Issue 19

To accommodate the new gallery required the insertion of a major floor within the attic storey of the listed King Edward building, while the museum functioned normally on the floors below. Investigation showed that the brickwork in some of the walls was weak. This required the substantial new structure to be carefully inserted into the building, making particular use of the redundant brick-lined ductwork of the original structure. Additionally, the display requirements of the museum severely restricted the space available to insert both the structure and the extensive services ductwork. J.A. Waller and M.J. West

British Standard specifications and Codes of Practice, which derive from the expertise of the profession, are essential tools in any design office. They are an aide-memoire to the experienced engineer and a lodestone to the young, in adapting their academic training to the unchartered waters of practical design. R.O.C. Seaman

It is known that continuous inverted-U frame action can be effective in stabilising the bottom flanges of continuous composite plate girders near internal supports, because the shear connection usually has sufficient strength and stiffness in transverse bending. But when the girders have web stiffeners, concentrated moments act on the shear connections above the stiffeners. An experimental study of the resistance of typical shear connections to these moments is presented. Use of discrete U-frame action that relies on the shear connection appears to be feasible, but more research is needed to provide the basis of a general design method. Professor R.P. Johnson and Ir. N. Molenstra

Structural surveys range from brief and fairly superficial investigations of standard domestic dwellings to highly detailed appraisals of major structures. They usually result in a report on which the client or others will rely. In this article I shall explore how a structural surveyor may be liable for the negligent statements contained in his report and how liability may be avoided by the use of exclusion clauses and disclaimers and by taking commonsense precautions. M.P. O'Reilly