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May 2010, Issue 4

Editorial .....................................................................1

CEN/TC250 meeting in Lisbon .................................2

Evaluation of Eurocode 7 Workshop ........................3

Joint work of drafting committees for Belgian national annexes to Eurocode 6 and Eurocode 8 ..................4

EC launches project for the development of Eurocodes promotion campaign in target third countries ...................................................................5

New JRC/ECCS reports ...........................................6

EU-Russia Regulatory Dialogue in the construction sector ........................................................................6

Eurocodes for steel construction in the Russian Federation ................................................................8

Eurocodes workshop in Moldova .............................8

News from JRC ........................................................10

Editorial

BSI organised a Eurocodes “launch party” on Wednesday 31st of March 2010 at the IstructE office in London. This initiative was very original and great. More than 80 structural engineers participated to this “party”. I was invited as chairman of CEN/TC250 and I tried to develop a few ideas about the implementation of the Eurocodes, in particular the reasons to use and to promote them. You will find hereafter a part of my speech.

“I would like to highlight a few reasons to implement the Eurocodes as soon as possible, and to promote them not only in the EU but also outside the EU. As you probably know, Eurocode 2 was implemented last year as Malaysian standard, Basis of Design was officially adopted by Ukraine as national standard. Four Eurocodes are already translated into Russian, and a big part of the whole set of Eurocodes will probably be adopted as South-African standards. And this evolution is accelerating. Why?

Design standards are needed by Industry and national authorities. Industry cannot develop its commercial activity without technical communication tools. The EN Construction Codes are primarily a compendium of a

vocabulary, a lexicon, memorable mathematical formulae, familiar phrases, models of thought, units of measure, secret symbols and secondarily they facilitate common social values. For National authorities, the design codes, in connection with material, product, execution and test codes are the most efficient tool to define safety and other requirements. The Eurocodes and the full set of European standards can play these roles.

Indeed, the Eurocodes have been developed by outstanding international experts, who generally worked many years in international technical and scientific associations, and are based on the most advanced and agreed results of international research. The development process, following strict rules defined by CEN and the European Commission, is a guaranty of quality.

In fact, the point of no return is far behind us: national standards have not been, or were poorly, maintained in many Member States during these last 20 years. The cost of a new original, complete and homogeneous set of national standards could not be supported by a single country: the solution would be to copy out the existing (and the future) Eurocodes and to change only a few words to demonstrate that a big amount of conversion work would have been done.

Now, construction codes are living documents. The problem of maintenance is crucial, and the maintenance of the system of European standards is guaranteed by CEN procedures agreed by all national standards bodies. Experience shows that such guaranty cannot be offered by individual national standards bodies.

Finally, the Eurocodes reflect a new universal technical culture in civil engineering. The transparency of their safety concepts and of their fundamental requirements, the scientific quality of their design rules and their flexible conditions of use will liberate innovation to contribute to sustainability in construction works. Undoubtedly, they will play a vital role in the development of the future built and social environment.

The newsletter of CEN/TC250 is available at

http://eurocodes.jrc.ec.europa.eu

Editors Jean-Armand Calgaro, Chairman of CEN/TC250

Georgios Tsionis, University of Patras

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Recently, a CEN/BT resolution postponed for a few Member States the date of withdrawal of the national standards, originally planned today, 31st of March, until, but not later than 31st of December 2010. This postponement will not change the strategy of CEN/TC250: many countries have invested a massive amount of work and effort in preparing for March 2010. After a first phase of disappointment, all engineers reacted positively. The work on Eurocodes, education, maintenance, promotion and further development will not stop. We are convinced that the 1st of April, today, is an exceptional day for industry and Member States’ authorities. Sorry for those Member States which are not yet ready!”

Jean-Armand Calgaro, Chairman of CEN/TC250

CEN/TC250 meeting in Lisbon

16th and 17th November 2009

The 36th CEN/TC250 meeting was held in Lisbon on the 16th and 17th of November 2009. It was organised at LNEC, at the kind invitation of Pedro Pontifice, Dr. Carlos Pina, Vice-President of LNEC and IPQ.

The meeting ran very smoothly with excellent organisation, and included a high quality performance by the Choir of LNEC that was appreciated by all the CEN/TC250 members.

Presentation of the Choir of LNEC

The meeting had a very full agenda. Here, two important items are discussed. The first is the formation of new Working Groups and the appointment of their convenors. The second is a short seminar on sustainability aspects in structural engineering.

CEN/TC250 established five new working groups at the meeting. These are WG2 – Existing structures, with convenor Paul Lüchinger; WG3 – Structural glass, with convenor Gerhard Sedlacek; WG4 – FRP with convenor Luigi Ascione; WG5 – Membrane

structures with convenor Marijke Mollaert and WG6 – Robustness, with convenor Rob van der Pluijm.

During the seminar on sustainability presentations were given by Paul Lüchinger, Alejandro Josa, Giuseppe Mancini, Marcus Feldmann, John Moore and Artur Pinto.

Paul Lüchinger gave a presentation based on one he had given at an IABSE Symposium in Bangkok in September 2009. He provided an overview of the basis of structural design, covering fundamental requirements and reliability management. He noted that semi-probabilistic methods of design, using partial factors, are now used worldwide.

Alejandro Josa, from the School of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Catalonia, gave a presentation on sustainability analysis within the Spanish concrete code. The presentation covered concepts of sustainability and its adoption in the Spanish code. He highlighted that sustainability involves many different parameters, which may be understood in the context of the triple bottom line of economic, social and environmental impacts. He noted the work of CEN/TC350 on sustainability. He argued that the work of CEN/TC250 must aim towards achieving improved sustainability.

Alejandro Josa explained that in the development of the sustainability requirements of the Spanish concrete code, an “Integrated Value Model for Sustainable Assessment” (MIVES) had been created based upon “Multi Attribute Utility Theory” (MAUT). The objective of the work was to introduce sustainability in an explicit way for designers. The work was originally introduced through a voluntary annex to the code, the application of which leads to a final assessment index (ICES). The aspects considered in the annex include the optimisation of material use, use of alternative resources, consumption of materials with less impact (CO2), design for improved durability, and the promotion of products with higher quality levels and improved environmental performance.

Giuseppe Mancini gave a presentation on sustainability and concrete structures. He discussed work being undertaken by fib, and in particular, he explained that the forthcoming fib Model Code will include a chapter covering Performance Requirements for Sustainability. He also gave an interesting example on the design and construction of a post-tensioned steel-concrete composite viaduct in Italy.

Marcus Feldmann gave a presentation entitled “Sustainability aspects in structural engineering”, which had originally been prepared by Gerhard Sedlacek. The presentation had a particular emphasis on achieving sustainability through building design, with a focus on thermal aspects and energy efficiency.

John Moore gave a brief presentation highlighting three points. Firstly, he noted that the work of CEN/TC250 contributes significantly to issues of

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sustainability. Secondly, he noted that the work of CEN/TC350 includes the development of a common approach to the assessment of sustainability. Finally, he raised the question of whether we should further formalise the work on sustainability within the structural Eurocodes. He sounded a note of caution in this respect, whilst highlighting the importance of, for example, ensuring durability.

Artur Pinto spoke briefly on the work of JRC in respect of sustainability. He related the work to the seven basic works requirements that are expected to be included in the planned Construction Product Regulations (CPR). He explained a hierarchy of aspirations for buildings starting from stable, safe and durable buildings and rising to sustainable buildings. He noted that the CPR sets out basic works requirements, including a seventh basic works requirement for the sustainable use of natural resources, but explained that these are the “basic” requirements. He envisaged a “head standard” for each basic works requirement, using the Eurocode approach of incorporating Nationally Determined Parameters with minimum performance requirements defined but subject to Member State tuning. A JRC report will be prepared, setting out the findings of the work once complete.

Steve Denton, CEN/TC250 Horizontal Group “Bridges” Chairman

Evaluation of Eurocode 7 Workshop

Pavia, 12-14 April 2010

European Technical Committee 10 (ETC10) recently held its 2nd International Workshop on the Evaluation of Eurocode 7 at Pavia, Italy, from 12 to 14 April 2010. The workshop, which was organised jointly with the Maintenance Group of CEN/TC250/SC7 (the subcommittee responsible for developing Eurocode 7), followed a similar format to the 1st International Workshop, held in Dublin in 2005. Delegates were asked to submit outline designs for a number of typical foundations, so that the outcomes could be compared and contrasted.

Six examples were devised for the exercise:

1. pad foundation with vertical central load on dense sand;

2. pad foundation with inclined load on boulder clay;

3. pile foundation in stiff clay;

4. earth and pore water pressures on basement wall;

5. embankment on soft peat;

6. pile foundation in sand;

and a website was established at http://www.eurocode7com/etc1020 to provide a full specification for each foundation, including site investigation data and structural loads. Participants were asked to complete a detailed on-line

outcome (width of footing, length of pile, etc.) but also examined the process by which that outcome had been reached. A key difference from the 1st Design Exercise held in Dublin was that this time participants were asked to select the characteristic values they would use in the design, and then proceed with the design based on those values.

Auditorium of Collegio Riboldi in the San Giacomo and Filippo deconsecrated church

Just under one hundred submissions were received across the six examples, predominantly from four countries (Italy, Germany, UK and Poland). The spread of outcomes varied from foundation to foundation, as shown in the diagram below. At worst –for the earth and pore water pressure problem– the interquartile range of answers (which includes half of all answers submitted) was from 67% to 139% of the mean value submitted; while at best –for the pile in sand– it was 94% to 105% of the mean. Compared with the results from Dublin, this represents a reduction in variability in outcome, despite the fact that participants also selected their own characteristic values. Perhaps understanding of Eurocode 7 has improved in the past five years!

115% 110%111%

139%

121%

105%

79%

86% 86%

67%

88% 94%

104% 108%

95%

103%105%

97%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

140%

160%

Pavia (normalized interquartile range)

This Workshop was aimed at those involved in implementing Eurocode 7 and explaining it to practising geotechnical engineers. An extension to the exercise is planned so that it encompasses solutions from more countries and so hopefully becomes more representative of practice across Europe.

Andrew Bond, Vice-Chairman of ETC10, Chairman-elect of CEN/TC250/SC7

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Joint work of drafting committees for Belgian national annexes to Eurocode 6 and Eurocode 8

Preliminary comment for the use of the present note

This note has been initially prepared for presentation to CEN/TC250 of the work carried out in joint Belgian committee EC6/EC8. However the outcomes of the investigations realised by the group may also have a significant interest for other countries. In many regions, masonry construction may indeed be seen as a reasonable alternative solution to steel (classically more expensive) or concrete structures (less compatible with natural resources but also more difficult to control). However, the use of masonry construction in areas prone to earthquakes obviously requires appropriate ways of building, including potential additional elements that may not be in the habits of the region and that should be properly defined.

The design tools developed or in development by the Belgian joint committee are basically dealing with North-Western European materials and with moderate seismicity levels. They are nevertheless based on rational approaches and contribute in a very general manner to a better knowledge of the seismic behaviour of unreinforced masonry structures. They show that an efficient exploitation of the possibilities given by Eurocodes 6 and 8 can lead to a more precise mastering of the seismic safety, provided material and structural properties are correctly characterised. It is thus felt that outcomes of the work summarised hereafter could be extended to higher seismicity levels or to other types of local materials through moderate complementary investments.

General context

Although masonry is one of the most common construction materials, the global structural behaviour of masonry buildings is still not well known compared to other structures made of materials like steel or concrete. This is particularly the case regarding the behaviour of buildings submitted to horizontal loading like wind and earthquake. As a consequence, design rules defined in chapter 9 "Specific rules for masonry structures" of EN 1998-1 are simple but conservative. It also appears that the construction techniques recommended for earthquake resistance are rather easily compatible with usual ways of building used in Southern Europe (systematic presence of confining elements, single wall, etc) but not that much with North-Western European practice (no confining elements, use of cavity walls, etc). It must also be noticed that even if parts of North-Western Europe are classified as seismically active (Belgium, Germany), the seismicity level in these regions is significantly lower than in Southern countries, which could allow modulating the requirements.

Another peculiarity of masonry construction is that intervention of structural engineers is generally more limited in the design process than for steel or concrete structures. This implies that design rules must be as

straightforward as possible and must also limit explicit structural calculations to their very necessary minimum. In EN1998-1, this gave rise to the concept of "simple masonry buildings" for which calculation can be avoided. However, the use of this concept has been shown as practically limited to 1- or 2-storey houses with very standard architectural design, at least as long as unreinforced masonry is of concern.

Finally, the prescriptions of EN 1998-1 regarding connections between orthogonal walls or between floors and walls are expressed in terms of general principles, without any quantified values of the necessary resistance or suggested technical solutions.

For Belgium, the severe requirements of EN 1998-1 had a dramatic effect for certain regions. The earthquake danger was inexistent in the calculation and suddenly the technicians were confronted with calculations leading to more expensive structures.

Objectives

In this general context, the joint Belgian committee EC6/EC8 has found it necessary to develop specific design rules for North-Western European masonry structures. These developments are based on the following objectives and requirements:

o they are based on EN 1998-1, EN 1996 and its Belgian national annex, taking into account the fact that extensive material characterisation has been realised prior to the drafting of this annex;

o they are of use in low to moderate seismic areas, with no explicit will for extension to high seismicity level;

o they must be compatible with usual ways of building in Belgium and surrounding countries;

o they aim at limiting as much as possible the need for explicit structural calculation.

Methodology

The work has been realised in close collaboration with research centres (University of Liège and BBRI), design offices active in the design of masonry structures and material producers. Three main directions of investigation have been followed:

o quantification of the design principles regarding structural connections for Belgian-type masonry houses in terms of required resistance of these connections;

o definition of technical solutions ensuring the required resistance defined in the previous step;

o reflections on a possible extension of the concept

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of "simple masonry buildings" beyond its limited EC8 definition (i.e. towards medium-rise buildings and with released requirements in terms of section, position and number of shear walls) provided additional constructive measures are implemented. These reflections are based on advanced analyses of a set of case-studies.

Outcomes

The main outcomes of these developments have been included in the Belgian national annex to EN1998-1 or in complementary documents whose drafting is partly completed and partly still in progress. Basically, what is officially included in national annexes is listed hereafter:

o allowance for a wider range of authorised material properties, in association with the use of light steel reinforcement in bed joints;

o refined definition of the behaviour factor q for unreinforced masonry with respect to the structural regularity;

o quantitative values of the required resistance of structural connections modulated according to the seismicity level, with reference to external documents defining possible ways to achieve these resistance values;

o open door to an extension of the concept of "simple masonry buildings" for buildings belonging to importance class 1 and 2, to be precisely defined in complementary documents.

In parallel to the drafting of the national annex itself and in order to implement the "open doors", two complementary documents are now in drafting process:

o STS22 (technical specifications for masonry buildings) is currently in a general process of update. Its new edition (foreseen in the next few months) will include a specific chapter on seismic requirements. This document may be compared with the English “Code of Practice”.

o A technical guide specifically dedicated to the design of unreinforced masonry in low to moderate seismic areas and including more details as the STS22 chapter will be issued on the base of a document previously developed by University of Liège for low-rise masonry houses.

Perspectives

The two reference documents are expected to be ready in the next months. The objective is to have them ready for the official publication of NBN EN 1998 and its national annexes in January 2011. Moreover, beside these documents, a user-friendly software tool dedicated to the seismic analysis of

Belgian-type masonry structures is currently being developed to help designers for cases that could not be treated by the "simple building" concept.

In addition, we expect tests to verify and identify calculation and execution methods with our masonry materials. At this point, a European program oriented to masonry may be a good solution. We will be happy to coordinate such a program.

O. Pfeffermann, Consulting engineer H. Degrée, University of Liège, Belgium

EC launches project for the development of Eurocodes promotion campaign in target third countries

On 11 November 2009, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry (DG ENTR) launched a project entitled: “Eurocodes Promotion Campaign – Development and Implementation”. This 18-month project is currently being implemented by the British Standards Institution (BSI).

Experience has shown that there is considerable interest in Eurocodes outside of Europe, but it has also drawn attention to the complexity of the issues involved in their adoption and use. This highlights the need for a coherent strategic approach to the dissemination of Eurocode related information that is adapted to the specific requirements of each individual country.

The overall purpose of the project is therefore to develop and partly implement a strategy for providing to relevant actors in selected third countries appropriate and up-to-date information on the Eurocodes, their functioning and their implementation mechanism, in order to facilitate the countries’ uptake of the codes.

This “Eurocodes Promotion” project is intended to develop a set of six information and promotional strategies for six target regions that are incorporated within a single overall strategic framework capable of extension to other regions. These target countries include:

1. Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Gulf states

2. South Africa

3. Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia

4. Russia and Ukraine

5. Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia

6. India.

The project activities are split into two parts:

1. development of the Eurocodes promotion

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campaign;

2. implementation of a limited number of actions in the Eurocodes promotion strategy as a pilot/test phase.

The project beneficiaries will include:

o the European Commission (specifically DG ENTR);

o CEN (specifically CEN/TC250);

o national standards bodies;

o construction industry stakeholders, in the European Economic Area and target countries (civil engineers, contractors, designers, product manufacturers, consultants in structural engineering, etc.);

o the general public (through safer buildings and infrastructures);

o third countries.

For further information on the project, please contact:

Keith Moyes, BSI Team Leader keith.moyes@bsigroup.com

Manfred Fuchs, EC, DG ENTR Task Manager manfred.fuchs@ec.europa.eu

New JRC/ECCS reports

Design of floor structures for human induced vibrations (ISBN 978-92-79-14094-5)

This report gives a procedure for the determination and assessment of floor responses to walking of pedestrians which on one side takes account of the complexity of the mechanical vibrations problem, but on the other side leads, by appropriate working up, to easy-to-use design charts.

Hot-dip-zinc-coating of prefabricated structural steel components (ISBN 978-92-79-15237-5)

This report gives information from pre-normative research methods to avoid liquid metal assisted cracking of prefabricated structural components during zinc-coating in the liquid zinc melt that may impair the structural safety of structures in which the components are built in.

The reports are available to download at http://eurocodes.jrc.ec.europa.eu

EU-Russia Regulatory Dialogue in the construction sector

The first meeting of the construction sector subgroup of the EU-Russia Regulatory Dialogue was held on the 2nd and 3rd of March 2010 in Moscow.

The EU participants were:

o Mr Vicente Leoz Argüelles, Head of the Construction, Pressure Equipment and Metrology Unit (DG Enterprise and Industry) and head of the delegation,

o Mr Claes Andersson, (DG ENTR),

o Prof Michel Géradin, Head of Unit, European Laboratory for Structural Assessment (JRC),

o Mr Amilcar Da Costa, CEN Management Centre,

o Prof Jean-Armand Calgaro, Chairman of CEN/TC250 (Eurocodes), and

o Mr Keith Moyes, BSI Team Leader.

Round-table discussion

On the 2nd of March, a round table was organised at the Federation Tower (Moscow International Business Centre). Many representatives of business circles of the Russian construction industry (RTCI) attended this round table which was chaired by a high representative from the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.

Round-table discussion of European and Russian delegates

Four presentations were given by the Commission and EU representatives (V. Leoz Argüelles, J.-A. Calgaro, A. Da Costa and M. Géradin) and 11 presentations were given by Russian personalities. In particular, Mr S. Pugachev, Deputy Head of the Federal Agency on Technical Regulation and Metrology (Rostehregulirovanie), presented a general overview of issues relating to technical regulation and standardisation in the field of building, and Ms L. Barinova, Chairperson of TK-465 “Construction” (a technical committee similar to CEN/TC250), gave a presentation on the harmonisation of national standards and national regulations with the international regulations and technical documents.

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The priorities of harmonisation for Russian authorities were summarised as follows:

o provide reliability, including seismic resistance of building constructions;

o provide fire safety in construction;

o assure interoperability and compatibility of construction products;

o develop a system of performance requirements and methods for control of conformity of construction products to these requirements;

o values and methods for the determination of technical characteristics of concrete types of construction products.

Three families of standards are intended to be taken into account to launch the harmonisation work: ISO, CEN and ASTM standards. But the real objectives of this work are not yet perfectly defined and in any case the volume of work may be estimated as very important.

Meeting of the Construction Sector subgroup

The meeting of the Subgroup on Construction of the EU-Russia Regulatory Dialogue was held on the 3rd of March at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation. The meeting was co-chaired by Mr S. Pugachev and Mr V. Leoz Argüelles. Among the 25 participants around the table, we can mention in particular: the EU participants, Ms. L. Barinova (Chairperson of Technical Committee 465 “Construction”), Dr. I. Kirillov (Kurchatov Institute), Prof Lubimov and Prof Scherbina (World Academy of Science for Complex Security), Mr E. Tersmette (DG ENTR, International Affairs Unit) and Ms. B. Stacher (EC Delegation).

The objective of the meeting was to prepare an action plan for the convergence of views on various aspects of technical regulation in the construction sector for the period April 2010 – March 2011. The main collaboration activities, to be incorporated in the action plan and discussed during the meeting, dealt with construction products, design codes (Eurocodes), sustainable construction, translations of relevant documents into Russian and organisation of workshops, seminars and conferences. The organisation of the workshop currently planned in October 2010 with the technical collaboration of CEN/TC250 and JRC and with the financial support of TAIEX (still pending decision) was discussed more explicitly.

Concerning design codes and translations, the Commission delegates were already informed that Eurocodes EN 1990 - Basis of Structural Design and EN 1992 - Design of concrete structures were already translated into Russian. They “discovered” that Eurocodes EN 1993 - Design of steel structures (Parts 1-1 and 1-2) and EN 1994 - Design of steel-concrete composite

structures (Parts 1-1 and 1-2) were translated by an “Open Joint Stock Company (OJSC) – Steel corporation”. These translations are part of a project the participants of which are

o OJSC (daily project management);

o ArcelorMittal (investor);

o Melnikov Central Research & Design Institute of Steel Constructions (translation and technical editing);

o Kucherenko Central Research Institute of Steel Constructions (translations and technical editing).

Mr Anton Chudaev, engineer at ArcelorMittal-Moscow, gave Mr Calgaro a CD-ROM with these translations.

Meeting of the Construction Sector subgroup

Russian authorities expressed their intention to build a national standardisation system ensuring consistency with ISO and other international systems. It is felt that there is a real wish to cooperate with the EU and probably to adopt progressively the Eurocode system for two main reasons:

o needs expressed by Russian industry;

o the possibilities given by the existence of nationally determined parameters that ensures a certain degree of flexibility and adaptability to the local conditions, needs and requirements.

The next meeting will be organised by the Commission in September or October. Some clarifications will be brought concerning the difference between standards and regulations. The Russian authorities wanted to understand the differences between the legal systems of EU Member States.

Jean-Armand Calgaro, Chairman of CEN/TC250

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Eurocodes for steel construction in the Russian Federation

A comprehensive study of European design standards in the area of steel construction and composite steel-concrete works is a task of utmost importance for developing the market in the Russian Federation. Understanding the principles and details, upon which the European standards are based, will enable the participants of the Russian market to compare the results of structural engineering for existing normative requirements used in EU and Russian Federation.

Expecting the release of the new Russian Technical regulations, an Open Joint Stock Company (OJSC) “Steel Corporation” was founded in 2008 with the partial shareholding by ArcelorMittal. Its purpose is to establish principles to increase the opportunities of using steel for construction, to help increase safety of the structures utilising steel construction and considerably deploy the typical economical solutions, as open steel car-parks, affordable steel frame houses, affordable steel frame hotels etc.

One of the objectives of the Steel Corporation is to provide technically correct translations in Russian language of Eurocodes 3 and 4 (parts 1 and 2), to be studied further by the concerned professionals, involved in design and use of steel/metal construction and composite steel-concrete civil engineering works.

The participants of this project are:

o OJSC “Steel Corporation”: project management

o ArcelorMittal: investor

o Melnikov Central Research & Design Institute of Steel Constructions: translation and technical editing

o Melnikov Central Research & Design Institute of Steel Constructions: approval of Russian versions of Eurocode 3 and 4 from the Science-Technical Committee (Protocol 12 of 03 September 2009)

Anton Chudaev, Key Construction Projects Manager ArcelorMittal Projects CIS

Contacts:

Open Joint Stock Company “Steel Corporation” 109316, Moscow Russia 3 Melnikova Street, bld 1. www.steel-corp.com Tel : +7 495 638 52 58 Fax : +7 495 980 18 74 Email : RMO@steel-corp.com

Eurocodes workshop in Moldova

The workshop was organised by TAIEX in co-operation with the Ministry of Construction and Regional Development of the Republic of Moldova. This workshop was the first event in Moldova on the presentation of the European system of standardisation and certification in construction. It is expected that the knowledge gained within the workshop will allow the Republic of Moldova to develop the national policy in the field of harmonisation of national norms with the European ones. After conducting the workshop, Moldova plans to organise a series of projects to harmonise its national laws and norms, accompanied by a number of conferences and training.

The workshop was chaired by Mr Iurii Socol, Head of the Technical Regulations Department of the Moldova Ministry of Construction and Regional Development. The opening address was delivered by Mr Anatoly Turcan, Vice-minister of Construction and Regional Development, who emphasised the importance of upgrading the Moldovan standards for construction viewing at the present situation where standards from the Soviet Union times are applied, as well as at the European perspective of Moldova which naturally calls for harmonisation with the European standards and legislation.

More than 80 participants attended the workshop. They were representatives of the Ministry of Construction and Regional Development, the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, the Academy of Sciences, the State Building Inspectorate and the National Office of Building Projects Expertise and Approval, as well as senior and young engineers.

The full program of the Workshop is given in the following: o European standards for structural design:

possibility and necessity of their adoption in Moldova, Mr Anatolie Zolotcov, Vice-Minister of Construction and Regional Development

o Implementation of the Eurocodes in the EU Member States: progress and support from the JRC, Prof Silvia Dimova

o Tools prepared for implementation of the Eurocodes (training courses, designer’s guides, worked examples, handbooks, manuals, design aids, software), Dr Georgios

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Tsionis, University of Patras

o Eurocodes: structure, basic concepts and further development, Prof Jean-Armand Calgaro, CEN/TC250 chairman

o General principles of structural reliability in the Eurocodes, Prof Jean-Armand Calgaro, CEN/TC250 chairman

o Eurocodes: actions on building structures, Dr Jacques Trinh

o Seismic design with Eurocodes, Prof Jean-Armand Calgaro, CEN/TC250 chairman

o Important bridges designed with Eurocodes, Prof Giuseppe Mancini, CEN/TC250/SC2 chairman

o Important structures designed with the Eurocodes, Dr. Georgios Tsionis, University of Patras

o Eurocode 2 - reinforced concrete structures, Prof Giuseppe Mancini, CEN/TC250/SC2 chairman

o Background information and development of National Annexes to Eurocode EN 1990 for basis of design and to EN 1998 for seismic actions for the Czech republic, Prof Jana Markova, Klockner Institute

o Practical application of the Eurocodes in France, Dr Jacques Trinh

o Implementation of the Eurocodes in the Czech Republic, Prof Jana Markova, Klockner Institute

o Determination of the Bulgarian nationally determined parameters, Ms Iren Dabijeva, Bulgarian Standardisation Institute

o Adoption of the Eurocodes outside EU, Prof Silvia Dimova

o Conclusions and Recommendations

At the beginning of the workshop Mr Anatolie Zolotcov, Vice-Minister of Construction and Regional Development presented the Moldovan views on the future application of the Eurocodes. Moldova envisages the full application of some Eurocodes and harmonisation of its national standards with other Eurocodes. Depending on the degree of harmonisation three cases were distinguished: 1. Eurocodes whose requirements can be used in full

(100%). It applies to Eurocodes related to the design of aluminium, timber and steel structures.

2. Eurocodes whose requirements can be used up to 80%. It applies for example to the Eurocode for the design of concrete structures.

3. Eurocodes whose application should take into consideration Moldovan territory’s specific conditions (earthquakes, irregular settlements, inundations, etc).

These views were commented and discussed along the whole duration of the workshop in order to find the best solution by taking advantage of the flexibility of the implementation of the Eurocodes.

The scientific and technical community of Moldova

showed considerable interest in the presentations and actively participated to the discussions after the presentations and to the “questions and answers” sessions. In fact, the discussion took more time than initially foreseen in the agenda. Particular interest was expressed in: o human and material resources and time required

for the implementation of the Eurocodes in the different EU Member States;

o implementation of the Eurocodes in the EU Member States – is it obligatory;

o software for design with the Eurocodes; o implementation of the Eurocodes for the design of

existing buildings and bridges; o comparison of the cost of buildings designed with

Eurocodes and with the codes used in Moldova – initial cost and cost during the life cycle;

o possibility to set national safety levels; o identification of possible technical differences

between currently used codes and the Eurocodes; o existence of minimum requirements to the

reliability in the Eurocodes; o consideration of the maintenance of structures by

the Eurocodes; o preparedness of Romania to implement the

Eurocodes.

The closing speech was delivered by Mr Anatolie Zolotcov, Vice-Minister of Construction and Regional Development. The main conclusions of the workshop referred to the steps needed to start the adoption of the Eurocodes in Moldova, namely: o official communication to the European

Commission and CEN for the willingness of Moldova to “take the Eurocodes on board”;

o preparation of an action plan; o Moldova has the unique chance to reduce the time

span for implementation of the Eurocodes because of the use of Romanian as official language. To take advantage of that, collaboration with Romanian standards body and experts should be started and implemented possibly by a twinning programme.

More information at: http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/taiex/dyn/taiex-events/library/detail_en.jsp?EventID=34001

Silvia Dimova, European Parliament

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News from JRC

Evolution of Eurocodes to additional fields of design

Within a Memorandum of Understanding with DG ENTR, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) is undertaking actions aiming to expand the concept of Eurocodes to additional fields of design and incorporating sustainability and other emerging issues in the design standards. The European Laboratory for Structural Assessment (ELSA) of the JRC has set up a working group of experts from different JRC institutes. The main objective is to define how the Eurocodes, in addition to mechanical resistance, safety in case of fire and safety in use, can incorporate aspects related to energy efficiency, health, environment, sustainability and noise protection, so as to address all Essential Requirements of the Construction Products Directive and the proposed new requirement for sustainable use of natural resources in the Commission proposal for a Construction Products Regulation.

A one-day workshop was organised on February 2010 at JRC to discuss synergies and collaboration on energy standards for buildings in view of the recast of the Energy Performance of Building Directive (EPBD). Experts from the Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen, Institute for Energy and Institute for Environment and Sustainability of the JRC, along with partners from the Directorate General Energy (DG ENER) and Enterprise (DG ENTR), discussed on the standardisation needs and new concepts for energy standards in buildings.

These activities are in close collaboration with the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) Eurocode drafting committee, CEN/TC250, and sustainable construction working group, BT/WG206. The ELSA unit participated in March 2010, in the workshop on “Construction sustainability assessment standards: the interface between CEN/TC350 standards for assessment of environmental performance and standards for products and for productions works” and in the 6th Follow-up Meeting of CEN BT/WG206.

Informatics tools

The European Commission website on Eurocodes is constantly being upgraded and updated with detailed information on the progress of national implementation, i.e. publication of national Standards and National Annexes and with training and awareness events, publications and other material on the Eurocodes. The JRC encourages the contribution of information on events and publications related to the Eurocodes for inclusion in the website.

The Centralised Eurocodes Helpdesk, which is a computer-based platform to assist the communication between the National Standards Bodies, the National Authorities and CEN/TC250 subcommittees, is currently being tested. The Helpdesk will provide the informatics infrastructure by which the National Standards Bodies will submit the questions to CEN/TC250.

Dissemination of information for training

Following the workshop “Eurocode 6: Design of masonry structures” held in Brussels in April 2009 (see Issue 3), the series of dissemination of information for training activities will be continued with four workshops with tentative dates in 2010.

A workshop dedicated to the design of bridges with the Eurocodes will be held in Vienna (4-6 October 2010). This workshop intends to contribute towards the transfer of background knowledge and expertise of Eurocode Bridge Parts writers (CEN/TC250 Horizontal Group Bridges) to potential trainers on national level. The workshop will include the presentation of a bridge design example drawing illustrations from the major Eurocode parts relevant to bridge design, with different sessions covering different aspects of the design (e.g. concrete bridges, steel bridges, seismic design, etc).

A workshop is planned on ‘’Eurocode 8: Seismic design of buildings’’ in Lisbon (tentative date 25-26 October 2010). The workshop will address the seismic design of R/C and steel building structures and will also cover issues related to base isolation.

A two-day workshop on ‘’Eurocode 2: Design of reinforced concrete buildings’’ will also be organised.

Finally, a TAIEX (Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument) workshop on ‘’Eurocodes: Training for trainers’’ is planned in Moscow, within the activities related to the EU-Russia cooperation on standardisation for construction.

Details are currently being discussed and finalised for the workshops within the organising committees and the lecturers. Details will be published in the JRC Eurocodes website.

Publications

In cooperation with the European Convention for Constructional Steelwork (ECCS), the JRC is publishing a series of technical reports that serve as background documents for the implementation and further development of Eurocode 3.

The following new joint publications are available to download from the JRC Eurocodes website:

o Design of floor structures for human induced vibrations, EUR 24084 EN – 2009;

o Hot-dip-zinc-coating of prefabricated structural steel components, EUR 24286 – 2010.

For further information contact eurocodes@jrc.ec.europa.eu, or visit http://eurocodes.jrc.ec.europa.eu.

Artur Pinto, Humberto Varum, Adamantia Athanasopoulou Joint Research Centre of the European Commission