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The Structural Engineer

This paper discusses the design and installation of a cathodic protection system and a condition-monitoring system to an 18-storey tower block in North Lanarkshire. The tower block is to have a rainscreen overcladding system erected as part of a programme of refurbishment works being carried out by North Lanarkshire Council during 2000. An investigation by the Building Research Establishment revealed the presence of cast-in chlorides in the structural frame and questioned the longer-term integrity of some elements of the building. This paper discusses the appraisal of the tower block’s condition, the remedial options considered, and the theory, design and installation of the treatment selected to ensure the integrity of both external and internal elements of the structure. M.R. Gower and D.M. Windsor

The Structural Engineer

The aim is to improve the current shape limitation requirements of BS 5400: Part 3, which are known to be especially conservative for bulb flat stiffeners. There are many existing bridges with bulb flat stiffeners that do not conform to the current Code. This paper presents a practical method for finding the local critical stress for plate /stiffener combinations, without limitations on section slenderness. The critical component is identified for all possible buckling wavelengths, which can vary between the length of the stiffened plate and the wavelength of an encastré plate or stiffener, depending on the section geometry. For each possible wavelength, the critical stress of the critical component is found, when restrained by the other component, using an iterative method that is easily programed for a desktop computer. Validation is provided by 60 finite element (FE) solutions. The results will be incorporated in a method for design or assessment. S.K.G. Chou and J.C. Chapman

The Structural Engineer

Compare then... ‘Like life in general our codes seem to get more and more complicated. In this one we are discussing tonight, before an engineer can determine the pressures for which he is designing his building, he has to assess about four different factors, depending on this or that. Some of them are given to two places of decimals, which gives us an idea of accuracy that certainly is not justified by the assumptions made in assessing these factors.’(1970) 48,245-246.

The Structural Engineer

Self-certification of Design John Hill, our next President Elect, has responded to the issue raised in Verulam on 21 March: I write as Chairman of the Joint IStructE/ICE working party set up to consider and respond to the consultation paper ‘The Building Act 1984: Taking forward self-certification under the Building Regulations’.