This paper presents the results of the experimental research on mechanical properties of selected aluminum alloys and also statistical methods for the analysis of the random variability. Results of laboratory tests describe the local changes of the strength characteristics of Re, Rm and Young’s modulus E.

In the paper structural stainless steels consistent with EN 10088 were characterized. Authors described stainless steel categories, production process, basic properties and element joining techniques. Some examples of stainless steel applications in structural building, realized in the last few years in Poland and in the world were presented.

The acceptance in advanced fire safety analysis of the formal model according to which the probability of fire occurrence is assumed as time-independent leads to the conclusion that random fire episodes in considered building compartment can be described by the formalism of a Poisson process. In the presented paper some consequences of such adoption are presented and widely discussed as well as the foundations are determined of the equivalence between this probability and a conditional failure rate, which is interpreted as a process intensity parameter.

This paper presents the characteristics of four types of thermal insulation, with the application of: polystyrene panels, mineral wool panels, polyurethane foam panels, and phenolic foam panels. The technical parameters, prices, and amount of labour related to wall construction technology with the application of the thermal insulation materials listed above were discussed. The goals of this article are: to compare technical parameters of certain types of thermal insulation, to provide an economic analysis of the chosen wall insulation solutions, and to choose the type of thermal insulation that is most beneficial in terms of the relationship of price to quality.

The paper describes the gradient-iterative optimization method, outlines the method’s basic assumptions and illustrates its general use. The method’s implementation was illustrated with the help of a prestressed beam. Calculations were made to illustrate a girder prestress and height optimization. The method makes it possible to quickly obtain optimal results using universally available programming. In addition, the method makes it possible to find optimal solutions without the use of complicated mathematical formulas. The article solved the problem of a statically indeterminate prestressed beam with three decision variables, thus proving that the gradient-iterative method is both an efficient and quick optimization method. To illustrate the effectiveness of the optimization method calculations were performed for double- and three-span beam.