Viewpoint: Simplified design of concentrically loaded reinforced concrete columns

Letters this month include discussion on: Designing columns for fire resistance; the pioneer of portal frames; Raising the CM exam pass mark and SER Ltd.

John Carpenter suggests that in the UK, the HSE and professional institutions could do more to help expedite the release of post-incident information — enabling engineers to learn from past mistakes for the benefit of the public.

Authors from Heriot-Watt and The University of Stuttgart use a large amount of test data to evaluate EC2 rules for the design of tension lapped joints - and suggest that a degree of revision may be necessary, as the rules don't appear to offer the margins of safety expected.