Many innovative designs of steel beams have been developed to allow more efficient construction methods. But designers and specifiers need to be aware of the fire safety issues these can raise. Innovations In Steel Construction Include Castellated And Cellular beams - that is beams with holes in the web that can allow the passage of services through them. But these welcome innovations also bring a number of issues to mind. Do structural engineers really consider the 'buildability' of buildings when the basic structural concept is agreed -innovative or not? Do they consider the different follow-on problems from using one type of steel design against another, apart from a simplified concept that services can be put under or through steel beams in a variety of ways. Do they have a sense of the need to maintain the compartmentation of buildings to limit the risk of fire spread through a building, and to minimise the risk for fire spread in the external envelope?
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