On-site tests to investigate the robustness of a nineteenth century cotton mill

Abstract On site structural tests carried out in a six storey nineteenth century cotton mill during July and August 1995 are described in this paper. The building was constructed around 1844 on what was known as the 'frreproof principle, with brickwork floor arches supported on cast-iron beams and these in tum supported on hollow circular cast-iron columns between solid brickwork external walls. The work included an investigation of the response of the building as a whole to the progressive, carefully controlled removal of individual structural elements, first a beam and later a column. Keywords: Site testing, historical buildings, 2-D elastic frame analysis.