25 research outputs found
Reliability of Concrete Elements Designed for Alternative Load Combinations Provided in Eurocodes
The basic European standard for design of buildings and other engineering works, EN 1990 "Basis of structural design", provides alternative design procedures, for which national choice is allowed. One of the most important questions concerns three fundamental combinations of actions for persistent and transient design situations in the Ultimate limit states. Simple examples of reinforced concrete elements show, that the alternative load combinations may lead to considerably different reliability levels. Probabilistic methods of structural reliability theory are used to identify characteristic features of each combination and to formulate recommendations. However, further calibration studies are urgently needed in order to prepare National annexes to EN 1990 on time
Credibility of Design Procedures
Theory of structural reliability enables comprehensive analysis of structural elements with respect to various limit states, and provides valuable insights into the methodology of applied standards. In addition to reliability analysis of the structural element, a new concept of the credibility of theoretical models used to calculate the design value of basic variables is introduced. The presented example of structural verification for limit states of cracking shows that the credibility of commonly applied formulas and reliability of a reinforced concrete slab have a great scatter and are in some cases inadequate
Target reliability levels in Eurocodes and ISO standards
TARGET RELIABILITY LEVELS IN EUROCODES AND ISO STANDARDS. M. HOLICKÝ, J. MARKOVÁ, M. SÝKORA (Czech Technical University, Prague, Klokner Institute)The target reliability levels recommended in national and international documents vary within a broad range, while the reference to relevant costs and failure consequences is vague only. In some documents the
target reliability index is indicated for one or two reference periods (1 year, 50 years or life-time) without providing appropriate links to the design working life. This contribution attempts to clarify the relationship between the target reliability levels, costs of safety measures, failure consequences, reference periods and the
design working life. For ultimate limit states of common buildings and bridges (RC2), it is recommended to consider reliability index of 3.8 for a reference period equal to the design working life (50 years for buildings, 100 for bridges).= Рассматриваются условные уровни надежности, рекомендованные в национальных и международных документах. Показано, что эти уровни варьируются в широком диапазоне, в то время как ссылки на соответствующие затраты и последовательность отказов недостаточно изучена. В некоторых
документах индекс целевой надежности определяется для одного или двух базовых периодов (1 год, 50 лет или в течение всего жизненного цикла) без предоставления соответствующих ссылок на проекты. В данной работе делается попытка прояснить отношения между уровнями целевой надежности, затратами на обеспечение безопасности, последовательностью отказов, базовыми периодами и сроком эксплуатации. Для предельных уровней состояния общественных зданий и мостов (RC2) рекомендовано
использовать целевой индекс 3.8 для периода, равного проектному сроку службы: 50 лет – для зданий,100 лет – для мостов
Target reliability levels in Eurocodes and ISO standards
TARGET RELIABILITY LEVELS IN EUROCODES AND ISO STANDARDS. M. HOLICKÝ, J. MARKOVÁ, M. SÝKORA (Czech Technical University, Prague, Klokner Institute)The target reliability levels recommended in national and international documents vary within a broad range, while the reference to relevant costs and failure consequences is vague only. In some documents the
target reliability index is indicated for one or two reference periods (1 year, 50 years or life-time) without providing appropriate links to the design working life. This contribution attempts to clarify the relationship between the target reliability levels, costs of safety measures, failure consequences, reference periods and the
design working life. For ultimate limit states of common buildings and bridges (RC2), it is recommended to consider reliability index of 3.8 for a reference period equal to the design working life (50 years for buildings, 100 for bridges).= Рассматриваются условные уровни надежности, рекомендованные в национальных и международных документах. Показано, что эти уровни варьируются в широком диапазоне, в то время как ссылки на соответствующие затраты и последовательность отказов недостаточно изучена. В некоторых
документах индекс целевой надежности определяется для одного или двух базовых периодов (1 год, 50 лет или в течение всего жизненного цикла) без предоставления соответствующих ссылок на проекты. В данной работе делается попытка прояснить отношения между уровнями целевой надежности, затратами на обеспечение безопасности, последовательностью отказов, базовыми периодами и сроком эксплуатации. Для предельных уровней состояния общественных зданий и мостов (RC2) рекомендовано
использовать целевой индекс 3.8 для периода, равного проектному сроку службы: 50 лет – для зданий,100 лет – для мостов
A lattice model for the line tension of a sessile drop
Within a semi--infinite thre--dimensional lattice gas model describing the
coexistence of two phases on a substrate, we study, by cluster expansion
techniques, the free energy (line tension) associated with the contact line
between the two phases and the substrate. We show that this line tension, is
given at low temperature by a convergent series whose leading term is negative,
and equals 0 at zero temperature
A compact null set containing a differentiability point of every Lipschitz function
We prove that in a Euclidean space of dimension at least two, there exists a
compact set of Lebesgue measure zero such that any real-valued Lipschitz
function defined on the space is differentiable at some point in the set. Such
a set is constructed explicitly.Comment: 28 pages; minor modifications throughout; Lemma 4.2 is proved for
general Banach space rather than for Hilbert spac
SURFACE INDUCED FINITE-SIZE EFFECTS FOR FIRST ORDER PHASE TRANSITIONS
We consider classical lattice models describing first-order phase
transitions, and study the finite-size scaling of the magnetization and
susceptibility. In order to model the effects of an actual surface in systems
like small magnetic clusters, we consider models with free boundary conditions.
For a field driven transition with two coexisting phases at the infinite volume
transition point , we prove that the low temperature finite volume
magnetization m_{\free}(L,h) per site in a cubic volume of size behaves
like
m_\free(L,h)=\frac{m_++m_-}2 + \frac{m_+-m_-}2
\tanh \bigl(\frac{m_+-m_-}2\,L^d\, (h-h_\chi(L))\bigr)+O(1/L),
where is the position of the maximum of the (finite volume)
susceptibility and are the infinite volume magnetizations at
and , respectively. We show that is shifted by an amount
proportional to with respect to the infinite volume transitions point
provided the surface free energies of the two phases at the transition
point are different. This should be compared with the shift for periodic boun\-
dary conditons, which for an asymmetric transition with two coexisting phases
is proportional only to . One also consider the position of
the maximum of the so called Binder cummulant U_\free(L,h). While it is again
shifted by an amount proportional to with respect to the infinite volume
transition point , its shift with respect to is of the much
smaller order . We give explicit formulas for the proportionality
factors, and show that, in the leading term, the relative shift is
the same as that for periodic boundary conditions.Comment: 65 pages, amstex, 1 PostScript figur
Probabilistic Analysis of Crack Width
Probabilistic analysis of crack width of a reinforced concrete element is based on the formulas accepted in Eurocode 2 and European Model Code 90. Obtained values of reliability index b seem to be satisfactory for the reinforced concrete slab that fulfils requirements for the crack width specified in Eurocode 2. However, the reliability of the slab seems to be insufficient when the European Model Code 90 is considered; reliability index is less than recommended value 1.5 for serviceability limit states indicated in Eurocode 1. Analysis of sensitivity factors of basic variables enables to find out variables significantly affecting the total crack width
Probabilistic Analysis of Crack Width
Probabilistic analysis of crack width of a reinforced concrete element is based on the formulas accepted in Eurocode 2 and European Model Code 90. Obtained values of reliability index b seem to be satisfactory for the reinforced concrete slab that fulfils requirements for the crack width specified in Eurocode 2. However, the reliability of the slab seems to be insufficient when the European Model Code 90 is considered; reliability index is less than recommended value 1.5 for serviceability limit states indicated in Eurocode 1. Analysis of sensitivity factors of basic variables enables to find out variables significantly affecting the total crack width