The book aims to provide an introduction to the design of structural elements through the use of real examples. The approach is to describe the theory behind the codes of practice, then to show how the rules within the codes are developed, to describe the application of those rules and then to demonstrate this with worked examples. The examples take the form of detailed calculations for the design and detailing of elements.
The book starts with a review of elastic methods of analysis, following with sections on design philosophies, structural loading and then robustness and stability. These are clear and well laid out, although there are several errors in the equations as printed that could lead to confusion. Similarly a number of the equilibrium conditions demonstrated do not sum to zero.
The book then studies each of the main structural materials in turn. The approach in each case is similar with a description of the material and its properties, followed by a theoretical introduction to the code and then examples.
The section on concrete elements covers the development of the BS8110 stress block in some detail and then goes into the code requirements for beams, slabs, columns and foundations. The absence of design guidance for walls is a regrettable omission. The steel section covers the design of beams, columns and ties as well as some guidance on connection design. I could find no reference to checks for and design of stiffeners, although many of the connections drawn showed them. The timber section covers the design of beams (solid timber, ply web and glu-lam) and columns, along with advice on mechanical fasteners. The section on masonry covers the design of walls and piers.
The book works well as an introductory text to the design of structural elements. However it has a number of failings; first, it is incomplete and does not identify to the reader where it is incomplete; second, there are no pointers to practical design guides for section selection; and third, parts of the book do not appear to have been proof-read as fundamental equations contain typographic errors.
The great strength of the work is the clearly laid out calculations, but unfortunately these are let down by the failings identified above. The book is a useful addition to the range of element design textbooks; however, as a reference work for students moving to practising engineering it is flawed.
The contents of the publication are well balanced, follow a rational progression and are clearly aimed to provide general information and act as a teaching aid for HNC/HND and other sub-degree level construction-related courses.
The book is well written with many very useful illustrations and ‘typical’ details. Each coherent section of the text has a ‘reflective summary’ at the end and useful suggestions for a review/revision of knowledge obtained are appended. Case studies and examples are provided.
There are, unfortunately, a few notable shortcomings and omissions:
The link between construction (processes, materials) and environment is emphasised, however it is almost entirely focused on matters concerning ‘recycling’ and sustainability of ‘resources’, with an inadequate mention of equally, if not more important, environmental impacts such as CO2 emissions (cement, steel and other production processes) and working environment issues (health/safety) on sites and around them.
Recent major technological advances are not mentioned; the most prominent absence is that of self-compacting concrete and an outline of its very positive effects on the construction process and environment. Equally, the absence of many major EN standards and Eurocodes, now fully replacing UK national ones in current British construction practice, significantly reduces the usefulness of the book. Updating the standards quoted in the text would have been an easy task, leading to a major improvement of longer-term value of the book. In places, the structure-material-construction process chain of interactions could have been better explained (e.g. interactions between infill panels and structural frames).
Perhaps the most important omission of all is that of a good, detailed index. The meagre one-and-a-half page index is wholly inadequate. A good index takes time and effort to produce, however it is essential for a book such as this, intended primarily as a teaching aid.
