Editor’s Note

The November 2013 edition of the Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction includes one forum, one case study, one technical note, and six technical papers. This collection of interesting and informative topics will certainly prove beneficial to practicing engineers. This edition begins with a forum discussing issues related to blast load protection in buildings. The Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction has covered related topics in several previous issues. The topics covered here, as well as those published in the past, offer a unique feature by providing practicing engineers with awareness of, basic knowledge needed for, and recommendations useful in, the design of protective structures.

The six technical papers present a variety of topics including those related to geotechnical-structural engineering, rock mechanics, piles and foundations, RC design, and highway bridge design. Among these papers, the study on ground vibration monitoring during pile driving presents statistics-based methods. Previous issues of the Journal have attempted to introduce to readers topics related to statistical methods as they relate to uncertainty analysis at a practical level. This paper is along the same line and shows how statistics-based methods can be employed in realistic everyday engineering solutions. The second paper in this issue focuses on the subject of beams on elastic foundations. The significance of this is that it covers a specific topic on analysis and design for shallow footings on clays in the San Francisco Bay area. When dealing with a specific area, topics such as these are of great interest to practicing engineers in demonstrating how a real problem can be handled through established methods of engineering mechanics supplemented with localized data in arriving at results that can be readily used in design. On the subject of RC design, one paper in this edition compares the American Concrete Institute bending, torsion, and shear design provisions with those of the British Standards Institution. At a time when projects are treated as global businesses, it is important for practicing engineers to realize the differences between practices in the United States and those elsewhere in the world, especially in Europe.This Journal has been publishing papers such as these to provide engineers with insight in those differences.

In the remaining three technical papers in this issue, one provides a ranking for repair methods used for corrosion protection of piles in marine structures based on the durability of each method; another paper deals with seismic design for the approach in a specific bridge; and the third paper discusses issues dealing with the design aspects of the sand-oil project in Alberta, Canada. All three papers offer a significant contribution to this issue of the Journal, because they cover challenges engineers face in unique projects and offer solutions based on methods that were implemented and worked successfully.

The November issue also contains one case study and one technical note. The case study’s topic is timely and discusses the use of ultrahigh-performance concrete in bridge design with prestressed girders. The significance of this case study is in highlighting the application of high-performance concrete in a real project. Certainly readers can benefit from this information when considering new designs as well as retrofit projects in existing bridges. The technical note is on an equally important topic and focuses on estimating the pullout force in anchors that are embedded in hills. The author shares his experience with readers and offers information that is unique to the Journal.

The editors certainly hope they are offering a service to practicing engineers by providing them with a very valuable collection of papers that cover important topics. As always, readers who may have designed or experienced similar projects are encouraged to share their experience with other readers of the Journal and consider contributing to the discussion.