Publisher's Synopsis
Designing for hazardous loads such as fire and explosion and for abnormal loads such as earthquakes has become an important, even essential, requirement in the design process of most major buildings and civil engineering structures. The range of these structures includes tall buildings, bridges, conventional and nuclear power plants, chemical and processing plants, oil and gas platforms, shelters, and harbour and coastal installations.;Hazard identification and risk assessment are of crucial importance when defining the extreme loading conditions which a structure should be able to withstand. Physical testing of full and large scale structures and elements has, over the years, played a significant role in the study of their behaviour when subjected to hazardous loads. The technique has enabled designers to solve difficult engineering problems and so improve the standards of design, safety, construction and in-service performance.;This book forms the proceedings of the International Seminar "Structural Design for Hazardous Loads" which was organized by the Institution of Structural Engineers Informal Study Group on Model Analysis as a Design Tool, and the Building Research Establishment, and held in Brighton in April 1991. The Seminar provided a forum for experts dealing with designing and testing of structures able to withstand hazardous and abnormal loads safely.