Discussion

SESSION 1—The British Design Rules

Or O.A. KERENSKY (Session Chairman)

I would like to correct, "before this international audience, any possible impression that the British Standard 153 was in any way inadequate for dealing with bridges within its scope, which was: 'The superstructure of simply supported steel bridges of spans up to 100 m'. This limited scope was quite intentional in order to ensure that the advancements in the design and construction of longer span and more complex structures was in no way inhibited. Any reference to aerodynamic instability would be out of place in this limited specification. The fact that engineers applied it to structures outside its scope by extrapolating the Clauses at their own discretion is no reflection on the Standard. I am not aware of any failures of bridges designed to BS 153. At the time of publication of its last version in 1958 BS 153 was one of the most advanced specifications in the world.