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Book Review: “Basic Principles of Plates and Slabs”

Book Review: “Basic Principles of Plates and Slabs” 10_book review 15/10/07 10:25 am Page 593 Book review “Basic principles of plates and slabs” by P.G.Lowe Whittles Publishing / CRC Press, 2005 This 250-page book is an enlarged edition of Peter reinforced-concrete technology – expensive form-work, Lowe’s 1982 text ( 180 pp ) on the theory of plate non-ductile failure characteristics, poor fire-resistance, structures. The enlargement consists mainly of a new etc. – it turns out that Lowe’s preferred scheme is to use Chapter 6, on “externally reinforced concrete” ( ERC ) steel in the form of thin sheet, folded and welded into members. rectangular-cross-section tubes, which are then filled After a new introduction, in which Lowe elicits a with concrete. Beams made in this way confine the “wake-up call” to structural engineers from the collapse concrete and thus promote ductile failure of that of New York’s “twin towers” of the World Trade material. The chapter is both interesting and thought- Centre on 11 September 2001, the text begins its provoking; but the reader will doubtless yearn for much traditional exposition of the structural mechanics of more in the way of experimental confirmation of the plates and slabs. First, the reader is reminded about ideas – some references to the author’s papers are cited vectors and matrices, and the theory of simple beams. here, but no indication is given of their scope or Then comes a chapter on the statics and kinematics of contents – and explanation of such matters as when the two-dimensional plates which respond to transverse concrete is to be cast into the steel tubes; how the joints loading by bending / twisting action. of the framed structure shown in the frontispiece are Chapter 3 expounds the classical elastic theory of constructed; and how a close-packed parallel assembly plates, while Chapter 4 presents the classical plastic of ERC beams can act together in a slab-like manner. theory, including the important and useful upper- and Chapter 7 is a Bibliography – much enlarged – not lower-bound theorems of limit analysis. It then only of the immediate subject-matter of the book, but branches out into one of Lowe’s special research also of the history of the theory of structures. It includes interests, concerning the use of dimensional analysis some arcane matter signifying Lowe’s interest in and developing general approximate relations between history. Thus it has a section on John Wallis ( a load-carrying capacity and the plan area and perimeter contemporary of Christopher Wren ) and another on of slabs, for their practical design – and indeed giving W.J. Ibbetson. This chapter also includes a small theorems related to orthotropic and isotropic plates. number of problems for the reader. Chapter 5 deals with another topic in plastic theory, Lastly, there is a substantial Appendix on the concerning the optimum layout of reinforcement in mathematics of the geometry of surfaces: it provides concrete slabs. Here again Lowe has done significant more on this topic than is strictly required for the original work, in developing earlier studies of the elementary kinematics of small deflections of elastic design of beams to support prescribed loads, and taking and plastic plates. the minimum consumption of material as an objective. This book addresses a “niche topic” in the major field These five chapters are reproduced without change of structural engineering. It presents much that is well from the previous text-book – even including some known, but the text is leavened by a series of special typographical errors. insights which come direct from the author; and these The new Chapter 6 begins by arguing that the time considerably widen the scope of the work. has come for structural engineers to develop a new technology for building in reinforced concrete. After a lengthy discussion of the shortcomings of conventional C.R.Calladine Advances in Structural Engineering Vol. 10 No. 5 2007 593 http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Advances in Structural Engineering SAGE

Book Review: “Basic Principles of Plates and Slabs”

Calladine, C.R.
Advances in Structural Engineering , Volume 10 (5): 1 – Oct 1, 2007
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Publisher
SAGE
Copyright
© 2007 SAGE Publications
ISSN
1369-4332
eISSN
2048-4011
DOI
10.1260/136943307782417708
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Abstract

10_book review 15/10/07 10:25 am Page 593 Book review “Basic principles of plates and slabs” by P.G.Lowe Whittles Publishing / CRC Press, 2005 This 250-page book is an enlarged edition of Peter reinforced-concrete technology – expensive form-work, Lowe’s 1982 text ( 180 pp ) on the theory of plate non-ductile failure characteristics, poor fire-resistance, structures. The enlargement consists mainly of a new etc. – it turns out that Lowe’s preferred scheme is to use Chapter 6, on “externally reinforced concrete” ( ERC ) steel in the form of thin sheet, folded and welded into members. rectangular-cross-section tubes, which are then filled After a new introduction, in which Lowe elicits a with concrete. Beams made in this way confine the “wake-up call” to structural engineers from the collapse concrete and thus promote ductile failure of that of New York’s “twin towers” of the World Trade material. The chapter is both interesting and thought- Centre on 11 September 2001, the text begins its provoking; but the reader will doubtless yearn for much traditional exposition of the structural mechanics of more in the way of experimental confirmation of the plates and slabs. First, the reader is reminded about ideas – some references to the author’s papers are cited vectors and matrices, and the theory of simple beams. here, but no indication is given of their scope or Then comes a chapter on the statics and kinematics of contents – and explanation of such matters as when the two-dimensional plates which respond to transverse concrete is to be cast into the steel tubes; how the joints loading by bending / twisting action. of the framed structure shown in the frontispiece are Chapter 3 expounds the classical elastic theory of constructed; and how a close-packed parallel assembly plates, while Chapter 4 presents the classical plastic of ERC beams can act together in a slab-like manner. theory, including the important and useful upper- and Chapter 7 is a Bibliography – much enlarged – not lower-bound theorems of limit analysis. It then only of the immediate subject-matter of the book, but branches out into one of Lowe’s special research also of the history of the theory of structures. It includes interests, concerning the use of dimensional analysis some arcane matter signifying Lowe’s interest in and developing general approximate relations between history. Thus it has a section on John Wallis ( a load-carrying capacity and the plan area and perimeter contemporary of Christopher Wren ) and another on of slabs, for their practical design – and indeed giving W.J. Ibbetson. This chapter also includes a small theorems related to orthotropic and isotropic plates. number of problems for the reader. Chapter 5 deals with another topic in plastic theory, Lastly, there is a substantial Appendix on the concerning the optimum layout of reinforcement in mathematics of the geometry of surfaces: it provides concrete slabs. Here again Lowe has done significant more on this topic than is strictly required for the original work, in developing earlier studies of the elementary kinematics of small deflections of elastic design of beams to support prescribed loads, and taking and plastic plates. the minimum consumption of material as an objective. This book addresses a “niche topic” in the major field These five chapters are reproduced without change of structural engineering. It presents much that is well from the previous text-book – even including some known, but the text is leavened by a series of special typographical errors. insights which come direct from the author; and these The new Chapter 6 begins by arguing that the time considerably widen the scope of the work. has come for structural engineers to develop a new technology for building in reinforced concrete. After a lengthy discussion of the shortcomings of conventional C.R.Calladine Advances in Structural Engineering Vol. 10 No. 5 2007 593

Journal

Advances in Structural Engineering – SAGE

Published: Oct 1, 2007

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