PAPER CODE NO.

CIVE334 Jan 2022

EXAMINER: Dr Vasileios Kamperidis

Email: v.kamperidis@liverpool.ac.uk
School of Engineering

FIRST SEMESTER EXAMINATIONS

January 2022

Engineering BEng: Year 3 (CIVE334)

MODULE TITLE: STRUCTURAL STEELWORK, TIMBER AND

MASONRY
Design to Eurocodes

TIME ALLOWED: 3 hours for the exams, plus 1 hour for downloading, scanning
and uploading files to CANVAS
________________________________________________________________________

Student Declaration
By undertaking this assessment, you confirm that you have been acting
honestly, ethically and professionally, and you have not committed plagiarism,
nor colluded with any other student during this assessment.

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES:

This is an open-book exam assessment. You can access resources to answer questions. You will not
be expected to access information/knowledge beyond that provided in your lectures and module
CANVAS sites to answer the questions.

Timing: The timing stated is a total time for the assessment including download and upload times.

Answers can be hand-written and/or typed, with a strong preference for hand-written to show your
personal work. All documents should be scanned into one pdf document for upload. Taking
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photographs from the screen and including them in the pdf also works well (you can do this to include
the submission upload cover sheet). Mind, though, that the quality of these photographs is appropriate.

Use a black pen and white paper with faint lines to guide your handwriting when writing. Ensure your
handwriting is clear and readable. These requirements will be relaxed, with prior agreement, for
students with disability support plans.

You must include a completed “Submission Front Sheet” (that is available on the next page and
as a separate file) as the first page for ALL uploads to CANVAS. File names must be: Module Code
Student, ID number, and family name (e.g., ENGG001_1234567Smith). One single file should be
submitted.

Upload your pdf answer document to CANVAS using the Turnitin Assignment or similar link
provided in your module. This must be completed within the allotted time for this exam. Check that you
get a CANVAS receipt when you submit successfully. If you do not obtain a receipt, then inform the
School’s Student Support Office at ugsupeng@liverpool.ac.uk. If you experience technical difficulties,
which disrupt your exam or your upload of answers, please inform the Student Support Office
immediately, and they will provide you with an “Exam Disruption” form to complete.

If you have any queries during the exam period, you may email the Module Leader (using the email at
the top of this paper), who will reply to you individually. If there is a query relevant to the whole class,
then the Module Leader will send an email announcement through CANVAS to everyone. So, please
check your emails during the exam period.

The Module Leader will be present online for the entire 4 hours of “short” open-book exams.

Candidates should answer All THREE questions.

Question 1 (Masonry) carries 40% of the total exam paper mark.

Question 2 (Steelwork) carries 30% of the total exam paper mark.
Question 3 (Timber) carries 30% of the total exam paper mark.
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SUBMISSION FRONT SHEET:

This table MUST be fully completed for EVERY upload document of your answers that
are to be scanned-and-uploaded to CANVAS.

Module Code CIVE334

STRUCTURAL STEELWORK, TIMBER

Module Title
AND MASONRY

Student ID

Family name

First name

Date of exam

Time you finished writing answers (UK

time)

Upload document reference A B C D

Total number of pages in your scanned
document (including this Submission
Front Sheet)

Note that the file names of your submissions MUST be of the form: Module Code_Student ID
number and family name, e.g., CIVE334_1234567Smith

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SECTION A: MASONRY – Question 1

Demands of the Project (questions to be answered from the Student)

You are required to determine the following, for the structural project that is described in the next
paragraph:
(a) The vertical design loads for the verification of Wall 1 to Eurocode 6. The self-weight of the
specials blocks on the top of Wall 1 should be disregarded. (5 marks)

(b) The lateral design loads for the verification of Wall 3 to Eurocode 6. (1 marks)

(c) The characteristic compressive strength of Wall 1. (7 marks)

(d) The slenderness ratio of Wall 1. Consider an effective height reduction factor equal to unity. (5
marks)

(e) The axial load resistance of Wall 1, and its adequacy to support the relevant loads (from Sub-
question (a)), as per Eurocode 6. 100% of the vertical loads in Wall 2 are applied to the outer
leaf of Wall 1. Use the eccentricities given in the outline of the project. (12 marks)

(f) The bending moment resistance of Wall 3, parallel to the bed joint. The orthogonal ratio μ has
been estimated to 0.4 (10 marks)

[Total marks for Question 1: 40]

The project: A renovation structural concept to be evaluated

An existing building is to be renovated and strengthened as per the Eurocodes (i.e., Eurocode 6 (EC6),
etc.) to accommodate the addition of a new first-floor storey. The added storey sits on the top of the
ground-floor storey of the initially, single-storey existing building that is to be renovated. In Figure
Q1A, the red-coloured dotted line separates the existing structural components (of the initial structure)
that are to be kept and utilised in the renovated structure (for material and cost saving purposes), from
the new ones to be added.

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Figure Q1A Cross-section of the renovated structural system to be designed: main components and
materials are shown (main components are bold)

The existing system: Structural elements that are maintained

The existing structural entities to be maintained are: (a) Wall 1, which is a double-leaf clay brick cavity
wall; and (b) Wall 2, which is single-leaf concrete block wall.

Wall 1 utilises standard clay bricks (215 mm x 102.5 mm x 65 mm (face (length) x bed (width) x end
(height)) for both its leaves. The bricks of Wall 1 are Group 1, Category I units, of Execution Control
Class 1. Their normalised mean compressive strength is 29.7 MPa. The mortar utilised in Wall 1 is a
general-purpose mortar of M4 strength class. The two leaves of Wall 1 are adequately tied together with
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ties and a course of special blocks that are used to tie the two leaves of Wall 1 on their top edge (see
Figure Q1A). These special blocks are described in the next paragraph. More geometrical characteristics
of Wall 1 can be seen in Figure Q1B.

The aforementioned special block units have dimensions: Length x Width x Height = 440 x 300 x 110
(mm). The self-weight of these units should be ignored for your calculations. The height of these blocks
may be considered in the calculation of the effective height of Wall 1 (where and if needed).

Wall 2 is a single-leaf concrete wall and was part of the initial roof. The units of Wall 2 are standard,
aggregate concrete blocks (dimensions: Length x Width x Height = 440 x 100 x 215 (mm)), with a
density of 20 kN/m3 (see Figure Q1A). Wall 2 shall not be verified (see Figure Q1B) since it has been
found that it is able to adequately carry its vertical and lateral design loads (see Figure Q1A and Q1C)).

The new system

The new added structural system includes (a) a new roof, parts of which are indicatively shown in Figure
Q1A; (b) a new wall configuration, named Wall 3 in Figure Q1A; and (c) a new, single-storey, ground
floor reinforced concrete (RC) frame.

Based on the design of the new roof, the design load that the roof will impose to the renovated structure
is the vertical design load, PR,Ed of Figure Q1B. In the figure, PR,Ed is factored, and its magnitude is
dependent on your student number, i.e., it is “randomised”. PR,Ed acts concentrically on the top of Wall
3. Because Wall 3 sits partly both on the new RC frame (described below) and on the top of Wall 2, it
has been pre-assumed that it transfers two thirds of PR,Ed and two thirds of its own self-weight (factored
value) to Wall 1, through Wall 2 (which acts only as a vertical load carrying element). Wall 1 also needs
to resist the whole factored self-weight of Wall 2.

Wall 3 will be constructed with Group 1 aggregate concrete blocks of Category I, and Execution Control
Class 1. Their dimensions are 440 mm x 190 mm x 215 mm (length x width x height). The normalised
compressive strength of these blocks is 7.3 MPa, and the mortar of Wall 3 is the same as that of Wall 1.

Wall 3 will need to resist the lateral load from the wind, Wk (characteristic value of the uniformly
distributed surface wind load), as per Figure Q1B, to avoid failing under flexural bending, which is the
expected critical failure mechanism of the wall. In Figure Q1B, Wk is also given randomised. The edge
support conditions of Wall 3 can be seen in Figure Q1C. The length, L, of the wall between its side
supports (i.e., the horizontal distance between its vertical edges) is 3.68 metres (see Figure Q1C).

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Figure Q1B Cross-section of the walls of interest, showing their anticipated external loads
(PR,Ed, Wk), design demands (checks to be conducted), and geometrical characteristics of their
components, e.g., dimensions, centrelines. All the dimensions presented are in millimeters
(only dimensions of interest are shown). The two external loads PR,Ed and Wk are randomized
by using the seventh (n7) and eighth (n8) digit of your student number. As such, if a student –
for example – has n7 = 1, and n8 = 5, they will take PR,Ed = 4.5 kN/m, and Wk = 1.1 kN/m2.

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Figure Q1C Cross-section of the structural system of interest: edge support conditions of
Walls 1 and 3, and the kinematical restrains of Wall 2.

The new RC system need not be verified. It consists of RC columns, RC beams and the new RC slabs.
The new RC system is aimed to entirely resist the lateral loads that would otherwise be transferred to
the ground storey from the added first storey. Also, due to the presence of an adjacent single-storey
building, positioned exactly on the right of Wall 1 (not shown in the figures for clarity), the latter wall
will not need to resists any wind loads. Given the above, and the simply supported top edge of Wall 1
(simple connection), Wall 1 will not develop any moments along its height. The eccentricities of Wall
1, e1 and emk have been found equal to 15 mm (see Figure Q1B).

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SECTION B: STEELWORK – Question 2

2. (a) Figure Q2a shows a 2-bay 1-storey steel portal frame loaded with the
concentrated loads of the figure. Determine the plastic capacity value, Mp, of the
structural members of the system, lower than which the system will collapse under a
sway collapse mechanism. Sketch also the collapse mechanism and its critical plastic
hinges.
2 kN 2 kN

4 kN 45° 45°

Mp Mp

10 m
Mp Mp Mp

8m 8m 8m 8m

Figure Q2a

If instead of a fixed column base at the central column, you have had a pinned column
base, would you expect the Mp value you found above (i.e., for the same external
loads) to increase or decrease. Answer and justify your answer without doing
calculations.
[8/30 marks]

(b) Figure Q2b shows a pitched portal frame with fixed column bases, under a
horizontal force, H, and a vertical concentrated load, P.
i. Determine the statical indeterminacy of the frame. (1 mark)
ii. Show the number and positions of all possible plastic hinges using a sketch, not
considering bending moment-axial force interaction (of stresses) in the rafters of
the frame. (1 mark)
iii. Sketch the sway and gable mechanisms (1 mark).
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iv. For the latter mechanism, approximate graphically (sketch) the position of the
centre of rotation (draw the lines that define it and show its position on your
sketch), calculate its distance from the ground, and then, calculate the collapse
plastic capacity Mp of its members (3 marks). For the latter purpose, you can use
directly the rotations and displacements formulas from the theory, without
proving them.

Figure Q2b

For the frame, the following apply: H = 5 kN; P = 2.n7 kN (where n7 is the 7th digit of
your student number, e.g., if n7=5, then P = 2.5 kN); a = 4 m; b = 1 m; h1 = 5 m; h2 = 2
m.
[6/30 marks]

(c) Figure Q2C shows a simple (flexible) header plate beam-column connection that connects a
305x165x40 UB I-beam to a 254x254x73 UC wide-flange column, through a 230x210x10 (mm)
partial-depth end plate, or else header plate. For the connection, six, ordinary, non-preloaded M20
Class 8.8 bolts are utilised. It is highlighted that the shear plane passes through the threaded portion of
the bolts (A is the tensile stress area of the bolt As). The leg length, s (in Figure Q2C(ii)), of the fillet
welds between the beam web and the header plate is 8 mm.

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254 x 254 x 73 UC S275

305x165x40 UB S275
s = 8 mm

(i) (ii)
Figure Q2C Header plate beam-column connection for check: (i) Side elevation; (ii) Cross-
section. All dimensions are in millimetres.

The beam, the column and the header plate are all of the same material, steel S275. The design of the
connection has been conducted as per the Eurocodes (e.g., EC3) and the Green Books of the UK to
ensure that the connection reaches its limits states (failure modes) in a targeted sequence under the
expected design loads.

You are expected to check the connections’ design, and determine the following:

i. The resistance of the beam web in shear (8 marks);

ii. The resistance of the group of bolts of the connection (only bolts under shear are critical) (8
marks).

For the above calculations, the following data are provided, where the notation is from the Eurocodes
and the Green Books:

For the column (the index “c” implies “column”)

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For the beam (the index “b” implies “beam”, and the index “1” implies supported element)

For the Header Plate (the index “p” implies “plate”)

Plate thickness: tp = 10 mm

You may access the Blue Book, if needed, here: https://www.steelforlifebluebook.co.uk/

[16/30 marks]

[Total marks for Question 2: 30]

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SECTION C: TIMBER – Question 3

3. (a) A solid timber beam with a depth of 140 mm and width of 120 mm, is to be
designed with C27 strength class timber and is part of a load sharing system. The
beam is subjected to humid conditions and carries a medium-term uniform load.
Determine the three required design resistances (stresses) and the relevant
stiffness properties that should be used for the ULS design of this beam (assume
kv = 1). The beam is resting on a support as per the Figure Q3a. (8 marks)

Figure Q3a

Assuming that the above beam is simply supported on its supports, bridges a flooring
span of 4 m in an office building, and carries a live load of 5 kN/m, determine its long-
term deflection due to only the live loads. (2 marks)
[10/30 marks]

(b) The simple truss in Figure Q3b supports a concentrated, medium-term load F at
Joint C, which is normal to member AC. All three members AB, BC and CB comprise
solid C20 timber of section 350 mm x 50 mm. These members are joined together
using 4 mm pre-drilled round nails at the joints shown. The Service Class is 1.
Forces from members AC and CB are transferred through the nailed joints to Member
AB at Joints A and B respectively. The horizontal member AB is supported by a bearing
at B, which provides restraint in both vertical and horizontal directions. There is an

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elastomeric bearing at Support A, which provides a vertical support but allows free
movement in the horizontal direction.
Evaluate the design force for one nail in single shear for each of the possible modes
of failure. Hence determine the critical nail shear strength.
[20/30 marks]

35o

350

35o

Figure Q3b

[Total marks for Question 3: 30]

- End of the Exam Paper –

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