Comparative analysis on using EUROCODE and two national codes in concrete bridge design

ABSTRACT

The integration of the European countries and their economies also includes the harmonization of national standards. The main result of this harmonization will be the EUROCODE, a global standard system covering all fields of civil engineering. Prior to the completion and the collective use, it is necessary to make lots of comparative studies between the present national standards and the appropriate parts of EUROCODE. For this purpose, this paper presents comparative static calculations of two reinforced concrete bridges carried out on the basis of EUROCODE, the Hungarian Standard and the British Standard. The results also provide a good opportunity for analysing the required levels of safety prescribed by these standards.

KEYWORDS:

• standard
• reinforced concrete bridge
• property of material
• load model
• safety factor
• limit state
• expenditure of material