1 Market Square A rena 3

2 Fire Endurance fOl'

Steel-Frame Nll1'sinIJ
Homcs 10
3 1975 Architectural
A u'ards of Exccllellce 14
MODERII ~l
COIISIRUGnOIl
Published by VOLUME XV J NUMBER 4 J fOURTH QUARTER 1975
•
American Institute CONTENTS
of Steel Construction
Market Square Arena 3
1221 Avenue of the Americas
New York, N.Y. 10020 Fire Endu rance for Steel-Frame Nursing Homes 10
1975 Architectural Awards of Excellence 14

N EW AISC QUALITY CERTIFICATION PROGRAM

OPPlcaRS
In 1'ecent years, the quality of consU'uct ion ,net hods and
David B, Hughes, President matelials has become the subject of increasing concern w
George W, Hall, First Vice President building officials and designers, One ,'esult of thill concern has
Robert p, Stupp, been the enactment of inspection requirements intended to
Second Vice President ensure p,'oduct quality. However, in the case of fabricated
William J. Tilley, Jr., Treasurer stmctuml steel these inspection requirements have increased
John K, Edmonds,
Executive Vice President fab"ieation costs without necessarily assuring fabrication
Leslie H, Gillette,
quality,
Assistant Executive Vice President Product inspection, although it has a valid place in the con-
William W. Lanigan, stmction process, is not the most logical or pmctieal way to
Secretary and General Counsel assu"e that strllctllml steehvo,'k will confo,'m to the ,'cqui1'e-
1Iwnts of contmct documents and satisfy the intended end use,
A better solution can be found in the quality control and
qllality assumnce exe,'cised by the fabricatD?' ti11'ollghout the
aDITORIAL STAPF production process, However, some valid and objective method •
Daniel Farb. Director of Publications is needed whereby a fab"ieator's capability fo,' assUl'ing quality
production can be evaluated,
Mary Anne Stockwell, Editor
Recognizing this need, AISC has developed a Quality Certifi-
cation Program whe)'eby any structuml steel fab'-tcating plant
-whether a Member of AISC 0" no~an have its capability
RaOIONA L OFFICES
for ass'"-tng ql1ality production evaluated on a fair and im-
partial basis, Inspection-Evaluation of a plant, in accordance
Atlanta, Georgia with standard ,'equi"ements established by A / SC, will be per-
Birmingham, Alabama fonned by an independent professional firm specializing in
Boston, Massachusetts quality assumnce,
Chicago, Illinois This progmm was developed by a f/"oup of highly qualified
Cleveland, Ohio operations personnel from large, mediuIII, and small !ab"icat-
Columbus, Ohio ing plants, It Wa,q Teviewed and stl'Ongly endo,'sed by an inde-
Dallas, Texas pendent Board of Review comprised of 17 prominent stn/ctural
Denver, Colorado enginee,'s f,'om tli rouf/hout the United States ,
Detroit, Michigan ABS Wo,'ldwide Technical Services, Inc, (a subsidiary of
Charlotte, North Carolina Ame"ican Bureau of Shipping) has been I'Ctained by A ISC to
Hartford, Connecticut perfol'1lt the plant Inspection-Evaluation, In the future, de-
Houston, Texas pendent upon demand, other independent p,'ofessional finns
Los Angeles, California mall be involved,
Memphis. Tennessee For f"rther infonnation on the crilel'ia, p"ocedln'es, and
Milwaukee, Wisconsin implementation of this progmm, please write to AISC, 1221
Minneapolis, Minnesota Ave, of the Amaicas, New York, N, y, 10020,
New York, New York
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
ERRATA
Omaha, Nebraska
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania On the back cover of the Srd Q" 1975 issue of MSC, the
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania captions identifying the photof/l'aphs of the City Avenue
St. Louis, Missouri Pedestrian B"idf/e, Philadelphia, Pa, and the Madeim Beach
San Francisco, california Pedestrian Ove"pass, Madeim Beach, Fla, were transposed
Seattle, Washington inadvertently, Both b"idges we"e Award of Merit winne,'s in •
Syracuse, New York the Special Pm'pose category in AISC's 1975 P'1ze Bridge
Washington, District of Columbia Competition,
 MARKET SQUARE ARENA
by Arthur W. McKinney Beginning in the late 1960's, the many other smaller facilities. In the
United States experienced a tremen· spring of 1971, the City of Indianapolis
dous increase in a highly specialized determined that such a facility would
class of construction relating to large, be highly beneficial and would inte·
indoor, multipurpose sports stadiums. grate well into the existing Master Plan
During the same period of time, city for revitalization of the central busi·
governments across the country were ness district. The summer of 1971 saw
seeking ways to revitalize decaying the opening of the new convention
central business districts, and many center and, in the succeeding four·year
cities considered the construction of period, the beginning of seven major
indoor sports facilities as magnets to office complexes within the city core.
attract people and revenue into their The stadium's location was selected
central business districts. to bracket the central business district,
Over the relatively brief period of triangulating with the new convention
six to eight years, many facilities were center and the Indiana University·
constructed, such as: the new Madison Purdue University campus. The site
Square Garden in New York City; the consisted of two half city blocks bi·
Hampton Coliseum in Hampton Roads, sected by a five·lane thoroughfare,
Virginia; Scope in Norfolk, Virginia; the Market Street, which would pass under
Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Vir- the stadium floor and remain a main

• FOURTH QUARTER 1975

ginia; the Forum in Los Angeles; and
Mr. McKinney. of J. Robert Carlton & Assoc .,
Richmond , Va ., was Chief Structural Enlinear
for the Market Square Arena.
access way to the central business dis·
trict. A traffic analysis of a ten block
area surrounding the site, conducted

3
 •
by the Indiana Department of Tran s- tion of the stadium and street replace- competence in much the same ma nner
portation, revealed no significant prob- ment and improvements necessitated of architect and engineer selection .
lems at peak traffic periods. by the construction. The private in- This was one of the first incidences of
An analysis of parki ng requirements vestment group leases the stadium a public body entering into pure con-
for an 18,000-seat facility was made. from the city, thus generating the struction management, phased con-
Seven thousand five hundred commer- funds fo r repayment of the bonds. The struction . This technique accrued many
cial pa rking spaces exist to the west of private investment group further obli- advantages in the area of cost control
the stadium site within a five-minute gated itself to construction of a high- and time savings. Eventually, a total
walk. It was determined that an addi- rise office building adjacent to the site, of 29 prime contracts were let. The
tional 1,400 spaces would be provided and this project proceeded separately contracts were all publicly bid and
within the building. Economic esti - and will be completed this year. each contract was direct with the city
mates, made at the time, indicated a In May 1971, the City of Indianapolis and administered by the construction
potential draw of two million people selected the firm to provide profes- manager acting as the city's agent.
into the downtown area annually for sional engineeri ng and arch itectural Using this technique, construction
stadium events. This provided the im- services. Schematics for the project follows the design very closely. In Oc-
petus for the city to proceed wi th the were completed in August 1971, and a tober the contract for pressure injected
proj ect. con trac t for demolition and site clear- piles was bid . This particular system
ing was awarded in that same month. was selected due to the existence of a
Complex Ownership During the schematic design phase, it dense gravel and sand strata at a
Ownership of the building is unique. was determined that the most eco· depth of only 12 ft below grade. Con-
The land for the project was purchased nomical approach to constructing the ventional belled caissons and spread
and all existing structures demolished facility would be the use of construc- footings were considered. However, due
by the city. A private investment group tion management and the fast-tra ck to the large column loads imposed (as
provided financing for the parking decks phased construction technique. high as 2,400 kips), it wa s decided to
and holds ownership and operates the use piles. Each pile had a load capac-
parking decks. The city, through general " Fast Track" Technique ity of 150 tons and an average length
obl igation bonds and revenue sharing A construction management firm was of approximately 12 ft. A total of 889
ca pital , provided funding fo r construc- selected on the basis of professional piles were eventually requ ired. Design

4
Mark et Str ee t , a 5-lanc thorough/are, pa8ses under the stadium. f looT.

MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION

•
•

Space frame and upper stadium wall erection, caat end.

Space frame 01 north garagc.

of the pile foundation preceded instal-
lation of the piles by one day for a pe-
riod of approximately a month until
symmetry could be brought to bear_ It
should be noted that the design of a
building normally proceeds from the
top down, while construction proceeds
from the bottom up_ This presents a

•
dichotomy when both tasks are being
accomplished simultaneously_ Utiliza-
tion of the "fast-track" technique there-
fore requires significant coordination
and forethought

Design Criteria
For design purposes the project was
split into two distinct elements-first,
the stadium proper and its associated
ancillary facilities and, secondly, the
split parking decks for the stadium_
The design criteria called for profes-
sional basketball and hockey events
with minimum seating capacities of
18,000 and 16,000, respectively_ These
two events account for the majority of
the dates for the fac ility and dictate
the bulk of the secondary design re-
quirements. The single focal point line
of sight is the most important require-
ment for these events.
For basketball the common focal
point is normally the edge of the court
playing surface. For hockey it is a
point 2 ft above the playing surface
and 6 ft in front of the dasher boards.
To achieve a common focal point, the

•
seating must follow a curve of decreas-
ing radius with distance from the focal
point. This curve can be approximated
by a logarithmic spiral, by a function

FOURTH QUARTER 1975 5

 of a hyperbolic cosine, or by some logic
approach used by many seating com-
panies of maintaining a 3-in. differ-
ential between the eye level of the
spectator in row 3 over the head of the
spectator in row 1, and so on. The com-
and forms concentric circular arcs off
of the center point of the 28-ft radius
in the playing floor corners with the
aforementioned geometric restraints.
Economic analysis indicated that use
of stee l stri ngers supporting precast,
Thermal Gradients Consideration
The final criteria that were applied
involved provision for expansion and
contraction due to thermal gradients.
The steel structure spanning the street
is not connected to the garages or the
•
mon focal point requirement estab- prestressed seat risers would provide stair towers. The third floor is cut with
lished the first criteria for the struc- the most economical structural system expansion joints running north and
tural geometry. Other requirements for for the seating. Due to the fast-track south just beyond the ends of the
the stadium were that it be provided technique being utilized, it was deter- hockey playing surface. The space
with all the necessary facilities to ac- mined that the roof would be supported frame is cut, up to the arena wall, at
commodate circuses, sideshows, con- at 48 equally placed points at its outer the intersection of the garages and the
certs, and similar events requiring periphery and that the seat stringers steel structure spanning the street.
specialized anchor devices on both the coming up from the stadium floor level This was accomplished by simply leav-
floor and roof systems and also requir- would intersect these 48 points. ing out the diagonal bracing at the ap-
ing that the stadium space be acous- Preliminary analysis of the seat propriate location. It is similarly cut at
tically treated. Further requirements stringers indicated that on the north the center line of the garages where
were lighting levels for color television and sou th sides of the stadium the re- the expansion joi nt exists in the ga r-
coverage of events (250 ft·candles on quired steel section would exceed the ages. The upper stadium wall is com-
any horizontal surface on the playing largest rolled section in the United pletely continuous and the dome is
floor). The stadium was to be fully a,,- States (W36X300). Therefore, interme- completely continuous. To analyze the
conditioned, have humidity control, diate support points were selected for behavior of the structure under thermal
and a complete life safety protection the north and south side stringers to gradients, including displacement in
package. Through economic analysis allow the use of the W36X300. This the space frame induced by movement
of all existing stadiums of similar size produced, including the 48 Common of the garages, required computer an-
and all systems proposed for clear dome/ seat stringer support points, a alysis due to the extreme complexity of
spans in the range of 300 to 400 ft, total of 76 points at which the upper the system. The space frame was mod-

•
it was determined that the stadium stadium structure required support. eled and analysis was performed using
roof configuration would be circular STRUOL II of the ICES package (in-
and wou ld utilize a compression shell. Two Parking Garages tegrated Civil Engineering Systems-
This decision set the second pa rameter Nested against the stadium under Structural Design La nguage). Two iter-
for the structural geometry. the concourse level and covering the ations were requi red to arrive at t he
entire half city block on each side of final configu ration, sizes and joint de-
Efficient Seating Arran gement Market Street are two 5-level parking sign criteria. Analysis indicated that
Due to economics, it was determined garages. The stadium floor, which spans the space frame behaves in a mode
that the floor area would be the exact the street, coincides with the third which is essentially the reverse of a
dimensions of the hockey playing level of parking. compression shell.
floor required by the National Hockey The required 76 support points for The critical element of stability is
League. The most efficient arrangement the dome had to be transferred to the the upper stadium wall. A full cross-
of seating layout would then be concen - foundation through the garages without section through the entire structure is
tric expansion of this configuration compromising the parking density or shown on pg. 9. It is cut at the building
until the required number of seats was traffic patlerns in the garages. This was center line looking west. The dome is
reached. The NHL playing floor is 85 accomplished by developing a fully tri - an articulated compression shell com-
ft wide, 200 ft long, with a 28-ft radius angulating space frame, t he basic ele· monly refe rred to as a Schwed ler dome.
in the four corners. The minimum row ment of which is a four-joint column Suspended from the dome is a steel
width (using self-rising seat bottoms) is cluster. The two outer columns are catwalk system which carries the light-
32 in. Expanding concentrically from splayed and each carries one of 48 ing system and provides access to the
the hockey floor on a 32-in. module, common dome/ seat stringer support sound system and scoreboard.
with appropriate deductions for vertical points. The inner pair of columns is
and horizontal aisles, a dia. of 368 ft- splayed and provides intermediate sup- Structural Steel
4 in. was determined. port to the upper seat stringer section The exposed columns and cluster
This particular approach causes the to keep this section from exceeding bases of the space frame are fabri-
number of rows to vary due to the the maximum size manufactured. To cated of weathering steel. Clip angles
variations in distance from the edge of complete the triangulation of the space were provided for positioning the col-
the playing floo r to the circular inner frame, the sixth floor was reinforced to umn tubes on to each element of the

•
wall of the stadium. This approach provide the botlom chord. Thus, the cluster base. Once the tube was in
further defined the necessary structural space frame consists of the splayed position, the column tube was welded
geometry, since the seating is parallel cluster columns, the seat stringer, and to the cluster base with a full penetra-
to the straight sides of the hockey floor the concrete sixth floor deck. tion weld usi ng B·80 electrodes. After

6 MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION

••

•
'UNI ~N lit TATIO"l SEALANT
"IIIIEI TRANSLAT ... .'TYROI'" ... M BLOCK
f"IJCIED IlEAR.,..
CONCllIET£ CURB

,r- ..

... OUT
• LIEVIlLING PLATIl
"NQ(OR~D \,II ~CRETIl
CfJ'LU"''''' 1.1"" TON flEA'UN COLUMN CAPITA.L CA f
FIELD WELDED TO
L.I!:V£LING PL'" TIE

•
MAIN ,X)LU ..... N
" EI"',,"OWCtNG

Deta.il a.t cluster column ban.

TlIpical/our column
"clu.t~r" ba,t lrect d
with bearing in plact.

• FOURTH QUARTER 1975 7

 welding, the cl ip angles were burned the welding sequence to minimIZe
off and the surfaces ground flush and plate wearing during fabrication.
sandblasted to insure uniform weather- Detailing of the stringer head was
ing of the steel. complicated in that the stringer was
The column bases were installed broken into a horizontal plane and
",,,1[ " "'TIED ~LA'TI:" C.IlI L IPoIG
with a Uuni-ton" rotation free, transla- rotated in plan to fall on a radius to I ONLY _ !l ,n : STe EL IS 1.. 1:"

tion fixed bearing attached to the base the center of the dome. The upper wall THAN l "I:I:T ~LJo" 01" HATING \
with temporary pins to maintain al ign- framing in the plane of the seat GUTTll lt TU.S ... UNO WITH I
ment. These pins were burned off after stringer, which has been turned so that I N Dl VIOUAL O lt "'NS

the completion of erection. To allow it lays in a common plane with the

for field tolerances, the "uni-ton" bear- dome rib, was treated as a vertical
ing base plate was field welded to a cantilevered vierendeel tru ss. The inner Co
preset leveling plate. Similar detailing chord of this truss supports the dome SU~"L '" "' lIt ,"a..I[ N I,IM .I'ITI:"
STlTI"\.. _"ell: .I:T W I[IlN , ........ 1:"
was utilized where the cluster bases rib. The dome is tangentially restrained, ....... 0 OUT 1:" WAI..I...
rest on the steel structure over the but is free to move radially. The major CONCOU" " ..... T.«.II.. I: 111001" . .... "
street. The column tubes are 20 in . horizontal forces induced in the upper SAM . ... . DOML

square with wall thicknesses varying wall come from radial movement of
from % in. to Y2 in. Prior to fabrica - the dome due to temperature changes.
tion of the column bases, a full scale The force is alleviated by providing
mock-up was constructed and then cut Teflon sheets with a very low coeffi-
apart for destructive tests to qual i fy cient between the dome ring bearing
the welds. This also provided a test of plate and the column cap plate.

~ " L.stJ " l: ..... .JI:CTI:O "DOTING

D IA GONA L BR AC IN G

4I.l!n ,"T,OA....
CAN TI LEV ER ED FIII OM SII!:A T STI'IIINGEIt.
SEE F IG • F D A OET ... IL AT " 00,. £ ...
LINE AaoVE
,,£
-D I AGONAL DRACINO

ACOUSTIC WALL PANEL

PRIECAST CONClilIETE PLANK

•
1 F IBERBOA"O
l STIEI!:L DIECK

1,2 NiEOPllllEf\I£ ROO

Pili ECA ST i,. R E STR£ 55ED

C:Of\lC R ItTE SEAT ''' SUt
KAT. NOT aiO ........

TH I S lEND ONLY ~~
V ...... ..
OPPO~ I TE lEND ~/
SL. I P CONNECTION """""'0..-
'AGONAL MACING IN
LANE OF' SEAT STRINGER S

... STIFFE"IING ntU$Sl:S

WIEATHE ft lNG STEEL

...... CE SHEI:T .f"LASTIER SOFFIT ~.""""

20 5CUAR E BOX COLUMN

, ..... £ ... THE R ING STII!:IELI ..... ,. 5EAT STRINGE"

8
Seat stringer head at Qu ter arena wall.

MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION

•
 I j

I I I II M

__
STEEL SWl:OLI:,. 0C)t00£ . ~ c:ItICAL "AOIUS

'~:: "",J,"-:~~~1F~r=="",-..,.""""""b,,,,.,~O.411'1"'0
.... :':_:HIt"'CAL
LIN I[ _ELL I:QU.a,I,.S O' '''''''II TI[ " ... ,

~"""~
1 MJIL T- UP S T Eil!.. " cauSTIC ~ D E CK
I"I.I["~"'S. ItAT T '''' I NNIE., n.U TIES
.aTTOM SHItE T ~1t" "O" "'TI[ D

w'm".''''G STI[IIL a'ClNG

C
• DOUB LE TH"EAOC O HIlLilIl "AM"

• Cr08B-Bcc tion at center line looking west .

The dome ring consists of a single flange was bent by use of hydraulic Architects, Architects 4 (A Join t Venture)
steel plate 36 in. deep and 4Yz in. jacks. This closed the notch in the web J. Robert Carlton & Associates, Inc.
Richmond, Va.
thick. Shop splices in this plate were which was then welded and left ap-
Kennedy. Brown & Associates
made using the electro·slag welding proximately a %-in. gap in the bottom Indianapolis. Ind.
process. Field splices consist of six flange which was closed using the Fleck, Burkart. Shropshire, Boots. Reid
3·in. diameter bolts connecting adja- electro-slag welding process. & Associates
Indianapolis, Ind.
cent segments. The ends of the seg- The dome was erected in two stages
McGuire & Shook Corporation
ments have a gusseted bearing plate using a system of shoring trusses. The Indianapolis. Ind.
similar to the type of detail that may lower portion of the dome, approxi- Structural En gineer:
be used for a heavy column base con- mate ly the first 96 feet of the span. J. Robert Carlton & Associates
nection. The connecting bolts were was set in place with the inner ends Richmond, Va .
Con struction Manaeer:
post-tensioned to 1,800 kips to prevent of the ribs resting on steel chairs on Huber, Hunt & Nichols. Inc.
separation of the connection under the the shoring system. The annular rings IndIanapolis, Ind.
most severe tension in the ring. The were then instailed along with the sec- Steel f abricators:
electro-slag welding technique was also ondary purlins and 2-in diameter rod International Steel Company
Indianapolis, Ind ,
used in the construction of the dome bracing. The shoring was then dropped American Bridge Div ..
ribs. 24 in. A center tower was erected United States Steel
The ribs are broken on approximately with the compression ring mounted to Pittsburgh . Pa.
28-ft centers to approximate a true the top of the tower. The balance of

•
spherical curve. At the breakpoints, the the dome was then erected and the shor-
bottom flange was cut away, the web ing dropped. Use of two swings to drop
was notched to the upper flange line. the dome into final position provided
With the rib lying on its side, the upper better field control during erection.

FOURTH QUARTER 1975 9

 FIRE ENDURANCE FOR •
Steel-Frame Nursing Homes

In recent years, much attention ments for fire endurance of the struc-
rightly has been given to fire safety in tural frame, it is important for archi-
high rise buildings. The possibilities of tects, structural engineers, and code
catastrophic loss of life and major high enforcement officials to learn of the
rise urban structure collapses. result- procedures now available for design
ing from an uncontrolled fire therein, of fire-resistant steel frames.
hardly can be ignored. Without question,
by Em ile W. J. Troup substantial active life safety measures Des ign Criteria
and passive structural fire endurance Nursing home design, requiring both
in these buildings are in order. institutional and residential occupancy,
Unfortunately, the immense differ· is a difficult and unique challenge.
ence in risk to occupants and com· Architects must provide a pleasant,
munity between low-rise buildings (in homelike environment for the residents
which public fire services can operate that complies with t he strictly regu-
effectively) and high-rise buildings is lated state and fede ral fire safety de-

•
often not reflected in criteria for struc- sign laws. For example, to conform
tural fire endurance. Requirements for with limits on distance to the most
two-story nursing homes usually equal remote room, large nursing homes are
those for 75-story buildings of most often laid out in units or wings radiat-
other occupancies. Since public offi- ing from a central nurses' station .
cials must enforce minimum criteria In general, there are no unusual fea-
for nursing homes, which burden own- tures of nursing homes which requi re
ers and designers with costly, inflex- unique structural treatment. However,
ible and often unnecessary require- like other institutional facilities, future
Mr. Troup is AISC Relional Engineer in Boston,
expansion or alteration of a nursing
Mass. home is inevitable, and often sooner
than expected . Expansion is needed to
increase capacityj alterations are nec-
essary to bring an existing nursi ng
home up to current safety standards,
since the "grandfather clause" is not
valid. Indeed, some nursing homes have
ceased operation because of the pro-
hibitive cost required to conform to
recent construction fire safety regula-
tions. In this regard, structural steel
framing is clearly preferred because of
its flexibility in adapting to future
changes and expansion.
Most states, in accordance with a
federal law, require all new nursing
homes receiving Title 18 or 19 funding

•
(Medicare or Medicaid) to comply with
National Fire Protection Association
101, the Life Safety Code, 1967 edi-
tion. NFPA 101-67 has been revised

10 MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION

•
twice (with another edition due in
1976), and a few states apparently
have begun, through legislative action,
to recognize the latest edition (1973)
as the guideline for life safety in nurs-
ing homes.
Under NFPA 101-67, a new two-story
nursing home must have, as a mini-
mum, 2-hour fire resistive construction
(Type 18). Through NFPA 220, Stand-
ard Types of Building Construction,
1961 edition, Type 18 construction
specifies 3-hour rated columns for the

•
first floor, 2-hour columns for the second
floor, and a 2-hour floor system. These adequate. New nursing homes 5 or 6 other difficulty in designing safe, eco-
ratings do not recognize complete sprin- stories or higher, which are rare, might nomical , low-rise nursing homes. Until
kler protection or the other life safety warrant a Type 2A construction (11" recently there was no ASTM E119 fire
measures which are usually provided. and 2-hour columns, H '2-hour floor sys- test data on light steel column assem-
There is no justification for the add i- tems), since the life safety problem blies using fabricated W or tubular
tional expense to obtain this degree of therein is somewhat more complicated. shapes. In order to meet NFPA 101-67,
fire endurance for structural members It should be mentioned that, con- designers found they either had to use
in modern nursing homes, which are trary to the II zera" rating listed in heavier sections than needed (at least
usually only two or three stories high . building codes, "unprotected" steel W10X49) or Lally-type column assem-
Although some difficulty should be an- construction (Type 2C) does provide blies.
ticipated in guiding occupants out of measurable fire endurance by its own It is unreasonable to expect or re-
the building during a fire, several hours capacity to conduct and store heat. quire architects and structural engi-
of structural fire endurance could not Theoretically, a bare steel structure neers to specify only those column,
conceivably have any bearing on life can be designed heavy enough to meet beam and floor assemblies which have
safety. This conclusion has been drawn any fi re resistance rating. The author been subjected to the E119 fire test.
in a recent study of nursing home does not, however, submit this as a It is more unreasonable to expect every
fires in Oregon. 1 And for insurance pur- practical alternative to fireproofing with variation of these assemblies to be so
poses, complete automatic sprinkler insulation, at least not for the general tested. On the contrary, results of fire
protection in a nursing home of unpro- case. The point is that Type 2C construc- tests are a valuable source of data from
tected noncombustible steel frame con- tion, in combination with life safety which engineering judgment should be
struction results in classification as a measures, provides a very fire-safe and made to assign a fire resistance rating
fire-res isti ve building. economical low-rise structure for many to an assembly which is similar (but
A more reasonable criterion for the occupancies. Furthermore, Type 2C con- not identical) to those already tested.
frame would be minimum fire endur- struction does not produce the primary These results should be made available
ance that would insure structural in- killer, smoke, nor does it contribute to aid designers and code enforcement
tegrity during the time needed for fuel to the fire. officials in making this judgment.
egress and rescue of the occupants. The E119 test fire is a representa-

•
Depending on such factors as public Fire Tests In Perspective tion of actual fires in buildings. In
fire protection, Type 28 or 2C construc- Along with the misconception that 2- some cases, and nursing homes are a
tion (protected or unprotected steel and 3-hour structural fire endurance good example, the E119 3-hour ex-
frame, respectively) would usually be contributes to life safety, there is an- posure is not indicative of an actual

FOURTH QUARTER 1975 11

 3-hour fire which would be conceivable The E119 test is an elaborate index Below is an example of how these
in the building_ It is extremely unlikely, 01 relative performance under controlled new procedures can be used.

•
if not incredible, that fire temperatures laboratory test conditions for building
From Ref. 1:
at a specific location would average constructions.' Since the E119 test
1800' F for 2'12 hours as specified by the conditions are never experienced in an R
L
standard 3-hour test lire_ Indeed, the actual building, analysis and interpre-
writer simply cannot conceive of this tation of existing fire test results are
20 W +c
DP
kind of exposure to lirst story columns necessary if rational design of the struc-
in modern nursing homes _ tural frame is to be achieved. where L = thickness of insulation, in .
R = fire resistance, hours
,"" New DeSign Procedures W = weight of steel, Ibs/ ft
The ASTM E119 fire test method will D = heated perimeter, in.
'200
continue to have an important role in P = density of insulation, pet
!'" development of lire rated steel-frame C = constant: 0.5 for materials
2000
.... assemblies, especially in evaluation of such as sprayed fibers and
1100 I"" new insulating materials and methods dense mineral wool ; 1.2 for
of assembly, and in the development materials containing port-
1100 land cement or gypsum,

" . 1 and validation of analytical techniques.

As an example, analysis of existing
data supplemented by a lire test pro-
gram recently resulted in procedures
such as plasters and ce-
mentitiou5 mixtures.
1200 Assume a W6X15.5 column, R = 2
which, lor the lirst time, enable the hours (fire rating required).
1000 architect and engineer to truly design
individually protected steel-frame as- For plaster on metal lath, C =
1.2;
100
semblies.3"" Knowing the required box-type protection, assume P = 33:
... hourly rating, required thickness of NEED L = 1.27 in.; USE IV4 in .

... most insulations can now be calculated

for any size or shape steel column .
The designer is limited only to the use
=
For sprayed-on cementitious, C 1.2;
contour protection, assume P = 25:
NEED L = 1.30 in.; USE 1% in.
of proven (fire tested) insulation mate-
For dense mineral wool, C = 0.5; box-

•
rials and methods of assembly. This
o , • breakthrough has been possible be- type protection, assume P = 20:
HOVIS cause of the knowledge now available NEED L = 1.78 in.; USE 1:y., in.
of: 1) behavior of structural steel at
For sprayed-on fibers, C= 0.5; contour
high temperatures and 2) the perform-
ASTlIJ time-tempera ture curve .hows
that in the Itandard fi r e ttlt, air ance of a wide variety of insulating
protection, assume P =15 (tamped):
tem~ e Tat ure r ise. to 1000° F in only
5 mmuter , r eaches 1700° Fat 1 hour. materials and assemblies used as "fire-
NEED L = 1.88 in.; USE 1Y. in.
and fOOO° F at 4. hourI. proofing." Although the formula above was de-
veloped from investigations of column
fire tests, in many cases it may be
used for individually protected beams
and girders as well.

Tensile s treng th of A S TM Sprinklers

A 7 and A 36 st ructural steels
at eleva ted temperatures. The question of reliability of sprin-

4 o ,----------- _ ____ __--, kler systems is under constant and
heated debate. Insurance interests,
120 which have traditionally influenced
fire protection requirements in build-
100 ings, have learned to live with the
, various failure modes of sprinkler sys-
tems in achieving acceptable levels of
~8 0

·••"0
industrial (property) loss experience.
• However, the extreme risk to occupants
and community from an uncontrolled
lire warrant a very hard evaluation of
40
the reliability of sprinklers in high-rise
buildings. Failure of the system to
20 function properly when needed in a
high-rise could be catastrophic com- •
~~-.200~-.400
~-.~~-..OO
~~IOOO~~1~20~0~;14f.OO~;,6~00~,~.~00~20JOO pared to one of the structural steel ele-
Ternpe,a lure, F ments reaching 1100' F.

12 MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION

 3) Exploit existing fire test results to
their best engineering advantage.
4) Minimize the potential threat to

• life safety by minimizing combus-

tible furnishings and contents.
5) Provide early detection and alarm
systems for life safety.
It would appear in this particular
occupancy that adequate protection of
the residents will, in effect, satisfy any
structural fire protection consideration
that may arise. But, until structural
fire endurance is placed in its proper
perspective, the measures described
herein will be helpful in achieving ra-
tional structural design of nursing
homes.

References
1. Stickney, C. We"er "Oregon L1le Safety
Study of Institutional Care Facilities"
Technology Report 74~3, Society of Firs
Protection Engineers.

-
Life safety hardware and systems the writer does not endorse this " trade·
2. Gawain, RIchard W. "Fire-Resistant Steel
Frame Construction" Paper presented at
the National Engineering Conference
sponsored by The Amenca" Institute 01
Steel ConstructIon, Inc ., May 2. 1975.
3. Ue, T. T. and W. W. Stanlak "Fire Ae·
are unique utilities in a building. For off" concept for primary structural mem- slstance of Protected Steel Columns"
several dollars per sq It of floor area, bers in high-rise buildings, it should Engineering Journal, American Instifute
of Steel Construction, Val. 10, No. 3,
the owner buys equipment most of defi nitely be appl ied to low·ri se struc-

•
1973.
which performs no day-to-day useful tures. Most new nursing homes how- 4. "Fire-Resistant Steel-Frame Construc-
function and, in fact, will probably ever, cannot make use of this valid tion" American Iron and Steel Institute,
never be called upon to operate under concept. Second Edition , 1973 .
hostile conditions. Maintaining this 5. "Designing Fire Protection for Steel Col-
kind of equipment over a period of umns" American Iron and Steel Institute,
Summary Second Edition, 1975 .
several decades presents perhaps the Certainly there are elements of build· 6 . Troup , E. W. J. "New Developments In
most challenging reliability problem. ing design and construction which can Ceiling-levsl Protection for the High-
Some of the documented sprinkler fa il- greatly influence the degree of life Challenge Fire" unpublished Technical
ure modes which arise in industrial Report, Factory Mutual Research Cor-
safety in modern nursing homes. Since poration, January 1974
properties could also occur in a nurs- nearly all fire injuries and fatalities in
ing home. Under some circumstances such structures result from small,
sprinklers can be outmatched by fires single casualty fires,' it must be con·
occurring in areas with high ceilings cluded that fire endurance of a struc-
above 15 to 20 ft.' Fortunately, this tural steel frame is not a relevant fac-
condition is not to be found in nursing tor. If a large loss of life should occur
homes. in a steel·framed nursing home fire, it
When all the arguments are sorted will be a result of deficiencies of the
out, it is apparent that an operational other factors upon which life safety
sprinkler system can be a deterrent to really depends.
multiple loss of life in a nursing home The following recommendations are
fire. Likewise, sprinklers further reduce made:
chances of structural damage. Ade-
quate and continuous sprinkler system 1) Where applicable, use the new
reliabil ity can be assured with a simple procedures now available for de·
maintenance program. signing individually protected fire-
Perhaps for these reasons, NFPA resistant steel sections.
101-73 allows a drop of one construc- 2) Insist due credit be given for
tion Type, from 18 to 2A, if complete complete sprinkler protection, if

•
sprinkler protection is provided in two provided, in terms of anticipated
and three-s tory nursing homes. This is fire exposure of noncombustible
a step in the right direction. Although structural members.

FOURTH QUARTER 1975 13

 1975
ARCHITECTURAL
AWARDS
•
OF EXCELLENCE

FODAEA COMMUNITY SCHOOL

Columbus, Indiana
Architect: Caudill Rowlett Scott

~
IVAN G. SMITH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Danvers, Massachusetts
Architect: Caudill Rowlett Scott

ALLISON PARK RESEARCH CENTER ......

Hampton Township, Pennsylvania
Architect: Giffe's Associates, Inc.

LECKENBY COMPANY OFFICE BUILDING . . .

Harbor Island, Seattle, Washington
Architect: Ibsen Nelsen & Associates

CROSBY KEMPER MEMORIAL ARENA

Kansas City, Missouri ~
Architect: C. F Murphy Associates

14 MODERN STEEL CONSTRUCTION

.J1

•
BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF NORTH CAROL INA SERVICE CENTER
Chapel HIli. North Carolina
Architect: Odell Associates Inc .

THE MINNEAPOllS·PLYMOUTH RADIO TOWER

FOR THE NORTHWESTERN BELL TELEPHONE COMPANY ...
Plymouth Village, Minnesota ,.
Architect: Setter, leach & lindstrom Inc .

BAXTER CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS, CENTRAL FACILITIES BUILDING

DeerfIeld , illinoIs
... Architect: Skidmore. Owings & Merrill

• .0IIII FIRST WISCONSIN CENTER

"I11III Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Architect: Skidmore, Owinp & Merrill

FOURTH FINANCIAL CENTER

Wi chita, Kanps
Architect: Skidmore, Dwina:s & Merrill ...

• 15
FOURTH QUARTER 1975
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF STEEL CONSTRUCTION
BULK RATE
1221 Avenue of the Americas U.S. POSTAGE
New York, N. Y. 10020 PAI 0

•
Address Correction Requested NEW YORK. N.Y
Permit No. 6662

•
WESTINGHOUSE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER : ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
Churchill Borough, Pennsylvania
Architect: Skidmore, Owlnas & Merrill

VISITORS INFORMATION CENTER, TROJAN NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

Rainler,Or8gon
...., Arch itects: Wolff Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership

SEARS TOWlER
ChlcaeO, illinois
Arehitect: Skidmore, OWinp & Merrill