Mott MacDonald

About: Mott MacDonald is a company organization based out in London, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Electric power system & Wind power. The organization has 586 authors who have published 529 publications receiving 9801 citations. The organization is also known as: Mott MacDonald Group & MMD.

Integrated approaches to phosphorus management in the Watton Brook, UK

Abstract: Phosphorus enrichment in waterbodies can increase the risk of eutrophication and be detrimental to the health of dependent ecosystems. Phosphorus is a common reason for a waterbody failing to meet ...

Design, procurement and coordination of the Ordsall Chord rail project, Manchester, UK

Abstract: The Ordsall Chord in Manchester, UK is a new railway viaduct and associated track alteration, renewal and re-signalling scheme to provide a direct connection between the city’s Piccadilly and Victo...

Bridges for wobbly people: Balance disorders as an example of inclusive design

Abstract: Our sense of balance is often taken for granted, but there are hundreds of medical conditions which can disrupt it. There are many things that can trigger an adverse balance reaction, and some of them are features of our built environment, including attributes of some bridges. Pedestrians may now only rarely make a bridge wobble, but bridges can still make people wobble. Symptoms are generally reported as “dizziness” or “vertigo”. For some sufferers, the condition is short-term in nature, associated with illness or trauma. For others, it is a chronic disability, which may vary in intensity, making it difficult to hold a job, to carry out common household tasks, or to walk more than a short distance. This paper treats balance disorders within the wider context of inclusive design. It identifies specific features of footbridges which may reduce inclusivity for people with balance issues, including: Visual patterns Lighting Moving visuals Walkway flooring Non-orthogonal geometry Simple and positive choices can be made without adverse cost or aesthetic impact, while substantially improving the quality of life for people with balance problems, and enhancing accessibility of bridges for everyone. Examples of positive design features relevant to balance problems include: Resting spaces and rails Provision of visual clarity Previewing Choices The paper considers existing design standards and guidance specifically relating to pedestrian bridges and notes that they do not consider inclusive design effectively. Inclusive design may be an attitude of mind that recognises that the end-user of a design is not cast from the same mould as the designer. It is therefore particularly important in an industry dominated by designers drawn from a narrow cross-section of society, and lacking in obvious diversity. Inclusive design requires an act of imagination (putting the designer in someone else’s shoes) that is often difficult. It is easy to concentrate on wheelchair gradients, tapping rails or tactile paving. It is much harder to imagine a wider spectrum of capabilities and to design an environment that could accommodate less obvious impairments. Designing a better built environment for everyone requires designers to do much more to engage with diversity, to step outside simple compliance with standards and to be proactive in understanding the many different ways in which diverse individuals can engage with and enjoy physical infrastructure, including bridges.

Some Factors Affecting the Predictions of Ground Movements Around an Excavation in Stiff Clay

Abstract: The paper describes a sensitivity study of predictions of excavation behaviour in a heavily overconsolidated clay using a non-linear cross-anisotropic elastic model for the soil. The model is experimentally based and is capable of including non-linearity of stress-strain behaviour, dependence of stiffness on both stress level and stress path direction, and changes in stiffness caused by changes in the stress path direction. Analyses are reported of an instrumented full-scale trial excavation and computed displacements are compared with the observed behaviour. Firstly, the effect of including anisotropy is quantified, by comparing analyses with isotropic and anisotropic soil models. The effects of modelling the recent stress history and changes in the stress path direction during excavation are then investigated. Finally, analyses with linear and non-linear stress-strain behaviour are compared to isolate the effect of including a strain-dependent stiffness.