In recent years significant progress has been made in structural application of glass elements in building industry. However, the issues related to computer modelling of glass panes, as well as analytical procedures allowing for taking into account the bonding action of PVB foil are not widely known in the engineering environment. In this paper results of numerical study of laminated glass plates are presented. The scope of the research covers over 40 cases of panes. Narrow (characterized by edge length ���� >2) and square (��/�� = 1) panes made of two or three layer laminated glass have been taken into account. The paper deals mainly with point supported glass. However, selected results for linearly supported plates have been included as well for comparison. For each considered case an advanced computational model have been developed within the environment of Abaqus software. Pointwise supports have been modelled using methods of various complexity. The obtained results have been compared with the results of standard calculations using Wölfel–Bennison and Galuppi– Royer–Carfagni hypotheses. The analytical procedures proposed by CEN have been applied as well. As a result, recommendations for static calculations of laminated glass panes have been formulated. The computational procedure based on the hypothesis presented by L. Galuppi and G. Royer-Carfagni should be considered the most universal. The remaining methods may be applied only in limited scope. In order to estimate maximum principal stress in the support zone an advanced computer model has to be used. The support may be modelled in an exact or simplified manner.

It is presented in detail how the selection of a structural model describing the behaviour of a steel hall transverse frame when subject to fire exposure in a more or less complex way may affect the fire resistance evaluation for such a frame. In the examples compiled in this paper the same typical one-aisle and single-story steel hall is subjected to simulated fire action, each time following the same fire development scenario.Aresultant fire resistance is identified individually in each case, using various computational models, on an appropriate static equilibrium path obtained numerically. The resulting estimates vary, not only in the quantitative sense, but also in terms of their qualitative interpretation. It is shown that the greater the simplification of the model used, the more overstated the estimated fire resistance is in relation to its real value. Such an overestimation seems to be dangerous to the user, as it gives him an illusory but formally unjustified sense of the guaranteed safety level.