News in Brief: March 2010

Latest developments in the design and construction of steel bridges will be discussed at a half day event organised by the BCSA at London’s Institute of Directors on 13 April. The conference will include topics such as Highways Agency Sector Schemes and new standards for railway bridge designs. Delegates will receive copies of the latest Eurocode design guidance for steel bridges. The conference will begin at 2pm and a buffet supper will follow at 6pm. The fee is £95 + VAT. To book, call 0207 839 8566 or visit www.steelconstruction.org

BRE Trust, the owner of BRE, has announced a new publication examining building users’ behaviours and subsequent potential impact on energy efficiency. “The Move to Low-carbon Design: Are Designers Taking the Needs of Building Users into Account?” is available from www.brebookshop.com reference FB 21.

A consortium of five cladding manufacturers has selected SCI to develop new software for the assessment of wind loading for cladding design calculations. The wind load calculator (WLC) tool calculates dynamic pressures on walls and roofs using a full building approach to the assessment of load on each of the building surfaces. Location can be defined manually entering a UK National Grid Reference or by using an interactive map. The WLC calculates wind loads following Standards BS 6399-2 and EN 1991-1-4.

The wider use of stainless steel structures in the USA has been impeded by a lack of design guidance, leaving designers with the choice of conducting their own investigations or abandoning stainless steel in favour of alternative materials. To rectify this, SCI has been commissioned to prepare a design guide for welded and hot rolled stainless steel structural steelwork for publication by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) as one of its series of Design Guides. The new guide will be based on current European stainless steel design guidance, but will be adapted to align to US design philosophy.