EUROCODES
Building the Future
Eurocode 8
General rules and seismic actions
E C Carvalho, Chairman TC250/SC8
Eurobridge Seminar - 20 October 2008, Athens
EUROCODES
Building the Future
Eurocode 8 - Design of structures for
earthquake resistance
• EN1998-1: General rules, seismic actions and
rules for buildings
• EN1998-2: Bridges
• EN1998-3: Assessment and retrofitting of buildings
• EN1998-4: Silos, tanks and pipelines
• EN1998-5: Foundations, retaining structures and
geotechnical aspects
• EN1998-6: Towers, masts and chimneys
All parts published by CEN (2004-2006)
Eurobridge Seminar - 20 October 2008, Athens
EUROCODES
Building the Future
EN1998-1: General
rules, seismic actions
and rules for buildings
EN1998-1 to be applied in
combination with other
Eurocodes
Eurobridge Seminar - 20 October 2008, Athens
EUROCODES
Building the Future
Objectives
In the event of earthquakes:
Human lives are protected
Damage is limited
Structures important for civil protection
remain operational
Special structures – Nuclear Power Plants, Offshore
structures, Large Dams – outside the scope of EN 1998
Eurobridge Seminar - 20 October 2008, Athens
EUROCODES
Building the Future
Fundamental requirements
No-collapse requirement:
Withstand the design seismic action without
local or global collapse
Retain structural integrity and residual load
bearing capacity after the event
For ordinary structures this requirement should be met for a
reference seismic action with 10 % probability of
exceedance in 50 years (recommended value) i.e. with 475
years Return Period
Eurobridge Seminar - 20 October 2008, Athens
EUROCODES
Building the Future
Fundamental requirements
Damage limitation requirement:
Withstand a more frequent seismic action
without damage
Avoid limitations of use with high costs
For ordinary structures this requirement should be met for a
seismic action with 10 % probability of exceedance in 10
years (recommended value) i.e. with 95 years Return Period
Eurobridge Seminar - 20 October 2008, Athens
EUROCODES
Building the Future
Reliability differentiation
Target reliability of requirement depending on
consequences of failure
Classify the structures into importance
classes
Assign a higher or lower return period to
the design seismic action
In operational terms multiply the reference seismic action by
the importance factor γ I
Eurobridge Seminar - 20 October 2008, Athens
EUROCODES
Building the Future
Ground conditions
Five ground types:
A - Rock
B - Very dense sand or gravel or very stiff clay
C - Dense sand or gravel or stiff clay
D - Loose to medium cohesionless soil or soft
to firm cohesive soil
E - Surface alluvium layer C or D, 5 to 20 m
thick, over a much stiffer material
2 special ground types S1 and S2 requiring special studies
Ground conditions defined by shear wave velocities in the top 30
m and also by indicative values for NSPT and cu
Eurobridge Seminar - 20 October 2008, Athens
EUROCODES
Building the Future
Seismic zonation
Competence of National Authorities
Described by agR (reference peak ground
acceleration on type A ground)
Corresponds to the reference return period TNCR
Modified by the Importance Factor γ I to
become the design ground acceleration (on
type A ground) ag = agR .γ I
Objective for the future updating of EN1998-1:
European zonation map with spectral values for different
hazard levels (e.g. 95, 475 and 2.475 years)
Eurobridge Seminar - 20 October 2008, Athens
EUROCODES
Building the Future
Basic representation of the seismic action
Elastic response spectrum
Common shape for the ULS and DLS verifications
2 orthogonal independent horizontal components
Vertical spectrum shape different from the
horizontal spectrum (common for all ground types)
Possible use of more than one spectral shape (to
model different seismo-genetic mechanisms)
Account of topographical effects (EN 1998-5) and spatial
variation of motion (EN1998-2) required in some special cases
Eurobridge Seminar - 20 October 2008, Athens
EUROCODES
Building the Future
Normalised elastic response spectrum (standard shape)
Control variables
• S, TB, TC, TD (NDPs)
•η (≥ 0,55) damping
correction for ξ ≠ 5 %
Fixed variables
• Constant acceleration,
velocity & displacement
spectral branches
• acceleration spectral
amplification: 2,5
Different spectral shape for vertical spectrum (spectral
amplification: 3,0)
Eurobridge Seminar - 20 October 2008, Athens
EUROCODES
Building the Future
Elastic response spectrum
Two types of (recommended) spectral shapes
Depending on the characteristics of the most
significant earthquake contributing to the local
hazard:
• Type 1 - High and moderate seismicity regions
(Ms > 5,5 )
• Type 2 - Low seismicity regions (Ms ≤ 5,5 );
near field earthquakes
Optional account of deep geology effects (NDP) for the definition
of the seismic action
Eurobridge Seminar - 20 October 2008, Athens
EUROCODES
Building the Future
Recommended elastic response spectra
4 5 D
Se/ag.S
Se/ag.S
E D E
C 4 C
3 B
B
A 3
A
2
2
1
1
0 0
0 1 2 3 T(s) 4 0 1 2 3 4
T(s)
Type 1 - Ms > 5,5 Type 2 - Ms ≤ 5,5
Eurobridge Seminar - 20 October 2008, Athens
