| Summary: | The presented papers covered a number of themes covering both experimental and numerical contributions. The theme of computational mechanics included a paper weight and cost optimisation of high strength steel beams. Another presentation was made on the optimisation of steel towers for large wind turbines. Experimetal and computational results were the focus of a paper describing innovative flangeless connections for wind turbine towers. Two papers dealt with the fire limit state. In one paper, numerical results were presented on the increasingly important aspect of columns not exposed to fire on all four sides. As a step towards more realistic analysis of structures exposed to fire, a method was presented for the coupling of thermal response and the consequent mechanical response. Problems related to the use of new grades of steel such as S960 were discussed in another paper dealing with tubular trusses. Thin walled sections were the topic of several papers. Finite Element analysis and test results were presented on thin walled cross-sections and their joints, on z-purlins, and on membrane structures supported by a frame of thin wallled boundary elements. One paper dealt with the influence of the spacing of screw connections on the design of liner trays. Tests were described on the monitoring of a steel railway bridge, studying the influence of continuous welded rails, on the use of digital image correlation in formulating the stress-strain relationship for high strength steel, and on a technique for creating and repairing complex machine parts using 3-dimensional laser synthesis technology. Another presentation described recent developments on maintenance-free bolts. METNET seminars deal with not only technical aspects of metal construction, but also issues of concern to industry on management, planning and sustainability of projects. Thus, one paper covered the topic of university and business co-operation and another on sustainability as a business opportunity. Finally, a comprehensive technical note was ...
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