Strain is placed on several building materials as construction schedules compress to accommodate building occupancy “as soon as possible.” Add pressures to utilize environmentally responsible products and suddenly traditional construction practices have the potential for problems. …
Discussions of cold and hot weather concrete procedures do not occur until the five-day forecast calls for extreme weather. At that point, everything becomes a rush.
Special concrete mixes, as required, need to be submitted for approval at the beginning of a project. Time is required to test and practice with different temperatures and dosages and to adjust the cocktail of admixtures that form the basis of high-performance concrete today. …
The built infrastructure is one of the largest contributors to various measures of environmental impacts, e.g., energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. There is sustained momentum towards decreasing this impact. This momentum is consistent with the ASCE Code of Ethics which states, in part, that engineers “shall strive to comply with the principles of sustainable development in the performance of their professional duties.” …
Vibration analysis has become more commonplace in everyday practice. In office environments, the need for longer spans continues to increase. Open spaces, with minimal or no partitions and no filing cabinets, are becoming even more prevalent (typical electronic office), which translates to less damping to counteract vibrational effects. …
In the spring of 2016, a group of eight students completing their master’s degrees in structural engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, were led out of the classroom and into the great outdoors for a very atypical educational experience. After years of calculus and physics, it was time for a much-needed mental break, where textbooks and exams were set aside for tape measures and cameras. …
The author’s company, a forensic engineering and architecture firm, has investigated hundreds of low-slope roof and exterior deck applications with water stains, ponding, framing damage, and structural collapse. The first article, Part 1: ¼ in 12 Design Slope and Water Drainage (STRUCTURE, August 2017), examined two building code parameters that contribute to low-slope roof and deck serviceability issues. …
Energy efficiency continues to weave itself into the expectation of building design. Building trades, including Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, and Structural Engineers, are having to modify their general practices. The new requirements of building codes, namely energy codes, are subsequently forcing age-old structural detailing into a new realm. …
As states adopt the 2015 International Existing Building Code (IEBC), more engineers are learning the differences between two of its compliance methods – the Prescriptive method and the Work Area method. (See “What Happened to Chapter 34?” in the June 2016 issue of STRUCTURE.) …
Congratulations – you landed your first role in leadership! Welcome to the beginning of significant personal and professional growth. To help you navigate the immense learning curve, here are the top 12 areas that all managers need to navigate to achieve success as a leader. …
An engineer’s Consent to Assignment, also referred to as an Acknowledgement and Consent, is usually drafted by the bank providing construction financing for a project. A typical consent requires the engineer to agree that the bank can exercise the rights it has acquired under an assignment from the borrower (the owner); among these rights will be the right to assume the design agreement if the borrower defaults on its loan. …