefits of research and innovation, improve contacts between industry and researchers, encourage investment by industry in research and innovation and the use of results in practice, and facilitate collaboration between all the parties involved. Articles may be reproduced, provided the source is acknowledged.

Enquiries – If you wish to know more about a specific project, please contact the person or organisation named at the end of the relevant article or use the weblinks provided.

Mailing List – IRF is now mainly distributed electronically, but if you wish to receive an email notification of each new issue, go to the mailing list page of the IRF website at www.innovationresearchfocus.org.uk/mailing.html, or E-mail Melanie Manton at [email protected] if you receive a physical copy of IRF by direct mail and your delivery address needs changing.

Editorial Team – Professor Roger Venables, Editor ; Tim Vickers, Assistant Editor ; Melanie Manton, Sponsor Relations Manager; and Sharon Grafton, Website Developer all at Crane Environmental, 6 Electric Parade, Surbiton, Surrey, KT6 5NT, UK (020 3137 2375; E-mail: [email protected]).

Innovation & Research Focus is edited and typeset by the Editorial Team at Crane Environmental Ltd and published by the Institution of Civil Engineers, Great George Street, London SW1P 3AA, UK. ISSN 0960 5185

Quarterly magazine with a current electronic circulation of 82,000 plus 700 hard copies

© Institution of Civil Engineers, 2015


Printed on 100% recycled FSC

standard paper

BECOME A SPONSOR OF IRF

Visit www.innovationresearchfocus.org.uk/sponsorship.html to see what sponsorship options would fit your organisation.

RESEARCH & INNOVATION, STRUCTURES

Access the launch of Structures for freePublished by the Institution of Structural Engineers and Elsevier, led by Prof. Leroy Gardner (Imperial College, London) and supported by a world-class team of associate editors and editorial board members, Structures is a brand new research journal that aims to bridge the gap between academia and industry.

D isseminated to the widest audience of dedicated

practitioners and researchers of any academic journal in the structural engineering field, cross-referencing between Structures and the Institution’s flagship membership magazine The Structural Engineer is already being used to encourage greater interaction between researchers and practitioners.

Until the end of the year, all papers published in this first volume will be freely available to download at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/23520124.

Meanwhile, the Institution is seeking contributions from across the structural engineering sphere. The research may be fundamental in nature and its impact on the frontline may take some years, even decades, or it may be more applied and offer immediate benefits to the industry. Both are welcome and encouraged in the journal, and indeed both are reflected in the variety of papers in the first issue. You can submit your research at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/structures.

For further information please contact Lee Baldwin ( 02072 354535; E-mail: [email protected]). follow @IRFocus

practca appcatons or constructon and t ut nronnt … · 2015-05-12 · practca appcatons or...

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