Modelling Concrete Structures with Finite Elements

NAFEMS, The International Association for the Engineering Analysis Community, has announced that registration is open for the upcoming seminar, "Modelling Concrete Structures with Finite Elements", to be held in London on May 24th 2006.

The seminar will bring together an outstanding and diverse group of engineers and managers currently working with analytical methods, who wish to gain insight into latest practices.

Structural concrete (i.e. plain, reinforced and pre-stressed) is often thought of as a simple, low-tech material. However, the varied constituents (aggregate, cement, water, additives and reinforcement) that make it such a versatile material, also make it notoriously hard to describe and model computationally. Modern finite element codes have some powerful capabilities for analysing the behaviour of structural concrete, but it can be very difficult to know how to make effective use of them. In consequence, engineers face a number of challenges including:

• How confident can I be in the results?
• How do I allow for the inevitable variability in the constituent material?
• How do I use the results in conjunction with codes of practice?
• What level of reinforcing details should be modelled?
• How can I analyse old structural concrete reliably?

The seminar aims to address these questions and will attempt to explore the issues involved. It will cover some recent developments in the modelling of structural concrete and will also feature a number of case-histories, by leading practitioners.

Agenda

10am               Coffee & Registration

Modelling of Plain and Reinforced Concrete
Professor G Pande, Swansea University

Applications of Concrete Models to Dams & Nuclear Structures
Dr V Gocevski, Hydro Quebec, Canada  

Simulating the Dynamic Response and Failure of Concrete Structures & Practical Approaches to Pre-Stressed Reinforced Concrete Assessment
Mr R Clegg & Mr P Cheetham, Century Dynamics Ltd.

Modelling of Degradation Effects in Concrete Structures
Professor N Bicanic, Glasgow University

12:45               Lunch

Cyclic and Thermal Loading of Concrete Structures
Dr. G. Schreppers, TNO DIANA BV

Modelling Tension Stiffening in Reinforced Concrete with NLFEA: Potential Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
Dr R Vollum, Imperial College London

Modelling Structural Concrete as Part of the Design Process
Mr C Brookes, Gifford & Partners Ltd.

15:30               Open Discussion

16:00               Finish

Who Should Attend?

The seminar is equally applicable to engineers currently working with analytical methods and managers responsible for supervising their use, who wish to gain insight into latest practices. There will be ample time for questions and informal discussion.