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Engineers File Notes
Post Tensioned Brickwork at Rushden Fire Station
In many masonry buildings, the cellular arrangement of the walls and their interaction with the floors and roof provide stability. At Rushden the Appliance Room was effectively a 'tunnel' and would usually be a brick clad portal frame. By post tensioning just one wall, a cheaper masonry solution was provided. This concept can be applied to many building types.
» Click here to download Post Tensioned Brickwork at Rushden Fire Station.
Brick Cladding to a Steel Framed Building: A Different Approach
Usually when cladding a frame with brickwork the outer leaf is supported at one or two storey intervals. The soft joint beneath the shelf angle support accommodates the vertical movement in the cladding. But this solution results in the heavy cladding being supported by the frame. This Note describes a different approach where the brickwork is self supporting over the full five storeys.
» Click here to download Brick Cladding to a Steel Framed Building: A Different Approach.
The Calculation of Eccentricities in Load Bearing Walls
BS 5628: Part 1 states that the eccentricity of loads on walls should preferably be calculated but does not indicate how this may be done. This Note discusses the background work and gives a method of calculating the eccentricity on loadbearing wall between reinforced concrete floors.
» Click here to download The Calculation of Eccentricities in Load Bearing Walls.
The Locomotive Shed at Preston Dock
Diaphragm brick walls more than one metre thick have enabled the architect of this impressive building in the Preston Dock redevelopment area to create a modern structure which is both efficient and functional yet looks traditionally massive and is thus historically recognisable as a railway building.
» Click here to download The Locomotive Shed at Preston Dock.
The Magistrates Court at Norwich
The use of structural brickwork in a modern civic building is worthy of note. At the turn of the century, it would have been the norm - but in very thick walls. It was inevitable that framing, first in iron, then steel and finally reinforced concrete, would supercede this and the brickwork became merely a veneer. At Norwich, the brickwork is once again used for both facing and structure of this important building.
The Orsborn Memorial Halls at Boscombe
Many Engineers perceive reinforced and post tensioned masonry as a technique which requires high strength bricks and mortar. These Halls clearly dispel this myth and demonstrate the use of post tensioned brickwork where the bricks are c.19 N/mm² and the mortar is designation (iii). The solution evolved from combining the architectural requirements with the limitations of the site.
» Click here to download The Orsborn Memorial Halls at Boscombe.
A Reinforced Brickwork Freestanding Boundary Wall
This File Note describes the design and construction of a "simple" garden wall - a project which cost less than £4,000. Nonetheless, it is interesting for at least two reasons. Firstly, freestanding walls, in perhaps too many instances, are not designed by structural engineers. Secondly, the File Note describes how tight cost constraints were fulfilled by adopting a reinforced solution.
» Click here to download A Reinforced Brickwork Freestanding Boundary Wall.
The Needham Research Institute, Cambridge
The Institute is striking both for the Oriental flavour which it exudes and for the high quality of workmanship evident. Structurally, there is no "leading edge" masonry technology involved, rather, the structure is a fine example of exploiting the potential of traditional masonry construction. One brick thick cross walls are used for stability, sound insulation and carry the library floor while higher strength inner leaf brickwork was used to support the roof.
» Click here to download The Needham Research Institute, Cambridge .
New Head Office for Accrington Brick & Tile Company
Designing innovative forms of reinforced brickwork is always challenging. When a brick manufacturer decided to rebuild an office building, the opportunity to do just this proved irresistible. The building enevlope exploited diaphragm walling and reinforced brickwork was used in a balcony beam and in the main staircase as well as for 1 metre high external retaining walls.
» Click here to download New Head Office for Accrington Brick & Tile Company.
Winstanley College Music Suite
Diaphragm brick walls have helped provide this attractive music suite at a sixth form college near Wigan. The building's high sound insulation, diverging angles and rounded corners illustrate the versatility and flexibility of brick diaphragm wall construction.
Leicester University Sports Hall
The challenge posed by the design brief was to provide a large building which would be not only functional but also in sympathy with the residential area in which it was to be sited. A structural brickwork solution was adopted with the main hall being designed as a brick fin wall building.
Post Tensioned Brickwork Abutments at Glinton By Pass
Although widely used for canals and railways, structural brickwork has not been as much used in modern civil engineering as in light building structures. Post-tensioned brick diaphragm walls for the bridge abutments at Glinton by-pass provide a useful reminder of brick's cost effective role in heavier civil engineering projects. The project was judged a great success by all concerned with it.
» Click here to download Post Tensioned Brickwork Abutments at Glinton By Pass.
Note: The contents and references of these publications may not have been updated to reflect the recommendations of the latest appropriate British and European Standards. Please ensure you use these publications alongside the latest standards.