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SUMMARY:Angus Low’s 3rd equation\; serendipity in research - Professor C
 hris Burgoyne\, University of Cambridge 
DTSTART:20230505T140000Z
DTEND:20230505T150000Z
UID:TALK199549@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Jamie Clarkson
DESCRIPTION:A lot of successful research does not involve major breakthrou
 ghs\, but instead relies on drawing together many separate strands to form
  a coherent whole.  The analysis of prestressed concrete (psc) is trivial 
 but its design can be complicated. The prestressing force in a structure i
 s typically ten times its weight\, so unlike most structural elements\, th
 e unloaded state can be a critical design condition.  Things are even more
  complicated when the structure is statically indeterminate.  Finite eleme
 nts don’t help because they tell you what will happen to a structure you
  have already designed\, but not how to select that structure in the first
  place.  The process is not governed by a small number of equations but by
  a large number of inequalities.  The result is that design of psc is ofte
 n put into the “too difficult” box and a less suitable material is cho
 sen.  \n\nAngus Low\, who worked for Arups\, and who sadly died in January
  this year\, was one of the leading exponents of prestressed concrete brid
 ge design.   He published a paper in the ICE journal that referred to a pr
 eviously unknown third constraint on the required prestressing force when 
 designing viaducts.  The method undoubtedly worked but the underlying prin
 ciples weren’t clear.  The talk will describe methods that allow the des
 ign of prestressed concrete to be carried out in a logical sequence\, and 
 on the way explains “Angus’ 3rd equation” as it came to be known.  I
 t allows a designer to work from the applied loads all the way through to 
 the cross section shape\, the choice of the concrete strength the selectio
 n of the required prestressing force and the final cable profiles.  All th
 e required theory is taught in the third year or earlier.  It shows how th
 e method can even be deployed in an expert system\, which today would be c
 alled AI.  ChatPSC anyone? \n\nPhoto credit: HS2\n\nZoom link:\nJoin Zoom 
 Meeting\nhttps://eng-cam.zoom.us/j/83729338532\n\nMeeting ID: 837 2933 853
 2\n
LOCATION:CivEng Seminar Room (1-33) (Civil Engineering Building)
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