Jan A Wium

South African football stadiums for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Abstract South Africa embarked on an accelerated infrastructure development program in preparation of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. This paper describes the structural aspects and the construction of five of ten stadiums which were prepared for this event. The stadiums represent an interesting variety of design concepts. The Soweto Stadium is the biggest with a capacity of 89 000. The stadiums in Cape Town and Durban are located in major economic and tourist areas, and significant investment was made to develop signature structures. For the more rural stadiums in Nelspruit and Polokwane, the challenge was to develop the facilities within strict time and budget constraints.

An evaluation of the prediction of flat slab deflections

The deflection calculation of slender, lightly reinforced, concrete members is investigated. It is observed that the different available calculation methods produce different deflection results. The reasons for the irregular results are investigated. The various deflection prediction methods include empirical hand calculation methods as presented in SABS 0100-1, the Eurocode2, and the ACI 318. Comparisons are also made with the finite element method using a commercial software package. It is shown that deflection calculations do not consider construction and post construction conditions, often resulting in non durable and non sustainable structures.

Wind Effect on Structures: An Introduction

The viaduct Crni Kal (Fig. 1) is the largest and highest bridge structure in Slovenia [1]. Two carriageways (each with three traffic lanes) are about 100 m above the ground level in cumulative length 1053,50 m (left carriageway) and 1056,35 m (right carriageway). The main span is 140 m. The Yshaped piers vary in heights from 9,0 m up to 87,50 m. Since the viaduct is located near the Adriatic coast it is exposed to very strong north-east and south-west winds. They occur very often especially during the weather changes, mostly in late autumn, winter and early spring-period of the year. The velocity of the wind called “Bora” can reach a speed up to 200 km/h. For viaduct Crni Kal the wind-structure interaction studies were performed from the very beginning of the project. In fact, two studies of wind influence have been performed.

Achieving constructability in structural design for building structures

Constructability in structural design is investigated by using a case study of a 21m concrete roof structure as basis for the evaluation. The case study shows that even in a case where the designer paid special attention to constructability during the conceptual phase, the contractor may still have special preferences which differ from the concept design. Therefore, by just relying on lessons learned programmes and previous knowledge, a design may not be suitably constructible for a given contractor. It demonstrates that the conceptual design is a function of a number of factors which need to be considered in conjunction with each other, rather than a merely counting on previous experience and knowledge. In addition, it is shown how the designer should consider all possibilities, even beyond the direct environment of the specific structural context.

Principles and application of Structural Design Code development in South Africa

Abstract Structural design codes reflect the customs in construction, available materials, training and other characteristics of the regions from where they originate. However, owing to globalisation, and a worldwide trend in which structural design codes are being harmonised, the application of international codes locally requires a proper framework and guidelines in order to match the implicit basis of these codes to local conditions and requirements. South Africa is in the process of revising their suite of structural design codes, and has opted to use the Eurocode suite of codes as reference material for this process. Inherent differences between the environment in which Eurocode and such transferred codes will operate makes it imperative that local implementation be based on a fundamental approach of code development. The paper presents a scheme that can serve as guidelines for code development, based on a set of attributes serving as the driving potential for the process, within the context of the technical nature of structural design codes, some meta- technical characteristics and organisational relationships. The application of the scheme is demonstrated by showing examples of how selected Eurocode standards are applied as South African codes.

Rocking Shear Wall Foundations in Regions of Moderate Seismicity

This paper presents an investigation to reduce the size of shear wall foundations for earthquake forces in region of moderate seismicity. The approach taken is to allow rocking of the shear wall foundation and to include the frame action of the structure to assist as lateral force resisting system. An initial feasibility study is presented where the shear wall foundation and the structural frame are theoretically modelled as a single degree of freedom system, subjected to base accelerations from recorded ground motions. An example building is studied with the shear wall foundation designed for 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% of the design overturning moment from the seismic event. Time history analyses are performed with input from five earthquakes. It is shown that the concept is feasible and the next phase will consist of improved modelling to allow for distribution of mass over the height of the structure as well as shear wall stiffness.

The Art and Science of Structural Engineering

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