The inspection and maintenance of buildings and other structures constitutes a significant proportion of the workload of the construction industry. Difficulties associated with access, risk of injury and costs, point to the need to reduce human involvement and look for means of automating these activities. In this paper conceptual requirements are identified and robotic devices designed and produced at Bristol Polytechnic for this purpose are discussed. The latest prototype is described including the enabling technologies such as delivery mechanisms, control and communication systems, adhesion mechanisms and the vehicle structure. Tests using the robot are described, including experiments using a cover meter mounted on reciprocating mechanisms to feedback data (computer interfaced) on re-bar cover and position.
I would like to mention the salient points which arose during the designs, first, to arrange for efficient cargo handling to ensure a rapid turn-round of the ships, second, to provide ample space for processing passengers and tourists, and thirdly, to provide amenities to attract shoppers and local residents.88. In 1970 the records show 388 ships berthed at the terminal, made up of 103 passenger ships, 10 cruise liners, 254 cargo ships, and 21 container ships, these only for four months, as since then they have been using No. 5 wharf. Passengers recorded were 15 000, and there were 53 million visitors. Cargo imported was 40 000 tons, and exported 280 000 tons.89. One of the main difficulties in planning was that potential lessees, faced with a proposal which was new and to them rather speculative, were very slow in making up their minds what they wanted. We had therefore to keep the planning very flexible: even at the end there were still changes which had to be made. This was all in the superstructure, and it showed more clearly almost every day the advantage of the Contractor's design in separating the deck structures from the superstructure because it gave the clients several months longer in which to settle the final details of the letting.90. It has proved very popular to local people, as about 115 000 persons visited the terminal each week. M r D. L. Pope, Bertlin & PartnersAt one time I was employed by Taylor Woodrow on the construction of the Ocean Terminal. For someone who was concerned with this project at very close quarters on site, the day-to-day problems were very acute from my point of view. It is therefore very revealing to have a Paper like this which puts the whole problem into perspective.92. However, the Paper compresses a large project into a short space, and I think that in one or two instances the Authors have erred on the side of being too concise. In particular, the question of the provision of independent foundations for the jetty deck and the superstructure which is stated in !j 25 as having the following advantages:(a) the client and the lessees could delay until the last possible moment decisions (b) the problems of differential settlement between the jetty and the super-(c) the deck structure can be kept shallow and out of the tidal range.on the layout of the superstructure; structure would be minimized ; 93. The layout of the columns was determined in advance, and I would suggest that since the deadload must be a very large proportion of the load on the columns, it would only be a very small number of columns where the final design load was not known in advance. So this cannot really have been an important criterion.94. So far as differential settlement is concerned, if the whole structure was carried on one foundation system, there would not have been any problem. However, by
At what stage of the work were the archaeological discoveries made? Presumably there were discussions between the Iraqi Ministry of Construction and the organization responsible for archaeological preservation. It would be of interest to know whether the Engineer was consulted on this matter and, for example, if he was allowed to give consideration to the possible redesigning of the bridge, perhaps by increasing the spans, to avoid destruction of the ancient brickwork. M r P. L. Martin, Rendel, Palmer & TrittonThe foundation design for the bridge was dominated by consideration of the extraordinary scour conditions. Design studies therefore centred on pile capacity under both vertical and lateral load at times of flood. This discussion contribution enlarges on the pile testing which was camed out. 45.The first two pile tests did not confirm either that the permanent piles would have adequate bearing capacity or that settlements under working load would be within acceptable limits. A further test was made. The test had two objectives. The first was to prove the effectiveness of the unorthodox procedure for cleaning the base of the pile shaft. The second was to determine the relationship between end bearing capacity and the standard penetration test data obtained from the site investigations. An extrapolation could then be made to determine base capacity under scour conditions. Ideally this test would have been made on a pile founded at -9.0 m, but, even if skin friction could have been eliminated entirely, it would have been necessary to increase the test load to compensate for the increased overburden pressure (from +5.0 m to river-bed level) over that occurring at maximum scour. Furthermore, a test pile could not by then
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.