Eurocode

Eurocodes are a set of harmonized technical rules developed by the European Committee for Standardisation for the structural design of construction works in the European Union.

The purposes of the Eurocodes are:

• a means to prove compliance with the requirements for mechanical strength and stability and safety in case of fire established by European Union law.
• a basis for construction and engineering contract specifications.
• a framework for creating harmonized technical specifications for building products (CE mark).

By March 2010 the Eurocodes are mandatory for European public works and the de-facto standard for the private sector. The Eurocodes therefore replace the existing national building codes published by national standard bodies (e.g. BS 5950), although many countries had a period of co-existence. Additionally, each country is expected to issue a National Annex to the Eurocodes which will need referencing for a particular country (e.g. The UK National Annex).

Eurocode groups

The Eurocodes are published as a separate European Standards, each having a number of parts. By 2002, ten sections have been developed and published:

• EN 1990: 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 aluminium structures

See also

• CEN: European Committee for Standardisation
• BS 5950: British steel design standard, replaced by Eurocode 3 in March, 2010.
• BS 8110: British concrete design standard, replaced by Eurocode 2 in March, 2010.
• LRFD: Load and Resistance Factor Design
• Limit state design
• List of EN standards
• Structural Engineering
• Geotechnical Engineering

External links

• Eurocodes: Building the Future The European Commission Website on the EN Eurocodes
• Eurocode.info Information about the EN Eurocodes
• eurocode-resources Portal with extensive eurocode resources with focus on the design of steel structures
• Eurocodes Expert UK construction industry website with comprehensive information and support resources for implementation of the BS EN Eurocodes. The site is a joint initiative of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) and is supported by the UK Government (DCLG), BSI British Standards (BSI), The Steel Construction Institute (SCI), The Concrete Centre, the Timber Research and Development Association (TRADA), the International Masonry Society (IMS), the Brick Development Association (BDA) and the Association for Structural Engineers of London Boroughs (ASELB).
• Eurocodes Online: Structural Design Expertise Website with a lot of interesting information on the eurocodes: implementation, principles, national annexes, etc.
• Eurocodes in Poland Find out information about eurocodes in Poland. Worked examples, articles, books and much more knowledge to know better eurocodes.
• Digital Eurocodes standards library CodeProof is a digital library of EUROCODE standard implemented in CodeForm. In this library is integrated each article from each part of EC and it is designed so, that you can easily locate relevant articles.