The performance-based analysis of the large-space steel sports hall is presented. Load-bearing structure of the hall consists of spatial long-span truss girders that are made of modern square hollow sections. Both fire development analysis and mechanical response analysis are discussed in detail. Fire Dynamics Simulator and Safir programs are used. Main focus is put on the factors that could affect the final fire resistance of the structure. Uniform and non-uniform heating, different boundary conditions and local imperfections are taken into account. Structures with and without fireproof insulation are considered. Values of the critical temperature, failure modes and fire resistance estimated for various cases are presented. Computer simulations were carried out both for fire growth and decay phase. As a result it is clearly shown that some reductions of the required fireproof insulation are possible. Moreover, the structure without complete traditional fireproof insulation is able to survive not only the direct fire exposure but also the cooling phase.

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.

The implementation of a new, high-performance float flat glass manufacturing technology in Europe, in conjunction with the growing interest in new glass functions expressed by the construction industry, has led to significant developments in the theory of glass structures. Long time research conducted in the EU countries has been concluded by the technical document CEN/TC 250 N 1060, drawn up as a part of the work of the European Committee for Standardization on the second edition of Eurocodes (EC). The recommendations pertaining to the design of glass structures have been foreseen in the second edition of the Eurocodes, in particular the development of a separate design standard containing modern procedures for static calculations and stability of glass building structures (cf. works M. Feldmann, R. Kasper, K. Langosch and other).

In this paper new static analysis methods for glass plates made of monolithic and laminated glass, declared in th document CEN/TC 250 N 1060 (2014) and recommended in the national standarization document CNR-DT 210 (National Research Council of Italy, 2013) are presented. These static analysis methods are not commonly known in our national engineering environment, and thus require popularization and regional verification. Numerical and analytical simulations presented in this paper for rectangular plates made of monolithic and laminated glass and having various support conditions are of this character. The results of numerical calculations constitute a basis for the discussion of new static analysis methods for plates.

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.