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This paper introduces a microbial product, termed 'biocement', and its role in construction engineering. Biocement, a novel metabolic by-product of microbially induced carbonate precipitation by way of urease (urea hydrolysing enzyme), presents a promising biotechnology for the enhancement of durability of building materials and structures. Urease-producing bacteria are ubiquitous in nature and, when added to cement, help to improve its compressive strength, reduce permeability and reduce the corrosion rate of reinforced structures. Promising results when using this metabolic product have encouraged various research groups worldwide; in-depth studies using these different approaches are discussed in this paper. The status of similar research from China's perspective is also elaborated. The results from different groups suggest that biocement, a product of green technology, can be used as an additional cementitious material to enhance the durability of building materials and structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the initial phase of the detailed design of Stonecutters Bridge, Hong Kong, site-assembled multi-strand stay cables were the preferred option owing to their ease of installation. However, when more detailed information on the wind climate at the bridge site became available during the detailed design, it became apparent that the wind effects were significantly higher than had been assumed during the review phase. As a result of this, the bridge could no longer be made to perform satisfactorily without extensive changes to the back-span superstructure unless more compact parallel wire system stays were used in the design. This paper describes the design of the stay cables, some of the tests carried out during fabrication and the geometry control of the bridge deck and towers during erection of the bridge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the concept design for Stonecutters Bridge, Hong Kong - the winning scheme in the international design competition held by the Highways Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The design was prepared by the competition winners, a team from Halcrow Group Ltd., Flint & Neill Partnership, the Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute and Danish architects Dissing+Weitling. The concept design became the reference scheme for the development of the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In late 1999 the Highways Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region issued an open invitation to bridge designers to pre-qualify for a design competition for a road bridge across the entrance to the Kwai Chung container port. The bridge would have a span of at least 1000 m with a vertical clearance of at least 73·5 m over the full 900 m navigation channel. The purpose of the competition was to establish a reference scheme to be used as the basis for the detailed design for Stonecutters Bridge. The design competition aimed at securing a world-class design which would also be a fitting landmark and gateway for the port underlining and promoting the image of Hong Kong as a vibrant and important centre of international trade. The competition took place in early 2000 and this paper describes some of the background choosing this approach and the reasoning behind the selection of the prize-winning proposals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]