Heating of steel or structural aluminum alloys at a speed of 2 to 50 K/min – characterizing the fire conditions – leads to a reduction in mechanical properties of the analyzed alloys. The limit of proportionality fp, real fy and proof f₀₂ yield limit, breaking strength fu and longitudinal limit of elasticity E decrease as the temperature increases. Quantitative evaluation of the thermal conversion in strengths of structural alloys is published in Eurocodes 3 and 9, in the form of dimensionless graphs depicting reduction coefficients and selected (tabulated) discrete values of mechanical properties. The author’s proposal for an analytical formulation of code curves describing thermal reduction of elasticity modulus and strengths of structural alloys recommended for an application in building structures is presented in this paper.

Development of contemporary building industry and related search for new aesthetical and functional solutions of monumental buildings in the centers of large cities resulted in the interest in glass as a structural material. Attractiveness of glass as a building material may be derived from the fact, that it combines transparency and aesthetical look with other functional features. Application of glass results in modern look of building facades, improves the indoor comfort without limiting the availability of natural daylight. Wide implementation of the new high performance float flat glass manufacturing technology, in conjunction with increasing expectations of the construction industry relating to new glass functions, has led to significant developments in glass structures theory, cf. [1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10]. Many years of scientific research conducted in European Union countries have been crowned with a report CEN/TC 250 N 1050 [2], compiled as a part of the work of European Committee for Standardization on the second edition of Eurocodes - an extension of the first edition by, among others, the recommendations for the above mentioned design of glass structures, in particular modern procedures for the design of glass building structures. The procedures proposed in the pre-code [2] are not widely known in Poland, and their implementation in the design codes should be verified at the country level. This task is undertaken in this paper.

The work presents a DC power supply with power factor correction (PFC). This device is also equipped with a parallel active filter function, which enables the possibility of compensation (minimization) of reactive and distortion power, generated by a group of loads, connected to the same power grid node. A passive filter with variable inductance applied at the input of the power supply allows for a significant improvement in quality of the system control (given specific criteria), as compared to the solution with a filter with fixed parameters. This is possible by increasing the dynamics of current changes at the power supply input (extending its “frequency response”). The paper presents the principle of operation as well as structures and models of the power supply control system and its power stage. Selected test results of the simulation model of the electric system with the power supply, in various operating conditions, are also presented.