Reliability based approach for structural design and assessment: performance criteria and indicators in current European codes and guidelines

Abstract

This paper deals with the reliability based approach for design and assessment of civil engineering systems: in particular the performance criteria and indicators given in current structural codes are discussed. The paper is organized in three parts. In the first part the general aspects related to the structural design are discussed, while in the second part the performance indicators for the reliability assessment of existing structures are presented. In this regard, the contents of current European standards for structural design and assessment are briefly presented. In the third part the concept of robustness is discussed and the main definitions and methods for reliability verification taking into account the structural robustness are given. At the end, the concept of dependability is introduced. This is a quite new concept in the field of Civil Engineering and could be useful to describe the overall quality of a structural system.