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        CT 115 - Structural Eurocodes


        The Structural Eurocodes constitute a set of European Standards (EN) relating to the design of building structures and other civil engineering works, made with different materials.


        The information available regarding Eurocodes has increased significantly in recent years, particularly since many of the aforementioned European Standards became available; In recent times, actions to disseminate the Eurocodes have multiplied (in several EU countries and outside it), and several publications have been published on this topic, as well as the development of computer programs to support the application of the Eurocodes.


        In this regard, it is important to highlight the website developed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) – a European Union research organisation located in Ispra (Italy) – with the following electronic address: http://eurocodes.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ 


        On the pages of this JRC website, you can find various information about the Eurocodes (including planned dissemination actions and published publications), as well as the status of the implementation of these Standards in the various EU countries. This site also provides information on the actions currently underway to increase the technical harmonization provided by the Eurocodes and on future developments of these documents.


        Based on this reality, the information regarding the Eurocodes presented on the pages of this LNEC website is deliberately very concise and, in addition to recording some notable facts (at European and national level) of the process of drafting the Eurocodes and highlighting particular aspects considered relevant regarding these European Standards and their application, the aim is essentially to provide:

        • An updated list of the Eurocodes published by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) as European Standards (EN) and of the corrections (Amendments and Errata) that are being edited by CEN;
        • An updated list of Eurocodes published by the Portuguese Quality Institute (IPQ) as Portuguese Standards (NP EN) and of corrections (Amendments and Errata) that are being edited by IPQ;

        Finally, the meaning of a set of acronyms that are frequently used on the pages of this site is explained.


        CEN – European Committee for Standardization (European Committee for Standardization/Comité Européen de Normalisation/Europäisches Komitee für Normung) European Standardization Body responsible, particularly, for coordinating the preparation and publishing of European Standards (EN) in different fields. As of March 2017, CEN members are the National Standardization Bodies of the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. The Portuguese Quality Institute (IPQ) is the national member of CEN.


        IPQ – Portuguese Quality Institute

        National Standardization Body responsible, especially, for coordinating the preparation and publishing of Portuguese Standards (NP, NP EN, etc.) in different domains.

        In 1987, IPQ began a process of decentralization of standardization work and began to recognize and support Bodies with Sectoral Standardization Functions (ONS) that assume, before IPQ, and under its general coordination, the responsibility of streamlining normative activities in specific domains.

        In April 1987, LNEC was recognized as ONS in 2 domains; 

        In August 1990, LNEC expanded its ONS function to another domain: the Structural Eurocodes.


        CEN/TC 250 - Structural Eurocodes Technical Committee 

        CEN Technical Committee responsible, particularly, for the preparation of the Structural Eurocodes, to be published by CEN as European Standards (EN).

        CEN/TC 250 is composed, as of March 2017, of a Coordination Group, a Management Group, two horizontal groups (HG), five working groups (WG) and eleven subcommittees (SC). 

        The Subcommittee dealing with the Eurocode relating to earthquakes (CEN/TC 250/SC 8) has had its Secretariat at LNEC for a long time and the presidency of this subcommittee was held by Eng.º Cansado Carvalho until 2014. The participation of national delegates in all these subcommittees and groups is done by appointment of the IPQ, on the proposal of CT 115. 

        The current structure of TC 250 can be consulted here.


        CT 115 – Portuguese Technical Committee for Standardization of Structural Eurocodes 

        IPQ Technical Committee for Standardization responsible, particularly, for the preparation of Portuguese Standards (NP EN) and respective National Annexes, which transpose, to our country, the European Standards (EN) relating to Structural Eurocodes.


        The coordination of CT 115 is ensured by LNEC, following its designation by IPQ, in the early nineties, as the Sectoral Standardization Organization (ONS) in the field of Structural Eurocodes.


        The activity of CT 115 has been developed in the dual aspect of the participation of its members in the work of CEN/TC 250 and in its Subcommittees and Working Groups, and the production of national versions of documents considered relevant.


        Technical Committee CT 115 is composed, in March 2017, of 45 members, including researchers from LNEC, professors from the main engineering faculties in the country, renowned designers, representatives of business associations in the construction sector and public entities promoting large-scale projects. The Commission is organised into different Sub-Commissions, one for each Eurocode and several Working Groups for emerging themes (assessment of existing structures and design rules for structural elements and fibre reinforced polymers) and horizontal themes (fire action and bridges). In addition to several members of the Commission, the Working Groups include other highly regarded experts in the national technical field and with specific skills in each Eurocode. The total number of members who participate in CT 115 activities is around eight dozen.


        JRC – Joint Research Centre 

        European Union research organisation, located in Ispra (Italy), which, from 2005 onwards, was tasked by the European Commission with playing a very important role, particularly in supporting the implementation and dissemination of Eurocodes and increasing the technical harmonisation already achieved in European Standards; The website he developed on the Internet, especially dedicated to the Eurocodes, with abundant and relevant information, stands out: http://eurocodes.jrc.ec.europa.eu/.


        SITUATION IN EUROPE 


        Background and Framework

        In the 1970s, the Commission of the European Communities launched work with a view to drawing up a set of harmonized technical rules for the structural design of buildings and other civil engineering works, which became known as Structural Eurocodes.


        This process undoubtedly constituted a task of enormous magnitude, having required a strong mobilization of human and material resources. Although it can be said that activity in this area will continue for a few more years, the date of May 2007 corresponds to an extremely important milestone; in fact, it was on this date that the last of the 58 European Standards that currently make up the Eurocodes were published.


        Initially, this work was carried out by the European Commission itself, but after the publication of the Construction Products Directive, responsibility for preparing the Eurocodes was transferred by the European Commission to the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), by means of a Mandate. The aim was for the Eurocodes to be published as European Standards (EN).


        The European Commission's intention in launching the Eurocodes was, in the field of construction, to eliminate technical and administrative barriers to the marketing of products and the provision of engineering services; this objective is clearly stated in the Guidance Paper L: Application and use of Eurocodes, published in 2002 and subsequently revised, and accordingly, in the Preamble to the various Eurocodes, the following is stated: 


        The EU and EFTA Member States recognise that the Eurocodes serve as reference documents for the following purposes:

        • As a means of demonstrating the conformity of buildings and other civil engineering works with the essential requirements of Council Directive 89/106/EEC, in particular Essential Requirement No 1 – Mechanical strength and stability – and Essential Requirement, No 2 – Fire safety;
        • As a basis for the development of harmonized technical specifications for construction products (EN and ETA);
        • As a basis for specifying construction contracts and associated engineering services.

        Note: Directive 89/106/EEC (CPD) has since been repealed by the Construction Products Regulation; However, the Basic Requirements applicable to works no. 1 and no. 2 are stated in an identical manner to the DPC.


        The Eurocodes constitute, first and foremost, a set of standards relating to the structural design of buildings and other civil engineering works.

        In addition, the Eurocodes establish the framework for the development of harmonised technical specifications for products and structural elements and provide a means of carrying out their technical characterisation; The Eurocodes will therefore play a very important role in supporting the CE marking of products and structural elements, since they will allow, through calculation, the establishment of the declared values of the properties (in this case, essentially the mechanical resistances).


        Furthermore, the use of Eurocodes meets the requirements of the so-called Public Procurement Directive, as it will contribute to the removal of technical and administrative barriers between the Member States of the European Union. Furthermore, the widespread application of the Eurocodes throughout the greater European Union and EFTA area will help to increase the global competitiveness of the European construction industry.


        Given that the regulatory framework and traditions of the countries involved are quite different, the articulation of the Eurocodes with national regulations is a delicate issue; It is expected that, after their publication as European Standards, the Eurocodes will coexist, in a transitional period, with the existing national rules in the Member States, replacing them after this transitional period.


        It should be noted that the publication of the Eurocodes as European Standards (EN) completed in 2007, was preceded, in the 1990s, by the publication of these documents as European Pre-Standards (ENV), which have now been replaced and annulled by the EN; It is recalled that the national versions of 17 of these Pre-Standards were in fact published by IPQ as NP ENV, following the work carried out by the Technical Standardization Committee CT 115.


        Publication Program 


        The publication program of the Structural Eurocodes, completed in May 2007, comprises 58 European Standards, as summarized in Table 1, which identifies, very briefly, the scope of each of the Eurocodes, its European Standard (EN) number and the number of Parts into which they are subdivided.


        Since this often gives rise to confusion, it is worth noting that the numbering of the Eurocodes (EN 1990, EN 1991, etc.) has nothing to do with dates or years of publication; in reality, the sequence 1990 to 1999 reflects only a sequence of ten numbers that, when it was necessary to assign the numbering of standards to the Eurocodes, the CEN decided to reserve for these standards.


        Table 1-Eurocodia Eurocode Publication 


        Publication Program No. 1990 Eurocode for Bases for Structural Project 1 EN 1991 Eurocode 1 Relative to Structures 10 EN 1992 Eurocode 2 Relative to Concrete Structures 4 EN 1993Eurocode 3 Relative to the Steel Structures Project. Eurocode 5 Relative to the project of wooden structures3en 1996eurocode 6 Relative to the project of masonry4en structures4en 1997eurocode 7 related to the Geotechnical Project2en 1998eurocode 8 Relative to the design of structures for resistance to seismos6en 1999eurocode 9 related to the project of aluminium structures5 of the analysis of Table 1. 

        Eurocode relating to the basis for the project (sometimes designated by "Eurocode 0") and Eurocodes 1, 7 and 8. The different parts of Eurocode 1 refer to the various types of actions in structures, however, not encompassing geotechnical actions (treated in Eurocodia 7) and seismic action (treated in part 1 of Eurocodia 8, adopted for buildings of buildings made with different materials).

        In the Eurocodes relating to the design of structures made of different types of materials (Eurocodes 2 to 6 and 9), in addition to the general rules to be adopted in the calculation of current structures, the different Parts cover different aspects, such as checking the fire resistance of structures and the design of special structures (bridges, chimneys, silos, support structures, reservoirs, etc.).

        It is also important to pay attention to the limitations on the application of the Eurocodes, established in the Objective and Scope of Application of the various documents. For example, EN 1990 on design bases establishes, among other limitations, that for the design of special works (dams, nuclear power plants, offshore structures, etc.) additional provisions not included in the Eurocodes may be necessary and that the standard does not apply to projects involving innovative materials or techniques. 

        Furthermore, in the section on Assumptions, EN 1990 establishes several conditions relating to the qualification of designers, the execution of structures, the materials used and the maintenance of structures.



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