No_4_March_and_April__1949 — Page 27

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SINGAPORE AND THE FEDERATION OF MALAYA

The support given our publication by Singapore and Malaya has been so gratifying as to warrant the provision of a separate section. We are, therefore, now separating and grouping all matters of interest from this area as a self-contained portion of the magazine, and we shall be glad to include therein any contributions relating to the building industry in this area.

SCIENTIFIC METHODS IN BUILDING AND CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION.

By

M. J. Tomlinson, A.M.I.C.E., A.M.I.Struct.E.

Deputy Engineer-in-charge, Central Laboratory, George Wimpey & Co. Ltd.

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In the years between 1918 and 1939 increasing atten- tion was given to the scientific approach in civil engineer- ing design and construction. The old days when great works were constructed by engineers who used instinctive knowledge and rule of thumb methods of design were passing. Much fundamental research work was done on the behaviour of materials and the stresses and deforma- tions in structures. Immediately before the last war there was increasing interest in Europe and America in the new science of soil mechanics, or the study of soil in rela- tion to building and civil engineering foundations.

In Great Britain the Building Research Station and the Road Research Laboratory were established to conduct research and development in practical problems of building construction and highway engineering. The National Physical Laboratory which covers a very wide field in the mechanical sciences had, of course, been in existence many years previously. Civil engineering research was given increasing attention at the Universities.

During the war a tremendous impetus was given to the scientific approach in all branches of engineering. The immense war building programme in Great Britain and U.S.A. was carried through at a time when manpower was drastically limited by the demands of the fighting services, many construction materials were unobtainable by reason of enemy conquests and others were in short supply due to the needs of the armament building programme. There- fore the attention of architects, engineers and scientists was directed to designing structures using the minimum amount of material and

manpower in construction. Improved methods of stress analysis were devised to enable economies to be made in the sizes of structural members. Substitute materials were developed superior in strength and durability to the older traditional materials. Prefabrication, particularly in the use of pre-cast concrete products, was used to an increasing extent throughout the progress of the war,

(Above)

(Below)

Part of the main Soil Mechanics Laboratory.

Automatic test sieving machine, laboratory concrete mixer, and laboratory jaw crusher.

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The increasing size of machines and aircraft brought new problems to the highway and airport engineer. Run- ways had to be designed for aircraft six times as heavy as used pre-war. The Mulberry Harbours were an example of design from first principles using all branches of engineering science in a project previously undreamed of in magnitude and scope,

This impetus in scientific development created by the war still continues to the present day and many countries have established research institutions for all aspects of building and civil engineering construction. In Great Britain these include the Building Research Station, the Road Research Laboratory, the National Physical Labora- tory, the Forest Products Research Station, the Research Laboratory of the Cement and Concrete Assen., and many commercial research laboratories. In U.S.A. the American