Questionnaire on requirements and use cases for integrating earthquake engineering and seismological data

The Seismology and Earthquake Engineering Research Infrastructure Alliance for Europe (SERA) is a Horizon 2020-supported program aiming at reducing the risk posed by natural and anthropogenic earthquakes, based on innovative research and development projects. SERA also targets at providing improved access to data, services and research infrastructures for scientists and other professionals.

The European Plate Observing System (EPOS) is a long-term plan to facilitate integrated access/use of data, data products, software and services (DDSS) provided by heterogeneous infrastructures (Thematic Core Services, TCS) on solid Earth science in Europe. The project SERIES (Seismic Engineering Research Infrastructures for European Synergies) brought together Europe’s research infrastructures in earthquake engineering and enabled the automated integration of experimental results so that the earthquake engineering community can access data from an SERIES partner by using a single, unified centralized gateway, the Data Access Portal.

Building on the achievements in SERIES project and the developments in EPOS, one of SERA project tasks targets to a roadmap for the integration of earthquake engineering and seismological data, data-banks and informatics services to serve the needs of the research communities involved and beyond. A questionnaire has been developed aiming to collect information on requirements and use cases that will feed into the roadmap.

If your expertise lies within the fields of earthquake engineering or seismology, your input will be greatly appreciated. The questionnaire is accessible through EU Survey at this link.  

Worldwide interest in the Eurocodes

Check the countries that have expressed interest or have adopted the Eurocodes

Many countries outside EU-EFTA have shown interest or have already adopted the Eurocodes. The JRC is collecting and managing the information on the Eurocodes worldwide status and presents such information in a map that is regularly updated.

What do the world media say about the Eurocodes and other Standards for Construction?

See the latest 100 news at the JRC Europe Media Monitor.

The Europe Media Monitor (EMM) is a news gathering engine developed by the JRC for real-time monitoring and analysis of online media, including conventional press and social media, world-wide in 60 languages. It updates the information every ten minutes and provides automatic translation. EMM produces a map showing the recent news articles on the Eurocodes and other standards for the construction sector. A summary of each article is presented with a link to the original location.

JRC Technical Report: State of harmonised use of the Eurocodes

Harmonising the use of the Eurocodes in the EU and EFTA Member States is of primary interest to reduce the barriers arising from different national practices and for the achievement of a deeper internal market for construction products and engineering services.
The objective of this JRC report is to evaluate the state of harmonised use of the Eurocodes in the EU and EFTA Member States. Besides that, the report is deemed to highlight the potential for further harmonisation and the associated needs, in order to support the on-going activities of CEN/TC250 "Structural Eurocodes" in the development of the second generation of the Eurocodes. The report analyses the countries national choices using as a source of information the European Commission Nationally Determined Parameters Database (NDPs Database). The results conclusively show that the national implementation of the Eurocodes has achieved a high level of harmonisation, since most countries accepted the design parameters recommended in the Standards.

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JRC Technical Report: Standardisation needs for the design of underground structures

The design of tunnels has very unique characteristics but currently there are no available tunnel design standards or harmonized guidelines at European level. Tunnel design in Europe is being carried out based on national knowledge and experience with the use of industrial/client standards and guidelines, as well as with parts of the Eurocodes. However, the scope of the first generation of the Eurocodes covers buildings and some other civil engineering works, e.g. bridges but there are no parts devoted to the design of tunnels, as the Eurocodes do not include explicitly all underground structures.
The report delineates that the development of design standards for tunnels and underground structures is certainly feasible (at least for typical configurations) and that it would be advantageous to foster harmonization of design rules between countries. It appears suitable that the concept of new standards or guidelines for the design of tunnels shall be developed in line with the Eurocodes and be consistent with the developments in the second generation of the Eurocodes. Currently existing standards, guidelines and recommendations for tunnels in some European countries, as well as the Eurocodes and international codes, can serve as the basis for the development of the new standards or guidelines. Moreover, sufficient literature, case studies and experience is available to prepare the general framework of a standard or guiding document, as well as addressing most common types of underground structures.

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JRC Technical Report: The implementation of the Eurocodes in the National Regulatory Framework

The report provides general information on the concept of the Eurocodes implementation in the regulatory system and discusses case studies of EU Member States that have successfully implemented the Eurocodes in their national regulatory system. The report also highlights the experience of designers on using the Eurocodes by presenting simple application examples. Moreover, the state of the Eurocodes implementation in the non˗EU Balkan countries is presented, based on the information exchanged and collected during the Workshop "The way forward for the Eurocodes implementation in the Balkans" (10˗11 October 2018 in Tirana, Albania), along with the activities of the Engineering Chambers in support of the Eurocodes implementation. The way towards the publication of the Second Generation of the Eurocodes, expected after 2021, is also discussed.

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JRC Conference and Workshop Report: The way forward for the Eurocodes implementation in the Balkans

On 10th and 11th of October 2018, the workshop "The way forward for the Eurocodes implementation in the Balkans" took place in Tirana, Albania. The workshop was organized by the JRC within the Enlargement and Integration Action and was hosted by the General Directorate of Standardization of Albania. Approximately 100 participants (policy-makers, National Authorities & National Standardisations Bodies representatives, academics and practitioners) attended this two-day Eurocodes workshop. Lecturers and participants came from 12 different EU Member States (MS) and 8 non-EU Balkans countries (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey). Distinguished experts gave presentations and participated in the round table discussions including CEN-CENELEC Director for Market Perspectives and Innovation, the Immediate Past Chairman of CEN/Technical Committee 250 (CEN/TC250) "Structural Eurocodes" and many CEN/TC250 experts actively involved in the development of the Eurocodes and also currently working on the 2nd Generation of the Eurocodes. The workshop was the first of a new series of Eurocodes dissemination and training activities in the Balkan region. It was an opportunity to collect and share the experience of EU Member States in the Eurocodes implementation in the national regulatory system through the presentation of case studies.

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Reliability of structural members designed with the Eurocodes NDPs selected by EU and EFTA Member States

The report analyses the reliability levels of selected structural members designed according to the partial factor method given in the Eurocodes, using the Nationally Determined Parameters uploaded in the European Commission Database by the Member States of the European Union and of the European Free Trade Association.

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JRC Science for Policy Report: Eurocodes: Background & Applications. Elaboration of maps for climatic and seismic actions for structural design with the Eurocodes

Guidance for countries adopting the Eurocodes. State-of-the-art material to elaborate maps for seismic and climatic actions for structural design. Experience of the non-EU Balkan countries on elaboration of these maps.

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Booklet by European Commission: The European construction sector – A global partner>

The Joint Research Centre, the Enterprise and Industry Directorate General and the Energy Directorate General produced an updated version of the brochure on the integrated approach of European policies for the construction sector. It covers sustainability, in terms of energy and resource efficiency, health and safety issues for buildings, construction works and products. The brochure gives information on the available support schemes and financial instruments and highlights the benefits of international cooperation.

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JRC Science for Policy Report: State of implementation of the Eurocodes in the European Union

The report presents the results of the enquiry on the implementation of the Eurocodes in the EU Member States and Norway, which was performed by DG GROW and DG JRC of the European Commission in 2014-2015. The analysis of the state of implementation of the Eurocodes in the EU Member States and Norway concludes that in 23 EU Member States and in Norway the Eurocodes are implemented. The identified restrictions imposed by existing National Regulations which define technical rules different from the provisions of the Eurocodes, indicate that there is need of a Commission Recommendation on the regulatory environment for use of the Eurocodes.

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Download the Science for Policy Brief (431 kB)

JRC Scientific and Policy Report: Eurocodes: Background & Applications. Design of Steel Buildings. Worked examples>

The present JRC report contains state-of-the-art training material on the structural design of steel buildings, with emphasis on worked examples. The technical papers here presented focus on specific parts of the structural design, namely basis of design, modelling of structure, design of members, connections, cold-formed steel, seismic and fire design and on sustainability aspects. The report intends to contribute towards the transfer of background knowledge and expertise on the Eurocodes, mainly the EN 1993, from specialists of the European Convention for Constructional Steelwork (ECCS) and of CEN/TC250/Sub Committee 3, to trainers at a national level and to Eurocodes users. The report includes a comprehensive description of Eurocodes rules and worked examples presented by the aforementioned specialists at the workshop “Design of steel buildings with the Eurocodes, with worked examples’’ that was held on 16-17 October 2014, in Brussels, Belgium.

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JRC Scientific and Policy Report: Eurocodes: Structural Fire Design - Worked Examples>

This document is a report with worked examples presenting the fire resistance assessment of structures according to the Eurocodes. The authors were involved in the preparation and/or assessment of the Eurocodes structural fire design parts. Each chapter of the report focuses on a specific structural material (i.e. steel, concrete, masonry, etc.) and addresses the principles and design methods followed by worked example(s). The provided information illustrates the basic design methods through examples of application. It will allow any designer to get a good understanding about the fundamentals of the fire parts of the Eurocodes and to carry out fire resistance assessments of various structures.
The materials were prepared and presented at the workshop "Eurocodes: Structural Fire Design" held on 27 28 November 2012 in Brussels, Belgium. The workshop was organized by JRC with the support of DG ENTR and CEN, and in collaboration with CEN/TC250 Horizontal Group - Fire.
The document is part of the Report Series 'Support to the implementation, harmonization and further development of the Eurocodes' prepared by JRC in collaboration with DG ENTR and CEN/TC250 "Structural Eurocodes".

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JRC Scientific and Policy Report: Eurocode 2: Design of Concrete Buildings - Worked Examples>

This document is a report with worked examples presenting step-by-step the design of a reinforced concrete cast on site building following Eurocode 2. The design process has been divided between different authors, some of whom were involved in the preparation and/or assessment of Eurocode 2. Each chapter of the report focuses on a different step in the design process: conceptual design, structural analyses, limit states design and verification, detailing of the reinforcement as well as some geotechnical aspects of building design. Last chapter gives general overview of the fire design according to the Eurocodes.
The materials were prepared and presented at the workshop "Eurocode 2: Design of Concrete Buildings" held on 20 21 October 2011 in Brussels, Belgium. The workshop was organized by JRC with the support of DG ENTR and CEN, and in collaboration with CEN/TC250/Sub-Committee 2.
The document is part of the Report Series 'Support to the implementation, harmonization and further development of the Eurocodes' prepared by JRC in collaboration with DG ENTR and CEN/TC250 "Structural Eurocodes".

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JRC Report: Eurocode 7: Geotechnical Design - Worked examples>

This document is a report with worked examples summarizing the general rules, basic design principles and design methods for geotechnical design following Eurocodes. It comprises an overview of Eurocode 7 with focus on the design requirements, actions and design situations, and limit states. Different aspects to be considered for designing shallow foundations, gravity walls, embedded walls and deep foundations are covered in the report. The provisions of Eurocode 7 for ground investigations and testing for geotechnical design, overall stability of and movements in the ground, slopes, hydraulic failure modes and verifications against them are also presented. The Annex contains worked examples to accompany the various chapters of this report.
The materials were prepared and presented at the workshop “Eurocode 7: Geotechnical Design” held on 13-14 June 2013 in Dublin, Ireland. The workshop was organized by JRC with the support of DG ENTR and CEN, and in collaboration with CEN/TC250/Sub-Committee 7 and Ireland’s Department of the Environment, Community and Local government.

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JRC Report: Eurocode 8: Seismic Design of Buildings - Worked examples>

This JRC Report document presents in detail the seismic design of a reinforced concrete and steel building following the Eurocodes. It summarizes important points of the Eurocode 8 for the seismic design of concrete and steel buildings including foundations, utilizing a common generic building as a basis. The building worked example was presented at the workshop "Eurocode 8: Seismic Design of Buildings", held on 10-11 February 2011 in Lisbon, Portugal. The workshop was organized by JRC with the support of DG ENTR and in collaboration with CEN/TC250/Sub-Committee 8 and the National Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC, Lisbon).

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JRC Report: Bridge Design to Eurocodes - Worked examples>

This JRC reports presents in detail the design of a bridge structure following the Eurocodes. It summarizes important points of the Eurocodes for the design of concrete, steel and composite road bridges, including foundations and seismic design, utilizing a common bridge structure as a basis. The bridge design worked example was presented at the workshop "Bridge Design to the Eurocodes", held on 4-6 October 2010 in Vienna, Austria. The workshop was organized by JRC with the support of DG ENTR and in collaboration with CEN/TC250/Horizontal Group Bridges, the Austrian Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology and the Austrian Standards Institute.

Download the whole report (25.9MB)

Download the main part of the report only (16.2MB)

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Eurocode Software

JRC support to implementation and use

Download the JRC reports on the activities in support to the implementation, harmonisation and further development of the Eurocodes.

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• State of harmonised use of the Eurocodes
• Standardisation needs for the design of underground structures
• The implementation of the Eurocodes in the National Regulatory Framework

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