The science of cool

Researchers at

and

Universities will begin studying the cooling stage of building fires early next year to determine why steel and concrete connections continue to fracture hours and days after the flames have been extinguished.

The outcome could improve the safety of firefighters and the public in the proximity of buildings that have recently been ablaze.

Those involved in the three-year project, led by Prof Colin Bailey of the Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering Department at Manchester will observe the behaviour of steel-concrete composite structures subjected to different axial restraint conditions and natural fire scenarios.

The Anglo-Dutch steel giant

, one of the project's partners, will keep an overview of the practical applications of the study's findings.

'This research will allow us to look at the full story to make sure we can analyse from the start of the fire to the cooling phase,' said John Dowling, head of the fire protection and engineering department at Corus. 'We have a commitment in the steel industry to leave no stone unturned. We should not take chances.'