eurocodesnews
EUROCODES NEWS
Newsletter of Eurocodes Expert, the construction industry’s forum for users of the new structural Eurocodes
Editorial
by Haig Gulvanessian
Welcome to the latest issue of Eurocodes News.
With less than a year to go before the March
2010 transition date, we report in this issue on an
important change to the head Eurocode EN 1990 to
assist UK construction design engineers. We also
confirm the increasing use of Eurocodes in Britain
generally.
A report from BSI British Standards shows the
continuing excellent progress made with publishing
UK national annexes, with just a few to be
completed by this summer. Updates from Eurocode
Expert content partners highlight the many and
varied initiatives being undertaken to support
implementation.
Indeed, the combined efforts of the British
government and industry to help and guide the
transition to Eurocodes should be applauded – and
civil and structural design engineers should take
full advantage of the unrivalled range of published
resources.
I would thus like to use the remainder of my
editorial to highlight some of the key background
documents already available to help construction
design engineers in the UK.
in this issue
Editorial 1
Eurocodes news
• EN 1990 altered to avoid UK liability problems 2
• News from BSI British Standards 2
• News from CEN/TC250 2
• News from JRC 3
• Third of UK designers already using Eurocodes 3
Content partner updates
• Institution of Structural Engineers 4
• Institution of Civil Engineers 4
• International Masonry Society and
Brick Development Association 5
• The Concrete Centre 5
• The Steel Construction Institute 6
• Timber Research and Development Association 6
• Association for Structural Engineers of
London Boroughs 7
Eurocodes Expert news
• Eurocodes publications update 7
• Eurocodes events 8
Ordered transition
BSI documents having the same scope as
Eurocodes are to be withdrawn less than a year
from now. An ordered transition by Britain’s
construction industry is essential to ensure the
country profits from the opportunities afforded by
Eurocodes – and does not lose out from the threats.
The report of a BSI survey on page 2 indicates
that many construction design engineers in
the UK have not used Eurocodes yet and are
contemplating difficulties during the transition
period, with a significant minority not expecting to
use the codes at all.
I believe it is important for everyone to view
the new codes positively and – though they will
inevitably disrupt design offices at a difficult time
for the construction industry – the style and rules
of Eurocodes are well within the grasp of all
UK-trained engineers.
Institutional guidance
The availability and quality of guidance to
aid Eurocode implementation in Britain by far
surpasses what is on offer in other European
member states. It is being provided by professional
institutions, government and material industries
and takes many forms.
For example, the design manuals covering
basis of design, loading and material Eurocodes
produced by the Institution of the Structural
Engineers are standalone design documents
written in the style of previous manuals produced
by the institution. They are excellent documents for
designing commonplace building structures.
The designers’ guides published by the
Institutions of Civil Engineers’ subsidiary Thomas
Telford are written to be used with the Eurocodes,
providing further information and background
to code clauses together with many worked
examples.
www.eurocodes.co.uk
APRIL 2009
issue 8
Government documents
Another set of important documents can be
found on the website of the UK Department of
Communities and Local Government at
www.communities.gov.uk. These include concise
‘companion documents’ for Eurocode parts,
describing both the differences and similarities
between Eurocodes and UK practice, as well as
worked examples for steel and composite steel–
concrete members and comprehensive advice for
timber structure design.
Also available now is the free Structural
Eurocodes Companion from BSI at www.bsigroup.
com/bip2159. As reported in this issue, the 64-page
online guide provides practical advice on how the
new codes will work and how they can benefit
construction professionals. I strongly recommend it.
Industry guidance
The wealth of guidance offered by materials
industry associations – such as The Concrete
Centre, the Steel Construction Institute, Trada,
the Brick Development Association and the
International Masonry Society – is also invaluable
to the design engineer.
These associations also all have very
informative web sites and an increasing range
electronic design aids. These are a precursor
to the raft of new Eurocode design software
programmes currently under development and due
for launch shortly.
And finally, please remember that all available
guidance documents, web resources and software
– as well as all associated training courses and
events – are indexed on the Eurocodes Expert
website at www.eurocodes.co.uk, the biggest
database of its kind in the world.
Professor Gulvanessian is former construction
division director of BRE, visiting professor at
Imperial College, chairman of the EN 1990 drafting
committee and former chairman of EN 1991.
He is also chairman of the Eurocodes Expert
advisory group. H
APRIL 2009 ISSUE 8 eurocodesnews 1
EUROCODES NEWS

EN 1990 ALTERED TO
AVOID UK LIABILITY
PROBLEMS
by Simon Fullalove, Editor
The head Eurocode, EN 1990, has been changed
to make sure that civil and structural engineers
avoid potentially uninsurable ‘fitness for purpose’
liabilities when using Eurocodes in the UK.
One of the original basic requirements of EN
1990, as set out in clause 2.1(1)P, was that a
structure had to, ‘remain fit for the use for which
it is required’. This has now been altered to, ‘meet
the specified serviceability requirements for a
structure or a structural element’.
According to Amrit Ghose, chairman of the
Institution of Civil Engineers’ (ICE) structures
expert panel, the original version suggested a
fitness-for-purpose obligation that would not be
covered by professional indemnity insurance.
‘The trouble arises because “fit for the use
for which it is required” has a legal meaning
in Britain which it does not have in mainland
Europe,’ he said.
ICE’s liability expert panel and the UK
Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE)
raised their concerns with BSI British Standards
and the European Committee for Standardization
(CEN) in autumn last year, and CEN published a
corrigendum on 3 December 2008. BSI is planning
to publish a corrigendum to BS EN 1990 shortly,
which will be available for free download from its
Eurocodes website at www.bsigroup.com.
Eurocodes Expert advisory group chairman Haig
Gulvanessian, who is also chairman of the EN 1990 Winning design for Te Wero Bridge in Auckland, New Zealand.
drafting committee, said, ‘Following numerous The lightweight aluminium twin-leaf bascule structure is
designed to Eurocode 9 by design team Hyder Consulting, Denton
meetings with ACE and discussion within CEN Corker Marshall and Kenneth Grubb Associates. The £19 million
technical committee 250, the agreed alteration harbour crossing will have a clear opening span of 40 m.
should now be acceptable.’ H Auckland City Council has scheduled completion by 2016.

News from BSI

British Standards
by Clare Price, BSI British Standards
There is now less than a year to go until the
withdrawal of around 50 British structural design
standards at the end of March 2010.
BSI British Standards has now published a total
of 44 national annexes for the 58 Eurocode parts
and a further eight are due by mid-year. No national
annex will be published for Eurocode 8 part 3 on
seismic retrofit and all recommended values may be
accepted for the remaining five parts.
Full details of the publication progress of all parts,
annexes and background documents can be found
on the BSI Eurocodes site at www.bsigroup.com/
eurocodes and the Eurocodes Expert website at
www.eurocodes.co.uk.
New companion guide
BSI is planning a number of initiatives to highlight
the coming changes. Available immediately is the
new Structural Eurocodes Companion, which BSI
has published in response to market demand.
The 64-page guide is free online and is written by
leading industry experts from the world of standards
and further afield. It delivers practical and timely
advice on how the new codes will work and how
they might benefit construction professionals.
The unbiased guide covers the timeline to
implementation, expert views on the different parts,
and business matters regarding software and
risk. Further details are in the Eurocodes Expert
publications database and it can be downloaded
from www.bsigroup.com/bip2159.
Website update
The BSI Eurocodes website is currently being
updated and the new version is expected to go live
in May 2009. This will provide full implementation
details and answers to many of the frequently asked
questions, such as:
Autumn conference
A BSI conference on Eurocodes is planned for
the October 2009. Further details will be announced
on the Eurocodes Expert website in due course.
All BSI Eurocodes, national annexes, published
documents and other guides can be obtained via the
Eurocodes pages of the BSI website at
www.bsigroup.com/eurocodes. For further
information call +44 20 8996 9001 or email
cservices@bsigroup.com. H
Eurocode parts status
13 parts
45 parts

n What is the status of the withdrawn British

standards?
n What happens if no national annex is
published? Key Eurocodes status
Part(s) published, 0 – Basis
n What is non-contradictory complementary 1 – Actions
(final) annex
information and how is it used? not published 2 – Concrete
3 – Steel
Part(s) and 4 – Composite
BSI is also identifying content for a Eurocodes annex(es) published 5 – Timber
module of its British Standards Online database or not needed 6 – Masonry
BSI has published a free 7 – Geotechnical
64-page companion guide to the service, including grouping Eurocodes packages (Bracketed terms relate
Eurocodes to Eurocode status) 8 – Earthquake
together in user-friendly kits. 9 – Aluminium

www.eurocodes.co.uk APRIL 2009 ISSUE 8 eurocodesnews 2

EUROCODES NEWS
News from JRC
by Artur Pinto and Georgios Tsionis
Joint Research Centre of the European Commission
Building sustainability into Eurocodes
The Eurocodes serve to prove compliance
of buildings and civil engineering works with
the requirements of the European Council’s
construction products directive – enacted in the
UK as the Construction Products Regulations
1991 – particularly in relation to mechanical
resistance, stability, fire resistance and safety.
However, the European Commission is currently
planning to replace the directive with the new,
directly enforceable Construction Products
Regulation, which also introduces a new
requirement for sustainable use of natural
resources.
The European Laboratory for Structural
Assessment of the Commission’s Joint Research
Centre (JRC) has thus set up a working group to
define how Eurocodes can incorporate health,
environment, energy efficiency and sustainability
aspects to address the requirements of the
proposed new regulation.
The review is being undertaken in
collaboration with the European Committee
for Standardization’s (CEN) Eurocode drafting
committee CEN/TC 250 and sustainable
construction working group BT/WG 206. JRC
will also seek the involvement of other CEN
technical committees, the European Organisation
for Technical Approvals, European technology
platforms and international technical and
scientific organisations.
Over 100 delegates attended the Eurocode 6 training workshop in
Brussels in April 2009
THIRD OF UK DESIGNERS
ALREADY USING EUROCODES
by Simon Fullalove, Editor
Nearly a third of UK structural designers are
already using the Eurocodes, according to a
November 2008 survey by BSI British Standards.
However, more than half the remainder felt the
transition would be difficult, with a quarter not
expecting to use them at all.
The questionnaire-based survey carried out in
November 2008 found that 29% of respondents are
already designing with Eurocodes and 36% were
confident about using them. Two thirds (66%) said
Eurocodes were important to their practice and
22% had so far received formal training.
Of the 70% who were not yet using Eurocodes,
11% felt the transition would be easy while 55%
expected it to be difficult. Only 38% expected to
Eurocode 3 technical reports
In cooperation with the European Convention
for Constructional Steelwork, JRC is publishing
a series of technical reports that serve as
background documents for implementation and
further development of Eurocode 3 for structural
steel design.
The following joint publications are currently
available to download from the JRC Eurocodes
website at http://eurocodes.jrc.ec.europa.eu.
n Assessment of existing steel structures:
recommendations for estimation of the
remaining fatigue life.
n Commentary and worked examples to EN
1993-1-5 Plated structural elements.
n Commentary and worked examples to EN
1993-1-10 Material toughness and through
thickness properties and other toughness-
oriented rules in EN 1993.
More reports are in preparation and will be
available on the website in the future and linked
from the Eurocodes Expert publications database
at www.eurocodes.co.uk/publications.aspx.
Training workshop on Eurocode 6
On 2–3 April the European Commission hosted
a training workshop on Eurocode 6 in Brussels.
This complemented the Commission’s successful
Eurocode training workshop held in February
2008 (see issue 6) – which did not include
masonry design due to coinciding with a major
international masonry conference in Australia.
More than 100 delegates from almost all
European countries attended the workshop.
The large majority of delegates have provided
positive feedback on the technical aspects and
overall impact of the workshop, and declared
it will be useful for subsequent dissemination,
training and education activities in their
respective countries.
All material presented at the workshop –
including slide presentations, technical papers
and worked examples – is available to download
from the JRC Eurocodes website and linked from
the Eurocodes Expert web resources database.
For further information contact eurocodes@jrc.it,
or visit http://eurocodes.jrc.ec.europa.eu. H
be using the codes before the full implementation
date in March 2010, and 25% said they did not
anticipate using them at all.
The vast majority of respondents designed
buildings, followed by piling, liquid-retaining
structures, tanks, crane-supporting structures,
bridges, pipelines, geotechnical works, silos,
towers, masts and chimneys. Steel and concrete
were the leading materials followed by timber,
masonry, composite steel and concrete and
aluminium.
Nearly three quarters (73%) of respondents had
been professionally qualified for at least 10 years,
70% were structural engineers and 54% were
working in design consultancies. H
www.eurocodes.co.uk
NEWS FROM
CEN/TC250
by Jean-Armand Calgaro, Chairman CEN/TC250
With all 58 Eurocode
parts having been
available since mid-
2007, the Eurocode
drafting committee
of the European
Committee for
Standardization
(CEN/TC250) has
been carrying out
maintenance activity, including producing
corrigenda and amendments. It has also
formed a strategy for promotion and further
harmonisation and development of the
Eurocodes.
CEN/TC250 first debated plans for a
Eurocode strategy at the Eurocode national
correspondents meeting held in Brussels
during June 2008, and a preliminary report
was presented and discussed at the
committee’s meeting in Malta in November
2008. The first ‘official’ draft was sent to the
European Commission and presented at the
national correspondents meeting in Brussels
in January 2009.
Entitled The Eurocodes and the construction
industry – medium-term strategy 2008–2013, the
report can be considered a starting point for
the development and promotion of Eurocodes.
Now known as the ‘white book’, it is a living
document and its content may evolve, but the
strategy will not fundamentally change.
New generation of Eurocodes
The report sets the basis for developing
and publishing a new generation of structural
Eurocodes between 2015 and 2020. In addition
to revising and evolving the existing set of
Eurocodes, work is planned to start next year
on developing additional codes and parts
covering design of glass, fibre-reinforced
polymers and membrane structures as well
as assessment and retrofitting of existing
structures.
Other potential new Eurocode developments
highlighted in the report include very-high-
performance concrete, deepening the
concept of robustness and incorporation of
ISO standards – such as atmospheric icing
of structures and actions from waves and
currents on coastal structures.
Extensive feedback has been received
from nine countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands,
Portugal, Sweden and the UK. In general, the
comments are positive and encouraging. A
synthesis of the comments is being prepared
for the CEN/TC250 meeting in Pisa on 25–26
May 2009, and a new general agreement
should be established between the European
Commission and CEN before the end of 2009.
For further information please contact
the author email jean-armand.calgaro@
developpement-durable.gouv.fr. H
APRIL 2009 ISSUE 8 eurocodesnews 3
EUROCODE EXPERT CONTENT PARTNER UPDATES
Institution of
Structural Engineers
by Sue Doran, Director, Technical and Engineering
Branch champions
Each of the Institution of Structural Engineer’s
18 branches within the UK and Republic of
Ireland has appointed a Eurocode champion
responsible for coordinating Eurocode-related
activities within their branch and sharing
information between branches.
During 2009 the branches will be organising
a variety of evening technical meetings and
seminars to assist structural engineers make the
transition to using Eurocodes by March 2010.
Design manuals
Work on the provision of design manuals
continues. The Institution has already
Institution of Civil Engineers
by Amrit Ghose, Chairman, Structures Expert Panel
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) continues
to raise awareness of Eurocodes, highlight issues
and support education and training through its
structures expert panel and management of
the joint ICE / Institution of Structural Engineers
Eurocodes Expert website and Users’ Group.
Wind loading conference
ICE and the Wind Engineering Society are
holding a one-day meeting on the the new
Eurocode wind loading code, BS EN 1991-1-4,
in London on 11 May 2009. The main themes
to be covered are wind structure, pressure
coefficients, wind response, special structures
and calibration as well as the national annex
background document PD 6688-1-4.
The conference is not intended to be a walk
through the code, but a detailed review of
the principles behind it and an explanation of the
reasons for adopting the national annex. Further
details can be found in the Eurocodes Expert
events database and at http://events.ice.org.uk/
windloading
Bridge design conference 2010
As I mentioned in issue 7, ICE is planning a
major conference on Eurocode design of bridges
– and the date has now been provisionally
scheduled for April 2010. The aim is for this to be
the conference of record, putting the background
information to implementation of Eurocodes for
British bridge design into the public domain.  n Designers’ guide to Eurocode 1: Actions on
The intention is for the conference papers
to provide a reference source for practising
engineers for many years to come – in the same
way that the 1980 Cardiff conference did for
design of steel bridges to BS 5400. Details will
be announced through Eurocodes Expert in due
course.
New Eurocode 2 and 3 courses
ICE subsidiary Thomas Telford has launched
four new Eurocodes courses on designing
published Manual for the design of concrete
building structures to Eurocode 2, Manual
for the design of timber building structures to
Eurocode 5 and Manual for the design of plain
masonry in building structures to Eurocode 6
– see the Eurocodes Expert publications
database www.eurocodes.co.uk/publications.
aspx for details.
Manual for the design of building structures
to Eurocode 1, Manual for the seismic design
of steel and concrete buildings to Eurocode 8
and Manual for the design of steelwork building
structures to Eurocode 3 will be published
in 2009. Work on a manual for Eurocode 7
(geotechnics) is just starting.
concrete and steel structures to Eurocodes 2
and 3 respectively. The four courses have been
developed from the existing one-day events on
the codes, which have now evolved into a higher-
level one-day ‘essentials’ course and a more-
detailed two-day ‘workshop’ event.
The first ‘Design of Steel Structures to
Eurocode 3 – The Essentials’ course took
place in London on 21 April 2009, after which
‘Design of Concrete Structures to Eurocode
2 – The Essentials’ debuted in Ascot on 23 April.
‘Design of Steel Structures to Eurocode 3 – The
Workshop’ is being launched on 9–10 June in
Birmingham with ‘Design of Concrete Structures
to Eurocode 2 – The Workshop’ following on
23–24 June 2009, again in Birmingham.
Further details of all Thomas Telford courses
can be found in the Eurocodes Expert events
database and at www.tttrain.co.uk.
Designers’ guides for 2009
Thomas Telford still plans to complete its
comprehensive series of 14 Eurocode Expert
designers’ guides this year. The final three titles
scheduled for publication in 2009 are as follows.
n Designers’ guide to Eurocode 1: Actions on
Structures, Actions on buildings (except
wind)EN 1991-1.1, 1991-1.3 and 1991-1.5 to
1.7, by Gulvanessian, Calgaro, Formichi and
Harding.
Bridges, Traffic and railway loads and other
actions on bridges, EN 1991-2, EN 1991-1.3
and EN 1991-1.5 to 1.7 by Calgaro, Tschumi,
Shetty and Gulvanessian.
n Designers’ guide to Eurocode 6: Design of
masonry structures EN 1996 by Morton and
Gulvanessian.
In addition a guide entitled Practical design
of timber structures to Eurocode 5 by Danish
experts Hans Jørgen Larsen and Vahik Enjily is
www.eurocodes.co.uk
Wind annex data
The Institution has made the UK national annex
data for Eurocode wind actions freely available on its
website together with a calculator. The seven Excel
spreadsheet files contain the public-domain data
used to plot the wind map and wind-factor graphs
in the national annex for BS EN 1991-1-4, which BSI
British Standards published in September 2008.
An interpolator application from RWDI Anemos,
called ENCalculator2, is also available for free
download. This logarithmically interpolates
within the data figures and can be used to test
interpolation procedures.
For further information please or visit
www.istructe.org/eurocodes. H
due to be published in May 2009.
Details of all guides are in the Eurocodes
Expert publications database and at
www.ttbooks.co.uk.
EN 1990 amended
Finally, as reported on page 2 of this issue,
the European Committee for Standardization
published a corrigenda to the head Eurocode, EN
1990, in December 2008 following lobbying by the
ICE structures expert panel and the Association
for Consultancy and Engineering
The change should ensure that engineers avoid
a potentially uninsurable ‘fitness for purpose’
liability when using the Eurocodes in Britain.
For further information please contact Alison
Brown on +44 20 7665 2231, email alison.brown@
ice.org.uk or visit www.ice.org.uk and
www.thomastelford.com. H
ICE subsidiary
Thomas Telford
is about to
publish Practical
design of timber
structures to
Eurocode 5
APRIL 2009 ISSUE 8 eurocodesnews 4
EUROCODE EXPERT CONTENT PARTNER UPDATES

INTERNATIONAL MASONRY SOCIETY AND

BRICK DEVELOpmENT ASSOCIATION
by John Haynes, International Masonry Society, and Ali Arasteh, Brick Development Association

As reported in issue 7, continuing efforts are with lectures and continuing professional
being made by the UK masonry industry to development courses to schools of engineering
promote the use of Eurocode 6 through seminars, and architecture, practicing engineers and
lectures and publications. architects.

New guide published Brussels seminar

In March 2009, the International Masonry
Society (IMS) in conjunction with the National
House-Building Council published a new guide
entitled Eurocode for masonry, EN 1996-1-1 and
EN 1996-2, Guidance and worked examples. The
price is £45 or £35 for IMS members – see the
Eurocodes Expert publications database at
www.eurocodes.co.uk/publications.aspx or
www.masonry.org.uk for more details.
The guide provides advice and worked examples
for the rules and execution parts of Eurocode 6,
and is an excellent companion to the Institution
of Structural Engineers’ Manual for the design of
plain masonry in buildings structures to Eurocode
6 – which was published with the support of the UK
masonry industry in February 2008.
As reported on page 3, the European
Commission’s Joint Research Centre also held
a Eurocode 6 seminar on 2–3 April 2009 in
Brussels to disseminate information on the code
to trainers. Over 100 people attended including
delegates from Russia and Canada.
For more information please visit www.
eurocode6.org, contact the IMS on +44 20 8660
3633, email secretary@masonry.org.uk, or the
Brick Development Association on +44 20 7323
7033, email brick@brick.org.uk. H

London seminars
An IMS seminar in November 2008 at
the Department of Communities and Local
Government in London highlighted the differences
between the existing national standard BS
5628 and Eurocode 6. After the success of that
event, the Society held a second seminar at the The International
Institution of Civil Engineers in March 2009 with Masonry Society
and NHBC have
the aim of introducing Eurocode 6 to practising recently published
engineers. Both seminars were well attended new guidance and
worked example
and feedback has been very positive. for parts 1-1 and 2 Eurocode-designed structural brickwork at St Pancras station
The Brick Development Association continues of Eurocode 6 in London

The Concrete Centre

by Charles Goodchild, Principal Structural Engineer

The transition from British standards to
Eurocodes continues to gather pace.
As I reported in issue 7, BSI British Standards
declared in June 2008 that BS 8110 – the previous
UK design code for structural concrete – was
obsolescent. According to BSI, a declaration
of obsolescence indicates the standard is not
recommended for use in new ‘equipment’ but
needs to be retained for the servicing of existing
‘equipment’ that is expected to have a long
working life. For ‘equipment’ read ‘structures’.
BSI plans to withdraw BS 8110 and other
structural concrete design codes on or about
31 March 2010. ‘Withdrawn’ indicates that a
standard is no longer current and has been
superseded by another standard or is no longer
relevant to industry. It will also no longer be
supported by a committee, which means that it
will not undergo a five-year review. The standard
is not necessarily unsafe, but will increasingly
become outdated and therefore not current best
practice.
Eurocode 2 now best practice
Eurocode 2: Design of concrete structures –
Part 1-1: General – Common rules and rules for
building and civil engineering structures has
been available in the UK as BS EN 1992-1-1: 2004
since December 2004. Its national annex has
been available since December 2005 and the last
particularly relevant national annex for designing
building structures – that for BS EN 1991-1-4
on wind actions – has been available since
September 2008.
The four parts of Eurocode 2 together with
their national annexes and supporting documents
are thus now seen as current best-practice
design, and their use will become increasingly
popular both in the UK and worldwide.
It is understood that the 2010 revision to the
UK Building Regulations approved document A
will cite compliance with the Eurocodes as being
‘deemed to satisfy’. Withdrawn British standards
will not be cited, but in the short term may be
acceptable to checking authorities by agreement.
Execution standard imminent
The Eurocodes are intended to be used in
combination with new European execution
standards. The European Committee for
Standardization (CEN) is fast-tracking the approval
process of the draft EN 13670 Execution of
concrete structures, and publication is anticipated
by mid 2009. It is likely that the standard will permit
a national application document allowing for each
country’s traditional specifications.
In the UK, the national application document
for EN 13670 is likely refer to specifications such
as the National Structural Concrete Specification,
the National Building Specification, the Highways
Agency’s Design Manual for Roads and Bridges,
the Civil Engineering Specification for the Water
Industry and rail specifications, as deemed
appropriate.
For further information please contact
The Concrete Centre on 0845 812 0000, email
enquires@concretecentre.com or visit
www.concretecentre.com. H

www.eurocodes.co.uk APRIL 2009 ISSUE 8 eurocodesnews 5

EUROCODE EXPERT CONTENT PARTNER UPDATES
The Steel Construction Institute
by John Moran, Senior Manager of Information Technology
Steel NCCI website launched
The UK steel sector has just launched a
free website providing non-contradictory
complementary information (NCCI) for Eurocode
steelwork design in the UK (see issue 7). The site
at www.steel-ncci.co.uk is referenced directly
from the UK national annexes to several parts of
Eurocodes 3 (steel) and 4 (composite) and currently
contains 51 pieces of key NCCI.
Written and maintained by the Steel Construction
Institute (SCI), the site is fully searchable by
keywords and Eurocode part. It has provision for
historical tracking of NCCI over time and users can
also request a new NCCI if they are unable to find
the information they need.
Better access to Access Steel
Design offices can now put a free search box
on their websites or intranets for Access Steel,
the European steel industry’s Eurocodes 3 and 4
website at www.access-steel.com.
Users simply type in their search word or phrase
to find and use over 250 design resources – no
registration is required. Email manager Christine
Roszykiewicz at croszykiewicz@CTICM.com to
request a free search box.
Electronic Blue Book
SCI and IHS have launched an electronic version
the SCI Euro Blue Book, which gives section
properties and member capacities in tabular form
for designing to the general part of Eurocode 3, BS
EN 1993-1-1:2005.
Designers are able to customise the publication,
creating and storing bespoke tables for particular
element geometries. The tables are contextually
linked to guidance notes to help users understand
the capacity figures given and any unfamiliar terms.
Timber Research and
Development Association
by Keerthi Ranasinghe, Senior Structural Engineer
BSI British Standards published an amended
version of Eurocode 5: Design of timber
structures – Part 1-1: General – Common rules
and rules for buildings in January 2009. The new
BS EN 1995-1-1:2004+A1:2008 contains some
significant changes to which design engineers
need to pay heed – failure to do so will result in
incorrect interpretations being made.
Reduced shear strength
The ‘previous’ BS EN 1995-1-1:2004 (including
a corrigendum of June 2006) did not consider
the possibility of splitting in shear. A factor
reducing the shear strength was therefore
much anticipated and has now been introduced
through an effective-width reduction factor in
clause 6.1.7(2). It is understood BSI will publish
a value for this factor in a revision to the UK
national annex later in 2009.
Critical bending moment calculator
SCI has enhanced its online Eurocode 3 design
aids with a spreadsheet that calculates critical
bending moments (MCR). This is an important
parameter not found in BS EN 1993-1-1:2005 or its
national annexe.
The spreadsheet procedure is suitable for UKB
and UKC sections with non-destabilising loads. It
is available on the SCI’s Steelbiz website at www.
steelbiz.org and is freely available to SCI members.
Eurocode software accreditation
SCI has launched a Eurocode software
accreditation service in preparation for the
imminent launch of a wide range of new computer-
aided design programmes.
The service involves running the software
against standardised hand calculations and then
benchmarking against SCI software performance.
Standard designs will be accredited through the
award of an ‘SCI Assessed’ quality mark.
SCI’s online Eurocode design aids now include a spreadsheet for
calculating critical bending moments
Round timber removed
Round timber cross-sections were mentioned
in the previous version of BS EN 1995-1-1 but
they are now no longer referred to. Also with-
drawn is the reference to the draft 2002 stand-
ard EN 14544 Timber structures – Structural tim-
ber with round-cross section – Requirements.
Simpler compression strength
One of the most noticeable amendments is
to clause 6.1.5 on compression perpendicular
to the grain. This reduces the complexity of
the calculation of perpendicular compression
stresses and capacities.
The use of an effective contact area in place
of the actual contact area in calculating the
stresses is emphasised. The calculation of kc,90
is also much simplified – a marked reduction
from the full four pages of description given
previously.
www.eurocodes.co.uk
New light-gauge course
New Eurocode courses being run by SCI in 2009
include ‘Light gauge steel design’, which explains
the methods employed by BS 5950 and Eurocode 3
for designing light-gauge steel members in bending
and compression.
Details of all SCI Eurocode courses can be found
in the Eurocodes Expert events database at
www.eurocodes.co.uk/eventsandcourses.aspx.
Live online training trials
The EU Equesta project (www.equesta.eu), of
which SCI is a joint leader, is trialling the delivery of
live Eurocodes training sessions to users’ desks using
internet browser and communications technologies.
If your company would like to be involved in the
trials please contact Mary Brettle at m.brettle@
steel-sci.com.
For more information please contact SCI on
01344 636525, email advisory@steel-sci.org or visit
www.steel-sci.org. H
SCI has just launched an electronic version of the Euro Blue
Book, which provides section properties and capacities to
Eurocode 3
More on screwed connections
Most of the previous rules for axially loaded
screws are now listed in clause 8.7 on screwed
connections as ‘principles’, with an additional fail-
ure mode – buckling failure of a screw loaded in
compression. Also, minimum end-distance rules
for axially loaded screws are added, although such
information is no longer given for screws in end grain.
A distinction is now made between the inner
thread diameter and the outer thread diameter,
rather than relying on the outer diameter alone.
Characteristic withdrawal capacity is now
expressed in terms of withdrawal strength
perpendicular to grain rather than at an angle. A
new term, ‘associated density’, is used to normalise
the strengths for different materials.
For a full listing of the changes or further
information contact Trada Technology on +44 1494
569600, email kranasinghe@trada.co.uk or visit the
news page at www.trada.co.uk. H
APRIL 2009 ISSUE 8 eurocodesnews 6
EUROCODES EXPERT NEWS

ASSOCIATION FOR STRUCTURAL

ENGINEERS OF LONDON BOROUGHS
by Barry Ayres, Chairman
Members of the Association for Structural
Engineers of London Boroughs (Aselb) – who
comprise chartered structural engineers working
for London’s 33 boroughs – are attending seminars
and workshops to familiarise themselves with
processing Eurocode designs.
As I reported in issue 7, questionnaires were
sent to the engineering and building control
departments of each London borough last year
to assess and coordinate training needs for
Aselb members prior to the switch to Eurocodes
and associated execution standards in March
2010. Based on the information received, the
Association has planned a series of seminars
covering the full range of structural materials
designed to Eurocodes.
The series started with the spring conference
on 24 April 2009 at the Institution of Structural
Engineers, which focused on execution of
concrete repairs to the new 10-part BS EN 1504, the essential support resources available through
Products and systems for the repair and protection Eurocode Expert invaluable.
of concrete structures, and structural steel design Aselb’s steering group comprises chairman
to Eurocode 3. Particular emphasis was placed on Barry Ayres of Bromley, deputy chairman Steve
loading combinations, materials and specification, Davis of Enfield, secretary George Furmanski of
beam design and simple rules for checking. Greenwich, treasurer Jaspal Sehmi of Newham,
seminar convenor Colin Palmer of Redbridge and
Eurocode designs starting to come in seminar organiser John Peck of Havering.
The questionnaires also revealed that London For further information please contact Barry
boroughs have started to receive a trickle of Ayres on +44 20 8313 4529, email barry.ayres@
planning applications for structures designed to bromley.gov.uk or visit www.aselb.com. H
Eurocodes. The number of such applications is
expected to increase dramatically next spring
when part A of the UK Building Regulations is
revised to include all Eurocodes.
Aselb is looking at many other ways in which
to help its members to achieve consistency in
structural calculation checking and customer
service across London. The Association considers

Barry Haseltine speaking at

the JRC masonry Eurocodes
event in Brussels in April 2009
(see page 3)

Eurocodes publications update

Eurocodes Expert aims to provide details of all significant publications relating to Eurocodes, including guide books, journal papers and articles. Several of
the documents are free to download via the Eurocodes Expert website at www.eurocodes.co.uk/publications.aspx, which also includes contact details
for all other publications. Listed below are new publications which have appeared since the last issue (no. 7) of Eurocodes News in October 2008. Please
let Eurocodes Expert know of any relevant new publications.
Date Title Author Publisher Cost

October 2008 Refining shear strength characteristic value using experience Baxter D, Dixon N, Fleming P, Cromwell K ICE/Thomas Telford £25

November 2008 An adequate theory for the shear strength of reinforced concrete structures Collins M, Bentz E, Sherwood E, Xie L ICE/Thomas Telford £25

December 2008 BS EN 1090-2:2008 Execution of steel structures and aluminium structures. BSI British Standards BSI British Standards £228
Technical requirements for the execution of steel structures

December 2008 PD 6688-1-7:2009 Recommendations for the design of structures to BS EN 1991-1-7 BSI British Standards BSI British Standards £84

December 2008 GD6: Vibration in floors (Eurocode 5) Trada Technology Trada Technology £25

Decemer 2008 Simplified fire design for composite hollow-section columns Aribert J, Renaud C, Zhao B ICE/Thomas Telford £25

January 2009 BSI structural Eurocodes companion BSI British Standards BSI British Standards Free

January 2009 Ship impact protection for Hungerford Bridge, London, UK Parker J ICE/Thomas Telford £25

January 2009 Strategies for the management of bridges and vehicular impacts Ghose A ICE/Thomas Telford £25

February 2009 Steel-fibre-reinforced concrete coupling beams subjected to monotonic loading Kuang J, Baczkowski B ICE/Thomas Telford £25

March 2009 Eurocode for masonry, EN 1996-1-1 and EN 1996-2, Guidance and worked examples International Masonry Society International Masonry Society / £45
National House-Building Council

April 2009 Load-bearing capacity of plain concrete walls Hegger J, Dressen T, Will N ICE/Thomas Telford £25

www.eurocodes.co.uk APRIL 2009 ISSUE 8 eurocodesnews 7

EUROCODES NEWS

Eurocodes events
Listed below are all forthcoming Eurocode-related training events listed on the Eurocodes Expert online database for 2009. Further details are available on the
Eurocodes Expert website at www.eurocodes.co.uk/eventsandcourses.aspx. Please contact Eurocodes Expert if you know of any other Eurocode-related
events organised by recognised construction industry associations.
Date Title Organiser Venue Cost
11 May 2009 New Eurocode on wind loading ICE/Wind Engineering Society London £99
12 May 2009 Optimising the properties of concrete to Eurocode 2 The Concrete Centre London Free
12 May 2009 Preparation for Eurocode 3: steel design IStructE/Professional Solutions London £230
13 May 2009 Building design to Eurocode 2: theory and background to the UK annex IStructE/Professional Solutions London £230
13 May 2009 The basis of structural design: Eurocode EN 1990 ICE/Thomas Telford London £275
13–14 May 2009 Essential steelwork design The Steel Construction Institute Manchester £400
14 May 2009 Actions on structures: Eurocode 1 ICE/Thomas Telford London £275
19–20 May 2009 Hands on with timber designs to EC5 Trada/Professional Solutions London £443
21 May 2009 Steel building design to EC3 The Steel Construction Institute Cardiff £280
26 May 2009 Eurocode 4 : composite design IStructE/Professional Solutions London £230
09 June 2009 An introduction to Eurocode 1: actions on structures IStructE Cardiff Free
09–10 June 2009 Design of steel structures to Eurocode 3 – the workshop ICE/Thomas Telford Birmingham £440
09–10 June 2009 Essential steelwork design The Steel Construction Institute Glasgow £400
10 June 2009 Design of retaining walls to Eurocode 7 ICE/Thomas Telford Cambridge £275
10–12 June 2009 Design of bridges to Eurocodes ICE/Thomas Telford Bristol £875
11 June 2009 Geotechnical design to Eurocode 7 ICE/Thomas Telford Cambridge £275
11 June 2009 Steel building design to EC3 The Steel Construction Institute Southampton £280
18 June 2009 Light gauge steel design The Steel Construction Institute Reading £280
23 June 2009 EC4 composite design The Steel Construction Institute London £280
23–24 June 2009 Design of concrete structures to Eurocode 2 – the workshop ICE/Thomas Telford Birmingham £440
02 July 2009 Steel building design to EC3 The Steel Construction Institute Birmingham £280
07 July 2009 The basis of structural design: Eurocode EN 1990 ICE/Thomas Telford Birmingham £275
08 July 2009 Actions on structures: Eurocode 1 ICE/Thomas Telford Birmingham £275
16 July 2009 Design of steel structures to Eurocode 3 – the essentials ICE/Thomas Telford London £275
22 July 2009 Geotechnical design to Eurocode 7 ICE/Thomas Telford Wilmslow £275
23 July 2009 Design of retaining walls to Eurocode 7 ICE/Thomas Telford Wilmslow £275
11 August 2009 Design of concrete structures to Eurocode 2 – the essentials ICE/Thomas Telford Cambridge £275
02 September 2009 The basis of structural design: Eurocode EN 1990 ICE/Thomas Telford London £275
03 September 2009 Actions on structures: Eurocode 1 ICE/Thomas Telford London £275
08 September 2009 Geotechnical design to Eurocode 7 ICE/Thomas Telford London £275
09–11 September 2009 Design of bridges to Eurocodes ICE/Thomas Telford Wilmslow £875
10 September 2009 Design of retaining walls to Eurocode 7 ICE/Thomas Telford London £275
14–15 September 2009 Design of steel structures to Eurocode 3 – the workshop ICE/Thomas Telford London £440
15–16 September 2009 Design of concrete structures to Eurocode 2 – the workshop ICE/Thomas Telford London £440
16 September 2009 Design of structural masonry to Eurocode 6 ICE/Thomas Telford Wilmslow £275
06 October 2009 Steel building design to EC3 The Steel Construction Institute Glasgow £280
12–14 October 2009 Design of bridges to Eurocodes ICE/Thomas Telford London £875
13 October 2009 Steel building design to EC3 The Steel Construction Institute Dublin £280
20 October 2009 Geotechnical design to Eurocode 7 ICE/Thomas Telford Birmingham £275
20 October 2009 Light gauge steel design The Steel Construction Institute Derby £280
21 October 2009 Design of concrete structures to Eurocode 2 – the essentials ICE/Thomas Telford Birmingham £275
21 October 2009 Design of steel structures to Eurocode 3 – the essentials ICE/Thomas Telford Birmingham £275
21 October 2009 Design of retaining walls to Eurocode 7 ICE/Thomas Telford Birmingham £275
28 October 2009 Eurocode 4: composite design IStructE/Professional Solutions London £230
11 November 2009 Geotechnical design of foundations to Eurocode 7 IStructE/Professional Solutions London £230
12 November 2009 Detailing concrete to Eurocode 2 IStructE Salford Free
18–19 November 2009 Design of steel structures to Eurocode 3 – the workshop ICE/Thomas Telford Wilmslow £440
24 November 2009 The basis of structural design: Eurocode EN 1990 ICE/Thomas Telford Birmingham £275
25 November 2009 Actions on structures: Eurocode 1 ICE/Thomas Telford Birmingham £275
26 November 2009 Eurocode 5: timber design IStructE/Professional Solutions London £230
01–02 December 2009 Design of concrete structures to Eurocode 2 – the workshop ICE/Thomas Telford Wilmslow £440
02–04 December 2009 Design of bridges to Eurocodes ICE/Thomas Telford Birmingham £875
09 December 2009 Geotechnical design to Eurocode 7 ICE/Thomas Telford London £275

Constructive contributions to Eurocodes News are always welcomed and should be emailed to eurocodes.expert@eurocodes.co.uk.
This and previous issues of Eurocodes News are available online at the Eurocodes Expert website at www.eurocodes.co.uk.
Published by Eurocodes Expert, Thomas Telford, 40 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9TP
telephone +44 20 7665 2427, fax +44 20 7538 2847, email eurocodes.expert@eurocodes.co.uk.

www.eurocodes.co.uk APRIL 2009 ISSUE 8 eurocodesnews 8