CROSS-UK Newsletter 69 has been published and includes expert comment on fire safety and structural safety reports.
Newsletter content
Supporting constructions under fire doors and screens
A reporter raised the issue of interpreting test results for understanding the performance of system glazing fire doors and screens in raised access floors or lightweight construction methods.
Collapse of unusual hybrid concrete and steel strand truss on school roof
This report concerns the collapse of a school hall roof which resulted from the failure of one of a number of unusual hybrid concrete and steel strand trusses. The trusses consist of a precast reinforced concrete top chord and verticals with a bottom chord of tensioned steel strands. The failure of the truss resulted in the collapse of the supported flat roof local to the failed truss, and da...
Battery Energy Storage System concerns
A reporter informed CROSS about issues that emerged, and had to be resolved, in the design and management of Battery Energy Storage Systems.
Concerns over corrosion of dissimilar metals in fixing cavity wall tie systems
A reporter is concerned about corrosion that may occur between dissimilar metals that can be used in cavity wall tie systems. The reporter has noted that stainless steel and carbon steel may be fixed together in wall cavities, which are damp environments, and that corrosion of dissimilar metals in contact may occur.
Fire safety concerns for partially occupied Higher Risk Residential Buildings
Fire authority checks found several safety failings in partially occupied Higher Risk Residential Buildings.
Modern methods of construction and robustness
This report relates to the design of a low rise modular building and the requirement, or otherwise, for positive fixings between the superstructure and the substructure.
Thatched roof fire during renovation
A reporter is worried about construction practices after a Grade 1 listed church was lost to fire following renovation works on the lead roof.
Incorrectly installed tension control bolts could have led to serious consequences
A reporter finds incorrectly installed system HRC preload bolt assemblies, better known as tension control bolts, during a site inspection of a new highway bridge over a railway. The incorrectly fitted bolts could have had major structural implications, and led to other safety risks, if the installation error had not been spotted.
Design criteria for firefighting lifts
A reporter is of the opinion that the design criteria for firefighting lifts should be re-evaluated.
Incompetent design of simple steel beams
This report concerns designs for simple steel beams submitted to building control bodies under Part A of the Building Regulations. The reporter, a checking engineer for a building control body, was not able to accept the effective length and restraints assumed in a number of submitted designs. Most originated from individuals who used proprietary structural design computer packages without, i...
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