E NEWS

The wreckage from Covid-19’s slipstream includes the disruption of the Society’s seminar programme – the first event won’t take place until later this year.

But members may be interested in the pair of webinars we have created from two seminars held last year – particularly if you weren’t able to make those events. If we can take anything ‘positive’ from the virus, it’s the proof that webinars are an effective way of reaching people – even in extraordinary circumstances.

The two webinars are Strut & Tie (held in September last year), and Assessment of Existing Concrete Buildings using the Revised C5 Guidelines, held in June.

Concrete NZ – Learned Society 64 Wynyard Crescent, Tamatea, Napier 4112, NZ T +64 (9) 536 5410 E learnedsociety@concretenz.org.nz www.concretesociety.org.nz

J U L Y 2 0 2 0

MISSED THE SEMINARS? TRY WEBINARS

Always a well-attended seminar, the Strut & Tie method of analysis and design is a unified approach that considers all load effects (M, N, V, T) simultaneously. It has evolved as one of the most useful design methods for shear critical structures.

The method relies on a first-principles approach to explain how forces are transmitted through reinforced concrete and is particularly effective when trying to explain the complex actions occurring in diaphragms, deep beams, prestressed members, and members with penetrations.

Though the Strut & Tie procedure is detailed within NZS 3101, it has not (until recently) been widely covered during structural engineering courses.

The seminar (webinar) was (is) presented by Des Bull (a Technical Director of Holmes Consulting Group LP), and Rick Henry (senior lecturer in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Auckland).

The Assessment of Existing Concrete Buildings using the Revised C5 Guidelines seminar explores a simpler and more comprehensive means of assessing existing concrete buildings prevalent throughout New Zealand.

The revised Guidelines were released in late 2018 and was developed through the combination of international guidance and local research.

The seminar/webinar was (is) presented by Professor Ken Elwood (the MBIE Chair in Earthquake Engineering and Director of QuakeCoRE: New Zealand’s Centre of Research Excellence for Earthquake Resilience), and Nicholas Brooke, a consulting engineer and Principal at Compusoft Engineering. Nicholas is also the current president of the Concrete Society.

CostsThe Strut & Tie webinar comprises four sessions priced at $160+GST. The C5 webinar comprises six sessions priced at $240+GST. Once purchased, they are available to view for seven days (Note: the webinars must be viewed on-line – they can’t be downloaded – and they must be accessed before the seven-day window expires. They can, however, be viewed session-by-session at different times (to suit viewers’ schedules) within the seven-day window).

The webinars can be accessed at https://www.avpeople.co.nz/concretenz

fib BULLETINSIf you’ve not yet had the opportunity to explore the wealth of information available in the library of fib Bulletins, make a point of doing so.

These Bulletins are highly-regarded internationally and, even better, Society members have free access to them via the Society website – https://www.concretesociety.org.nz/index.php/members/fib-publications.

The website also carries extensive material from past conference proceedings and seminar notes.

Concrete NZ – Learned Society 64 Wynyard Crescent, Tamatea, Napier 4112, NZ T +64 (9) 536 5410 E learnedsociety@concretenz.org.nz www.concretesociety.org.nz

2020/2021 SEMINAR PROGRAMME

While we live in very challenging times that present difficulties for our conventional Seminar Programme, members will be pleased to know that three seminars have been confirmed for 2020/21.

All are still in the early stages of development, but the topics stem from surveys conducted at previous seminars where delegates were asked to nominate preferred subjects for future seminars. They are:

1. Low-Rise Concrete Panels Seminar – tentatively scheduled for October/November this year, to be held in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The Auckland seminar will be recorded for a future webinar.

2. Low Damage Design Seminar – again, provisionally scheduled for April/May 2021. This seminar will also include content on PRESSS Design and an upgrade of the PRESSS Design Handbook produced by the Concrete Society in 2010.

3. Prestressing/Post-tensioned Concrete Structures Seminar – scheduled for the first quarter of next year. This is a follow-on seminar from those held in recent times.

WATCH IT!

Members will soon have access to a library of free informational videos covering a variety of industry-related topics. Examples of proposed subjects include the latest testing facilities at the universities of Auckland and Canterbury.

Overall programme content is still being developed, but it is envisaged the videos will follow similar format to what is currently offered at Regional Structural Group meetings – a 45-minute presentation followed by 15 minutes of Q&A.

CONFERENCE 2021

The dreaded Covid-19 bug has truly thrown the Society’s 2020 plans into disarray. As you will have guessed, the major casualty is our annual Conference which was to have run in Rotorua in October this year.

The event has been rescheduled for Thursday 14 – Saturday 16 October next year. The venue remains the same – Rotorua’s Energy Event Centre. The standard ‘Call for Papers’ will be distributed to the industry later this year.

Among other benefits the Conference is always a great opportunity to present your product and/or services to more than 350 decision makers Those interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at the conference should contact the Society’s Secretary at: concrete@bluepacificevents.com.

CAN’T ACCESS THE MEMBER WEBSITE?

If you’re having difficulty in accessing the Member component of the Society’s website, it may be because you’re using incorrect log-in details.

These details are listed in Member section ‘log-in instructions’. Essentially you need to use the old ‘NZ Concrete Society’ as part of the process.

We are in the process of migrating the website from the old to the new, but for the moment please use this link: https://www.concretesociety.org.nz/index.php/component/users/?view=login