1. Sponsored Spotlight (Future Placement)
This space will highlight tools, software, or services that directly support structural engineering practice.
If your company is interested in sponsoring a future issue of the StructEd Bulletin, reach out at [email protected]
2. Code & Standards Watch
Updates & New Releases:
ASCE 72-23 Published: Standard Practice for Sustainable Infrastructure, intended to help stakeholders meet project needs while balancing life cycle sustainability.
Working Sessions, Public Comment, & Balloting:
Nothing we could find over the holiday week!
Latest Errata:
Updates to load combinations with temperature effects in sections 8.4.2.3 and 9.4.2.3
3. Research Snapshot
This open-access study took 15-year-old reinforced concrete hollow-slab elements out of service from a bridge, added a layer of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) to the top, compression face, and put them through bending tests to failure. Three different interface preparations were used, with the combination of chiseled surface plus planted rebars performing the best.
Chiseling alone gave specimens that slipped at the interface, while the planted bars and combination preps gave failures in the compression block, as expected for proper composite behavior. Stiffness gains of roughly 50-100% were observed, alongside flexural capacity gains of 30-40%. Ductility improvements and crack control were markedly better in the combined prep specimens.
Key Takeaways:
As with any composite action, proper interface preparation and design is critical in concrete / UHPC retrofits.
4. Latest Software Updates
2.1 update resolves an unwanted leading zero on some weld callouts
2.0 (released just earlier) covers AI assistant integrations, new hotkeys for swapping docked & floating views, improved parts-to-levels binding logic, and new geographical storage location.
5. Case Study of the Week
A truly rare treat, researchers somehow got funding and permissions to test a full-scale bridge to failure. Incrementally loaded with an impressive suite of instrumentation, they were able to observe major stress redistribution “in the wild”, until the eventual failure of this prestressed concrete bridge took place as top-flange compression crushing. Prestressing tendons remained intact throughout the collapse, with no tensile rupture observed. Overall, the bridge performed well beyond analytical predictions.
Key takeaways: An important benchmark test, this serves as an outstanding example of how resilient these structures can be when everything goes right.
6. Upcoming Free Live PDH
1.0 PDH, Friday, June 5 @ 11 am Central
Presented by SGH
Speakers: Paul Kassabian & Christian Sjoberg
1.0 PDH, Tuesday, June 9 @ 11 am Central
Presented by Hilti North America
Speaker: Aidan Reap
1.0 PDH, Thursday, June 18 @ 11am Central
Presented by NoonPi
Register early; same-day registrations seem not to go through on this site!
7. Quick Hits
ACI to host 6th-annual “24 Hours of Concrete Knowledge” July 7-8, a free global virtual event.
Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill still on track.
👋 From the Editor
I’m Eric, the engineer behind the StructEd Bulletin. I dig through stacks of journal articles and software patch notes to find useful information for practicing engineers and keep an eye on the scattered code updates & errata for you. I’m just getting started, so if you find this useful, the best way to support the newsletter is to share it with a colleague or post it on LinkedIn. It helps more than you’d think!
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