Technical Guidance Note (Level 2, No. 11): Steel fibre reinforced concrete ground bearing slabs

Piled foundations are one of the first aspects of scheme design a structural engineer needs to consider during a project's development. It is at this crucial stage that, without any specialist input, the structural engineer must make recommendations based on the typically limited knowledge they have on the subject. This Technical Guidance Note describes the method by which bored piles are designed using the current UK codes of practice, i.e. BS EN 1997 (Eurocode 7). It explains how to interpret soil conditions and design piles to match what has been discovered following a site investigation. The note does not address the types of piling systems that are available, nor the technical issues concerning their installation; these questions are covered in Technical Guidance Note Level 1, No. 23 Introduction to piling . The note explains how to design what is essentially a buried column of concrete to resist forces from the superstructure that are applied to it. It concerns the design of a single pile and not one that is part of a group. For information on how grouped piles differ in their design approach, the reader is directed to Cl. 6.3.3 of BS 8004:2015. (This article was update on 9 March 2018 to correct an error in Table 6.)

A significant-sized opening in a masonry wall will always require a lintel to bridge over it. This note offers advice on the different types of lintel that are available, their detailing requirements and their design.

This Technical Guidance Note addresses the design of timber elements that are unrestrained against lateral torsional buckling. It explains how such beams are analysed and designed. The impact of notching the supports of beams is also considered with respect to the shear capacity of the beam. For clarity and brevity, this note only covers solid and glued laminated (glulam) timber elements; compound and composite beams, such as flitch beams, are not considered. The connections within timber frame assemblies will be addressed in a future note. Readers should also be aware that this note forms part of a trio of Technical Guidance Notes leading to the design of bespoke timber trusses – assemblies made from unrestrained timber beams and posts. Notes on the design of timber posts and bespoke timber trusses will follow later in the series.