Discussion on Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester by P. Morreau and N. Baldock

The President: The steel hull has been with us for a long time, and I understand that no disasters can be identified as resulting from lowered buckling resistance caused by welding or any other distortion. What use. then, will be made of the facts that Dr. Carlsen has discovered? Will they simply permit us to carry on as we always have, albeit with a greater sense of security? Will they require extra measures to be taken to avoid the dangers in question? Or will they enable us to design hulls with adequate security at lower thicknesses and, presumably, lower cost?

Computers and programs can be wonderful. Their misuse, however, can have enormously distressing consequences that may not be detected for years, and even then may not be fully realised. Please consider the following incidents, of which I have personal knowledge. J. Nayler

Fire protection regulations Mr. M. P. Ashmead drew attention to the disparate requirements of local authorities for fire protection design of steel frameworks (June l979), and his views in this respect, although not his proposals in their entirety, were shared by Mr. J. A. Tanner (September 1979). Mr. P. Nickson also disagrees with Mr. Ashmead's proposed applied loads when he writes: Further to the letter of Mr. M. P. Ashmead, regarding different cases for consideration for the design of stanchions in single-storey buildings and their fire protection, I feel that an addition to his four design methods is necessary. Verulam