Chapter Three: Introduction to the Eurocodes

1.1 Background

The Eurocodes are a set of structural design standards, developed by CEN (European Committee
for Standardization) over the last 30 years, to cover the design of all types of structures in steel,
concrete, timber, masonry and aluminum.

In the UK, they are published by BSI (British Standards Institution) under the designations BS
EN 1990 to BS EN 1999; each of these ten Eurocodes is published in several Parts and each Part
is accompanied by a National Annex that implements the CEN document and adds certain UK-
specific provisions.

1.2 Format of the Structural Eurocodes

There are ten separate Structural Eurocodes:

EN 1990 Eurocode: Basis of structural design

EN 1991 Eurocode 1: Actions on structures

EN 1992 Eurocode 2: Design of concrete structures

EN 1993 Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures

EN 1994 Eurocode 4: Design of composite steel and concrete structures

EN 1995 Eurocode 5: Design of timber structures

EN 1996 Eurocode 6: Design of masonry structures

EN 1997 Eurocode 7: Geotechnical design

EN 1998 Eurocode 8: Design of structures for earthquake resistance

EN 1999 Eurocode 9: Design of aluminum structures.

Each Eurocode is comprised of a number of ‘Parts’, which are published as separate
documents. Each Part consists of:

 Main body of text.

 Normative annexes.
 Informative annexes.

Structural Eurocodes- an overview

BS EN 1990, Eurocode Basis Structural safety, serviceability

of Structural Design and durability

BS EN 1991, Eurocode 1 Actions

on Structures Actions on structures

BS EN 1992, Eurocode 2: Concrete

BS EN 1993, Eurocode 3: Steel
BS EN 1994, Eurocode 4: Composite Design and detailing
BS EN 1995, Eurocode 5: Timber
BS EN 1996, Eurocode 6: Masonry
BS EN 1999, Eurocode 9: Aluminum

BS EN 1997, Eurocode 7 BS EN 1998, Eurocode 8 Geotechnical and seismic

Geotechnical design Seismic design design
 EN 1990 Parts

EN 1990:2002 Eurocode - Basis of structural design

EN 1990:2002/A1:2005 Eurocode - Basis of structural design

EN 1991 Parts

Eurocode 1: Actions on structures - Part 1-1:

EN 1991-1-1:2002 General actions - Densities, self-weight, imposed loads
for buildings
Eurocode 1: Actions on structures - Part 1-2:
EN 1991-1-2:2002
General actions - Actions on structures exposed to fire
Eurocode 1: Actions on structures - Part 1-3:
EN 1991-1-3:2003
General actions - Snow loads
Eurocode 1: Actions on structures - Part 1-4:
EN 1991-1-4:2005
General actions - Wind actions
Eurocode 1: Actions on structures - Part 1-5:
EN 1991-1-5:2003
General actions - Thermal actions
Eurocode 1: Actions on structures - Part 1-6:
EN 1991-1-6:2005
General actions - Actions during execution
Eurocode 1: Actions on structures - Part 1-7:
EN 1991-1-7:2006
General actions - Accidental actions
Eurocode 1: Actions on structures - Part 2:
EN 1991-2:2003
Traffic loads on bridges
Eurocode 1: Actions on structures - Part 3:
EN 1991-3:2006
Actions induced by cranes and machinery
Eurocode 1: Actions on structures - Part 4:
EN 1991-4: 2006
Silos and tanks
 EN 1993 Parts

Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 1-1:

EN 1993-1-1:2005
General rules and rules for buildings
Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 1-2:
EN 1993-1-2:2005
General rules - Structural fire design
Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 1-3:
EN 1993-1-3:2006 General rules - Supplementary rules for cold-formed members and
sheeting
Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 1-4:
EN 1993-1-4:2006
General rules - Supplementary rules for stainless steels
Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 1-5:
EN 1993-1-5:2006
General rules - Plated structural elements
Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 1-6:
EN 1993-1-6:2007
Strength and stability of shell structures
Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 1-7:
EN 1993-1-7:2007 Strength and stability of planar plated structures subject to out of
plane loading
Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 1-8:
EN 1993-1-8:2005
Design of joints
Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 1-9:
EN 1993-1-9:2005
Fatigue
Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 1-10:
EN 1993-1-10:2005
Material toughness and through-thickness properties
Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 1-11:
EN 1993-1-11:2006
Design of structures with tension components
Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 1-12:
EN 1993-1-12:2007
General - High strength steels
Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 2:
EN 1993-2:2006
Steel bridges
 Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 3-1:
EN 1993-3-1:2006
Towers, masts and chimneys – Towers and masts
Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 3-2:
EN 1993-3-2:2006
Towers, masts and chimneys – Chimneys
Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 4-1:
EN 1993-4-1:2007
Silos
Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 4-2:
EN 1993-4-2:2007
Tanks
Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 4-3:
EN 1993-4-3:2007
Pipelines
Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 5:
EN 1993-5:2007
Piling
Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 6:
EN 1993-6:2007
Crane supporting structures

The Eurocode Parts contain two distinct types of statement

- Principles
- Application Rules
The Principles must be followed, to achieve compliance; the Application Rules are rules that will
achieve compliance with the Principles but it is permissible to use alternative design rules,
provided that they accord with the Principles (see EN 1990, 1.4(5)1).

Within the text of the Eurocode, provision is made for national choice in the setting of some
factors and in the choice of some design methods (i.e. the selection of particular Application
Rules); the choices are generally referred to as Nationally Determined Parameters (NDP) and
these are published in the National Annex to the Part.

1.3 National Annexes

The National Annex (NA) is an essential document when using a Eurocode Part. Where the
opportunity is given in the text of the Eurocode, the National Annex will:
  Specify the value of a factor
 Specify which design method to use
 State whether an informative annex may be used

Although the NA may specify the value of partial factors to be applied to actions and resistances,
in many cases it simply accepts the value recommended in the Eurocode text.

In addition, the National Annex may give references to publications that contain Non-
Contradictory Complimentary Information (NCCI) that will assist the designer. NCCI is
discussed in Section 1.5.

1.4 Additional information

In most Eurocode Parts, Principles are denoted by the use of the letter ‘P’ after the clause number
e.g. 1.2(3)P; whereas Application rules do not contain the letter ‘P’ e.g. 1.2(3).

Supplementary provisions for the design of buildings are indicated in some general Parts by the
addition of the letter ‘B’ after the clause number e.g.1.2(3)B.

Eurocode terminology
The chief differences in terminology are:

‘Actions’ = loads, imposed displacements, thermal strains.

‘Effects’ = internal bending moments, axial forces etc.
‘Resistance’ = capacity of a structural element to resist bending moment, axial force,
shear, etc.
‘Verification’ = check
‘Execution’ = construction (fabrication, erection, etc.)
Eurocode symbols
The Eurocode system uses the ISO convention for symbols and sub-scripts. Where multiple sub-
scripts occur, a comma is used to separate them. Four main sub-scripts and their definitions are
given below:

Eurocode Subscript Definition Example

Ed Design value of an effect MEd Design bending moment

Rd Design resistance MRd Design resistance for bending
el Elastic property Wel Elastic section modulus
pl Plastic property Wpl Plastic section modulus

Geometrical axes
The convention for member axes and symbols for section dimensions used in the Eurocodes are
shown below.
1.5 Basis of structural design (BS EN 1990)
EN 1990 can be considered as the ‘core’ document of the structural Eurocode system as it
establishes the principles and requirements for the safety, serviceability and durability of
structures. It also describes the basis for structural design and verification. The main sections of
EN 1990 include:

 Requirements
 Principles of limit state design
 Basic variables
 Structural analysis and design assisted by testing.

 Verification by the partial safety factor method.

1.5.1 Basic requirements

The basic requirements are the obvious ones that the structure shall be designed to have adequate
structural resistance to sustain the actions and influences on it, that it should remain serviceable
and be durable. It should also have adequate fire resistance and be ‘robust’ - i.e. not
disproportionately damaged by accidental events. The UK National Annex gives indicative
values for the design working life of a structure or building within the UK.

1.5.2 Limit state design

The principles of limit state design are set out briefly and the relevant design situations are
classified as:

Persistent - Conditions of normal use.

Transient - Temporary conditions e.g. during repair.
Accidental - Exceptional conditions applicable to the structure or to its exposure, e.g. to
fire, explosion or impact.
Seismic - Conditions applicable to the structure when subjected to seismic events.
Ultimate and serviceability limit states are defined and the requirement that verifications (checks)
shall be carried out is stated.

1.5.3 Basic variables

Actions are classified as:

Permanent actions - e.g. Self-weight of structural members, fixed equipment and

indirect actions such as shrinkage
Variable actions - e.g. Imposed floor loads, wind loads.

Accidental actions - e.g. Explosions, vehicle impact.

The definition of characteristic value of an action is given for each class of action, in relation to
its probability of occurrence.

1.5.4 Verification by partial factor method

Principles are set out for the use of the partial factor method for verification at the various limit
states.

Design values
Design values of actions, material properties and resistances are defined in relation to specific
partial factors applied to characteristic values (recommended values of partial factors are given
for buildings in Annex A1 of EN 1990). Although in principle, there are three classes of partial
factor,

- applied to actions,
- applied to effects of actions (to represent uncertainty in modelling) and to;
- applied to material properties,

The second of these is normally incorporated into the value of the factor applied to actions. Thus,
EN 1990 generally refers to only two classes:
 𝛾𝑓 applied as a multiplier to the characteristic value of an action.
𝛾𝑀 applied as a divisor to the characteristic value of a material property.
(member resistance).

Ultimate limit states

The following ultimate limit states are required to be verified:

EQU - Loss of static equilibrium of the structure or a structural element.

STR - Failure or excessive deformation of a structure or structural element
GEO - Failure or excessive deformation of the ground where the strengths of soil or rock
are significant in providing resistance
FAT - Fatigue failure of the structure or structural elements.
For the STR and GEO limit states, the basic requirement is expressed generally as:

Ed  Rd
where:
Ed is the design value of the effect of actions such as internal force, moment or
a vector representing several internal forces or moments;
Rd is the design value of the corresponding resistance.

The effects of actions depends on the combinations of actions that can occur and EN 1990 gives
expressions for the effects for three classes of combination of actions at the ultimate limit state:
 Fundamental combinations (for persistent and transient situations).
 Combinations for accidental situations.
 Combinations for seismic situations.