Comparison of the reliability levels provided by Eurocodes and standards of the Russian Federation

Sykora, M. Comparison of the reliability levels provided by Eurocodes and standards of the Russian Federation / M. Sykora, M. Holicky, V. Nadolski // In R.D.J.M. Steenbergen, P. H. A. J. M. van Gelder, S. Miraglia, A. C. W. M. Vrouwenvelder (eds.) Proceedings of the European Safety and Reliability Conference ESREL 2013, Amsterdam, 29 September – 2 October 2013. Leiden: Balkema/CRC Press, ISBN 978-1-138-00123-7. – 2014. – P. 2637–2644. A comparison of reliability levels of steel structures designed according to Eurocodes and standards of the Russian Federation is focused on the major differences between basic principles of the both standards (such as load combinations, system of partial factors) considering steel structures. General comparison of the main parameters characterizing load effects and resistances is supplemented by a numerical example of the reliability analysis of generic steel members for different combinations of permanent and variable actions. It appears that in most cases standards of the Russian Federation lead to a lower reliability level than Eurocodes. The main reason of this difference is attributed to specification of design values of permanent and variable loads. For both considered systems of standards, reliability of structures exposed to snow load is significantly lower than for structures subjected to imposed load and harmonisation in this regard is required. Further studies concerning more complicated structural ele-ments made of various steel grades and exposed to wind actions are needed. Methods of risk and reliability analysis are becoming increasingly important as decision support tools in various fields of engineering. Safety, Reliability and Risk Analysis: Beyond the Horizon covers a wide range of topics for which risk analysis forms an indispensable field of knowledge to ensure sufficient safety.