Welcome to the first issue of Civil Engineering in 2018, which is the 200th anniversary of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE).
The effects of last year’s political upheavals, from the UK triggering its departure from the EU to the USA inaugurating its new president, are still playing out. But despite the uncertainty these events may bring, one thing we can be sure of in 2018 is that the role of civil engineers in shaping the world around us will be as critical as ever.
ICE’s Proceedings journals therefore continue their aim of sharing best practice and encouraging knowledge transfer across ICE’s vast international network of civil engineers. This issue of Civil Engineering is no exception – and it is fitting in ICE’s bicentenary year that we have three fantastic papers that cover both the old and the new.
But first we have the address of ICE’s new president, Robert Mair (2018), who focuses on transforming the profession and the infrastructure around us. His address reflects on what has been achieved by civil engineers in the last 200 years and provides challenges in relation to innovation, such as smart infrastructure and automation, and inspiring the next generation of civil engineers.
Our technical papers start with Yu et al. (2018), who describe the Yachihe Bridge in China – the longest steel-truss cable-stayed bridge in the world and tenth longest overall on completion in 2016. The dual-carriageway road bridge is truly a striking red landmark in southern China. The authors go into the technical detail of the innovative cable anchorage system adopted and the construction challenges that were faced. The photograph showing the installation of deck segments using the cable crane technique (detail below) is fascinating and shows how much of a daunting task it must have been to complete construction.
Fernandez (2018) then explores why demolition of old buildings no longer fit for their intended purpose may not always be the best solution. He reports on the engineering and science library at the University of Nottingham, which has recently been successfully regenerated and expanded into a modern library space. He describes the challenges of lengthening and strengthening existing columns and constructing new foundations while also showcasing how difficulties at the interface between the existing building and the new structure were tackled. With sustainability a critical and pervasive challenge for civil engineers, this paper shows how we can play an important role in adapting existing assets.
Finally, Bowers and Moss (2018) describe the challenges of reconstructing a section of Jubilee line tunnel in London between Baker Street and Bond Street. The authors provide a general overview of the tunnel construction on the Jubilee line and describe the investigation works following the identification of concrete spalling and cracking of the concrete structure on a 200 m stretch of tunnel. They conclude by explaining how tunnel reconstruction works were designed and implemented without causing unplanned disruption to services.
In its 200th year, with over 90 000 members across the globe, it is clear ICE has come a long way since the first meeting of three young engineers in a London coffee shop in 1818. ICE Proceedings journals will continue to be an integral part of the knowledge-sharing arm of ICE. The papers and articles included in this issue of Civil Engineering, as well as our president’s address, certainly show this to be the case and I hope they inspire other civil engineers to contribute to future issues.
I trust you enjoy reading the first issue of Civil Engineering in ICE’s 200th year and, on behalf of the editorial panel, wish you a happy, productive and successful 2018.
