John Knapton

Consulting civil, structural and highway engineer, writer, broadcaster, speaker, African Chief. 

Specialising in:

Concrete.  Aircraft, port, industrial & highway pavements.  Industrial floors.  Historic bridges.  Reinforced concrete.  Durability of concrete.  Concrete & brick pavers.  Permeable paving and sustainable drainage.   Slope stability, structural engineering, site investigation.  

Click here for cv

e-mail: mail@john-knapton.com

Skype Address: Knapton3838

iChat  Address (Video calls for AppleMac users): knapton3838

During January 2004, JK drove a distance of 6,000 miles from Newcastle, UK to his village of Ekumfi-Atakwa in Ghana with BBC's Mark Batey. Click here for a detailed account of the 16 days journey.

Click here for information on JK's recently published book "Ground Bearing Concrete Slabs" 

(Updated 1st January 2008)

Below, JK conducts a full-scale load test on a permeable pavement using a 55t dump truck. The section under test was constructed on Jersey Airport's Fire Training Ground.

Jersey Airport Fire Training Ground was opened 24th September 2004.  Click on the link below this paragraph to see fire training on JKs permeable paving (its a half megabyte JPEG, suitable for broadband only).  A feature of this project is the need for the 5,000m2 pavement to absorb all of the winterís rainfall which is then sprayed over the surface of the pavers during the period March to September and evaporates.  The contaminated water used during fire training is diluted with this stored rainwater and discharged into the sewerage system during the night when there is spare capacity.  Water used in firefighting is taken from within the pavement itself, so conserving the island of Jerseyís precious water. The challenge was to design a pavement which could withstand the heat of firefighting and the weight of 30t fire trucks whilst holding up to 3000 tons of water within its structure.  The result is the worlds most advanced airport fire training ground which is currently under review at the US Federation Aviation Administrationís Technical Center at Atlantic City.  The technology developed during the project is expected to find application at those airports worldwide where there is presently conflict between the need to maintain a highly trained fire-fighting unit whilst at the same time protecting the environment and conserving water.

http://www.john-knapton.com/DSC00297.JPG

JK designed and supervised the construction of a 186,000m2 vehicle imporation facility at Port of Tyne, in the NE of the UK. Below, the facility's foamed slag roadbase is being compacted by vibratory rollers. Slag is a by-product of an iron making blast furnace. On this project, the slag was transported to site by sea from an iron manufacturing plant 30 miles to the south of the River Tyne at Teesside. The facility was installed by Alston Limestone Co. Ltd., an Anglo-American (formerly Tarmac) company. It is used to import VW, Audi & Porsche cars to dealerships in Northern England and Scotland.

One of JK's pleasant duties is to look after bridges in NE England owned by the UK National Trust. These are historic pedestrian bridges in country estates such as the one below over the River Allen at Allen Banks halfway between Newcastle and Carlisle. This suspension bridge uses former colliery pit shaft winding ropes as its main cables. Note the turnbuckle beneath the deck to the right which can be used to adjust the sag of the deck. Local artists frequently chose this bridge as their subject.

 

 A few other things:

 JK's books on floors and external hardstandings

WORLD TRADE CENTER ATTACK

Click here for structural engineering background to the attack.

Here for JK's WTC teaching web page.

Here for JK's role in the WTC investigation.

Or here to go to University of Sydney's excellent account.

PENTAGON ATTACK

Click here to read "THE PENTAGON REPORT" 

Click here to see the London Millennium Bridge wobble.

Click here to read the Newcastle Journal.

Click here to read The Newcastle Evening Chronicle.

Click here for the BBC news.

 Need a dictionary?

See JK's laboratories here.

  

More items of engineering interest:

JK's design method for permeable pavements or here to see his published paper

Information on JK's books on industrial floors, hardstandings and roads

 Important source of information on concrete block paving

JK's work in Ghana

Local newspaper report on "Winking Eye" bridge

JK's design method:  Structural design of port & industrial pavements

 

Main menu

INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS

 

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING CASE STUDIES

 

PAVEMENTS & FLOORS

 

Elementary Structural Design (CIV131)

Reinforced concrete bridge collapse, Ghana

Paraguayan Pavers

Elementary Structural Design Coursework (CIV131)

Cragside Iron Bridge

The streets of Pompeii & Paestum

Structural Modelling & Testing (CIV135)

Volta Bridge & Lake, Ghana

Recycling paving stones in Rotterdam

Reinforced concrete notes (CIV235)

Three Northumbrian Bridges

Paving through the ages

Structural Modelling & Testing (2) (CIV135)

Leazes Arcade Refurbishment

Newcastle University Rolling Load Facility (NUROLF)

Structures III for Stage 3 Architects (CIV338)

Rialto Bridge, Venice

Permeable paving at Santos Container Yard, Brazil (1996)

Matrix Analysis of Structures (CIV833)

Theory of Structures C (CIV334)

St. James' Park, Newcastle United FC

Structural design of highways surfaced with pavers

Specialist Structures (CIV438)

Industrial Building, Tyneside

Structural design of port & industrial pavements

Newcastle Students in Ekumfi-Atakwa, Ghana

Collection of bridges

Research into innovative pavers

 

Stability of memorials in cemeteries

International Conference Papers

World Trade Center Attack

Segedunum Observation Tower

 Paver bedding sands

Steel section properties

MacAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield

JK's books on floors and external hardstandings