Testing and analysis of the world’s first metal 3D printed bridge, followed by IStructE Research Award Winner

Testing and analysis of the world’s first metal 3D printed bridge by Prof. Leroy Gardner from Imperial College London, followed by Talk on Research Award Winner 

EVENT INFORMATION

Date: Wednesday 27th November 2019
Time: 18:00 tea and coffee for 18:20 start, 19:30 finish
Venue: Main Auditorium, Institution of Structural Engineers HQ, 47-58 Bastwick St, London EC1V 3PS

Tickets: FREE for members and non-members

SCHEDULE

18:00 - 18:20 Tea and Coffee Reception
18:20 - 19:00 Technical Talk on MX3D (40 mins)
19:00 - 19:10 Q&A
19:10 - 19:25 Research Award by Dr Adam Jan Sadowski and Dr Dimitris Pachakis
19:25 - 19:30 Q&A
19:30             Close

SYNOPSIS

Wire and arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) is a method of metal 3D printing that is suited to the requirements of the construction industry in terms of scale, speed and cost. Using this technology, a 10.5 m span footbridge, the first of its kind, has been constructed. The testing, analysis and verification of the bridge and its components are described in this presentation. The experiments performed have included material testing, compressive testing of cross-sections and full-scale load testing of the bridge, and have featured the use of 3D laser scanning and Digital Image Correlation. Parallel finite element modelling of the full bridge and its constituent elements has also been performed as part of the verification. The project highlights the potential for metal 3D printing in structural engineering, as well as the challenges and necessary considerations for design.

SPEAKERS

Prof. Leroy Gardner BEng MSc DIC PhD CEng FIStructE FICE FHEA 

Professor of Structural Engineering | Imperial College London

Leroy Gardner is Professor of Structural Engineering and Director of Research in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Imperial College London. He is engaged in teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, industry training, specialist advisory work and leading an active research group in structural engineering. 

Prof. Gardner’s principal research interests, in respect of which he has co-authored 4 textbooks, 7 book chapters and over 400 technical papers, lie in the areas of structural testing, numerical modelling and the development of design methods for steel structures. He is Editor-in-Chief of two international journals and serves on the Editorial boards of five others. He chairs a number of IStructE and BSI committees, is the UK National Representative on the European Working Group for the structural steel design standard EN 1993-1-1, and is a Fellow of both the Institutions of Civil and Structural Engineers. Prof. Gardner was awarded the prestigious IABSE prize in 2017 and was appointed Distinguished Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University in 2018.

IStructE Research Award Winner

At present, there is very limited research and testing of hollow steel pipe piles, commonly used in marine construction. The research indicates that they may be susceptible to inelastic buckling and low cycle fatigue when subjected to cyclic loading, such as during an earthquake. A reliable and predictable description of the inelastic post buckling behaviour of steel circular hollow sections in the marine pile range in cyclic loading would be indispensable for their performance based seismic design in the marine pile range - however, such a characteristic does not yet exist.

Dr Adam Jan Sadowski MEng MSc MEd PhD CMath CSci FHEA

Senior Lecturer in Structural Engineering | Imperial College London

Dr Adam Jan Sadowski is a Senior Lecturer in Structural Engineering. His research interests include the theoretical and computational simulation of the strength and stability of complex metal shell structures, for which he employs methods from shell theory, finite element analysis, applied mathematics and solid mechanics.

Dr Dimitris Pachakis

Technical Director | COWI

Dr Dimitris Pachakis is a Civil/Structural Engineer, licenced in Greece, California, the UK and the UAE, with over 20 years of experience, 15 of which in port planning, and engineering. He has worked on over 50 port planning and engineering projects worldwide, involving medium and large container terminals, liquid and solid bulk terminals, and oil and gas supply bases. He has worked in the UK for 10 years and is part of 2 PIANC workgroups and external member of research centres at Imperial College and City University. His key areas of expertise are port planning, maritime structures, seismic design and technical due diligence.

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