BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Newcomen.com - ECPv6.17.3.1//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:Newcomen.com X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://www.newcomen.com X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Newcomen.com REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20230326T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20231029T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20240331T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20241027T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20250330T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20251026T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20260329T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20261025T010000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20241002T180000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20241002T193000 DTSTAMP:20240926T083531Z CREATED:20240906T104933Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240926T083531Z UID:15738-1727892000-1727897400@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'The history of Vierendeel railway bridges in Belgium and the Congo' by Professor Bernard Espion DESCRIPTION:This event is both an in-person and on-line event. No need to register – just come along or click this zoom link to join on-line. \nThis is a joint meeting with the Institution of Structural Engineers History Study Group \nThe “Vierendeel” type bridge takes its name from the Belgian professor Arthur Vierendeel\, who patented the principle in 1895 and intensively promoted it as a replacement for the truss bridge. From the outset\, Vierendeel envisaged this type of bridge being used for railway bridges. That said\, the very first railway bridge of this type was not built in Belgium until 1922. Then\, on the initiative of one of Vierendeel’s former students\, it was used for some forty spans on the BCK railway line in the Congo in the 1920s. Finally\, in the 1930s\, the national railway company adopted the Vierendeel type for the construction of a number of long-span bridges in Belgium. The Mechelen bridge mentioned above is part of this series. \nAt the same time\, the Vierendeel bridge type was also adopted en masse for the construction of around forty road bridges over the future Albert Canal\, currently under construction. But unlike the rail bridges\, which were always riveted\, the road bridges were built using the new and little-experienced technique of arc welding. This led to the famous accident in March 1938\, when the Hasselt welded bridge collapsed into the Albert Canal. \nProfessor Bernard Espion has studied the history of these welded Vierendeel road bridges and their importance in the history of brittle fracture in various publications. However\, he has never reported on the history of the Vierendeel rail bridges which\, to his knowledge\, were only used in Congo and Belgium. There are a large number of them in the Congo that are almost 100 years old\, and a few more in Belgium. \nThe history of these Vierendeel rail bridges will be the subject of Professor Bernard Espion‘s presentation\, along with a few lessons drawn from the very recent expert examination of this bridge in Mechelen concerning the properties of the steel used at the time in Belgium. \nAbout the Speaker\nProfessor Bernard Espion graduated in Civil Engineering from the Polytechnical School of the University of Brussels (Université Libre de Bruxelles\, ULB) in 1979. He earned his doctoral degree in 1986 with a dissertation on the Numerical modelling and analysis of the nonlinear and time-dependent behaviour of concrete structures. \nBetween 2000 and 2021\, Professor Espion was the Director of the Laboratory for testing Materials and Structures\, a laboratory with origins in 1924. He taught courses on Structural Analysis and Design of Steel and Concrete Structures. Since 2021\, he has been Professor Emeritus from the University of Brussels (ULB) where he has spent his whole scientific and academic career in the Department of Civil Engineering. \nProfessor Espion’s themes of research from 1980 to 2006 were mainly in structural concrete and concrete technology. He acquired an extensive experience of testing of materials and structures and in situ stress analysis of bridges. \nSince 2002\, his research interests have mostly been in Construction History and Conservation of heritage engineering structures\, specializing in the history of Construction in Belgium (19th-20th Centuries)\, with emphasis on concrete and steel structures\, construction materials\, biographies of engineers\, bridges\, thin concrete shells and lightweight cable roof structures. URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/the-history-of-vierendeel-railway-bridges-in-belgium-and-the-congo-by-professor-bernard-espion/ LOCATION:LONDON Alan Baxter Gallery\, 75 Cowcross St\, Clerkenwell\, London\, EC1M 6EL CATEGORIES:Newcomen Online Lecture,UK - London Branch ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.newcomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/24-10-02_Vierendeel-railway-bridges-in-Belgium-and-the-Congo_1920x1280.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - London Branch":MAILTO:office@newcomen.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20241009T180000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20241009T193000 DTSTAMP:20240926T084258Z CREATED:20240906T094829Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240926T084258Z UID:15731-1728496800-1728502200@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'Measuring the Metre' by Dr Terry Quinn FRS DESCRIPTION:This event is both an in-person and on-line event. No need to register – just come along or click this zoom link to join on-line. \nThe great revolution in metrology began with the redefinition of the Metre in terms of the wavelength of light. From antiquity\, practical dimensional measurement standards had all been based upon material artifacts and measurement of time on the rotation of the Earth. \nAll of that changed in 2018 when the base units of the SI were redefined in terms of fixed values of a set of fundamental and atomic constants. \nThe lecture will explain how practical measurement standards can be obtained from such definitions. \nAbout the Speaker\nDr Terry Quinn graduated from Southampton University in physics in 1959 and then moved to Oxford for his D. Phil in what was then the Metallurgy Department. His thesis supervisor was Professor William Hume-Rothery FRS. \nIn 1962\, Dr Quinn joined the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington where he worked on high-temperature measurement and standards. In 1967/68 he spent a year at the then National Bureau of Standards in Washington. \nDr Quinn moved to the BIPM in Paris in 1977 as Deputy Director becoming Director in 1988. He was Lady Margaret Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Cavendish Laboratory Cambridge in 1984/84.  \nDr Quinn retired from the BIPM in 2003. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2002. URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/measuring-the-metre-by-dr-terry-quinn-frs/ LOCATION:LONDON Alan Baxter Gallery\, 75 Cowcross St\, Clerkenwell\, London\, EC1M 6EL CATEGORIES:Newcomen Online Lecture,UK - London Branch ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.newcomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/24-10-09_MeasuringTheMetre_1920x1280.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - London Branch":MAILTO:office@newcomen.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250108T180000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250108T193000 DTSTAMP:20241128T173812Z CREATED:20240906T112057Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241128T173812Z UID:15743-1736359200-1736364600@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'Mushroom Clouds: The Hidden Enemy Within Britain's Wooden Walls' by Laurence Scales DESCRIPTION:This event is both an in-person and on-line event. No need to register – just come along or click this zoom link to join on-line. \nA wine bottle labelled in Michael Faraday’s hand\, preserved in his laboratory at the Royal Institution\, and a startling letter in the archive of the Royal Society of Arts\, hinted at a centuries long naval battle\, rarely heard about. \nThe Royal Navy struggled just to keep its vessels afloat. The enemy was fungal timber rot. Many lives were lost and various solutions were tried. Some of the experiments in search of a cure were dramatic and even caused their own fatalities.\n \nAbout the Speaker\nLaurence Scales has a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering\, and subsequently worked for Lloyds Register of Shipping\, offshore engineering contractor Brown & Root and defence electronics manufacturer Thales. \nLatterly\, Laurence has been an archive volunteer at both the Royal Institution of Great Britain and the Royal Society of Arts. He devises and leads London tours themed around the history of science\, technology and medicine. Customers have included Imperial College\, King’s College London\, Purdue University\, Ove Arup & Associates\, and the FBI. URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/mushroom-clouds-the-hidden-enemy-within-britains-wooden-walls-by-laurence-scales/ LOCATION:LONDON Alan Baxter Gallery\, 75 Cowcross St\, Clerkenwell\, London\, EC1M 6EL CATEGORIES:Newcomen Online Lecture,UK - London Branch ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.newcomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/25-01-08_MushroomCloudsTheHiddenEnemyWithinBritainsWoodenWalls_1920x1280.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - London Branch":MAILTO:office@newcomen.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250312T180000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250312T193000 DTSTAMP:20250226T165807Z CREATED:20240906T114247Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250226T165807Z UID:15746-1741802400-1741807800@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'The History of the Queen Mary Reservoir' by Nick Pollard DESCRIPTION:This event is both an in-person and on-line event. No need to register – just come along or click this zoom link to join on-line. \nThe Queen Mary Reservoir was built as a result of the huge expansion in unfiltered water capacity initiated by the Metropolitan Water Board\, after it was formed in 1902 to take over London’s water supply from the previous private companies. Originally known as the Littleton Reservoir after the Middlesex village it virtually obliterated\, on its opening in 1925 it gained its current name\, and was the world’s largest free-standing reservoir (as opposed to one constructed by damming a river valley). \nBeginning with a look at the area before the reservoir\, the talk goes on to look at the massive engineering effort involved in the construction of the reservoir\, including overcoming some unexpected geological challenges which forced a major redesign. An extensive railway network was put in place around the perimeter of the site to facilitate the work\, and huge excavators were assembled on site. Also covered are the construction of the inlet channel from the nearby River Thames and the associated pumping station. \nThe reservoir was put to some surprising uses during the Second World War\, and narrowly escaped being seriously damaged by bombing. The talk concludes with a look at the reservoir today and its use for leisure purposes in addition to its primary role in supplying London with water. \nAbout the Speaker\nNick Pollard is the Chairman of Sunbury and Shepperton Local History Society and the Curator of Spelthorne Museum in Staines. He is recently retired after a 45 year career in engineering.  \nNick has lived near the Queen Mary Reservoir for many years and became fascinated by its history. URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/the-history-of-the-queen-mary-reservoir-by-nick-pollard/ LOCATION:LONDON Alan Baxter Gallery\, 75 Cowcross St\, Clerkenwell\, London\, EC1M 6EL CATEGORIES:Newcomen Online Lecture,UK - London Branch ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.newcomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/25-03-12_TheHistoryOfTheQueenMaryReservoir_1920x1280.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - London Branch":MAILTO:office@newcomen.com END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR