The Eurocode for Actions on Structures

Advanced or high performance composites are materials in which high strength and high modulus fibres are used in relatively high volume fractions and fibre orientation is controlled to enable high stresses to be carried predictably and safely, without the need for large factors to allow for uncertainty. Typical examples are plastics reinforced with either glass, aramid or carbon fibres. P.R. Head

David Lazenby (Vice-president) and Dr. John Dougill (Director of Engineering) visited Brussels in early October. The main purpose of their visit was to obtain an on-the-spot view of progress in the preparation of Eurocodes and their supporting standards, as well as to update our contacts in the European Commission and in the UK Representative’s Office. J.W. Dougill and D.W. Lazenby

Stressed brickwork exhibits a visco-elastic behaviour. A number of rheological models have been used in the past to explain this behaviour, notably the Maxwell, Kelvin and Burger models. In this paper, the author proposes a 'modified' Maxwell model to explain the behaviour of brickwork under a sustained load. Using this model, a number of practical problems can be solved such as change of stress with time in reinforced, post-tensioned and composite brickwork construction. The paper also explains the process of stress relaxation in confined brickwork. The problems are illustrated with examples. D. Lenczner