Understanding structural behaviour: a gap in the system

摘要

I published my first paper on the development of an understanding of structural behaviour nearly 30 years ago, based on the results of tests carried out on the graduate entry to Ove Arup and Partners. In later papers I explored other aspects of a skill I defined as, 'an intuitive understanding of structural behaviour'. I then set up a software company to develop a suite of programs that allowed the student to explore structural behaviour through a powerful graphics user interface. I wrote a textbook showing how a conventional course in structural analysis could be taught from the perspective of behaviour rather than the solution of equations. Arup commissioned the development of a 2-day postgraduate training course which eventually emerged as a tape-slide programme, which was then transferred to video.