Decoding the Eurocodes

Eurocodes: where they are and where they're going

This evening I will be delivering a lecture entitled 'Eurocodes: where they are and where they're going' on behalf of the South Branch - Geotechnical Group of ICE South East England. The venue is Room 1101 (L/T), Building 29, University of Southampton and the lecture starts at 18:00 hours (refreshments from 17:30 h).

The lecture will be a repeat of the 3rd ISSMGE webinar entitled 'Eurocode 7 - past, present, and future' that I delivered in December to an international audience of over 70 attendees.

Notes of the lecture/webinar can be downloaded from here.

Information about the book 'Decoding Eurocode 7' by Bond and Harris (2008), which provides a lot more detail about the 'present' of Eurocode 7, can be obtained from the book's dedicated website.

And if you are looking for training courses on the subject (online or classroom-based), please visit the training pages on the Geocentrix website (the next online 'Decoding Eurocode 7' course starts 9th February - here is a link to the booking form).

If you attended the lecture and would like to comment, please click the 'Comments' link below and tell me what you think. Feedback will be gratefully received!

Turkey joins CEN from 1st January 2012

The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) have granted full membership to the Turkish Standards Institution (TSE), as from 1st January 2012. TSE has been an affiliate of CEN and CENELEC since January 2008.

CEN and CENELEC now has national members in 32 European countries, covering more than 590 million consumers in total. These include all 27 countries of the European Union and three countries of the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) plus two EU candidate countries (Croatia and Turkey).

This is an important step towards the full participation of Turkey in the European Single Market.

Merry Xmas everyone!

Google found this blue tree outside the European Parliament. What could be more appropriate? Happy Xmas!

Past, present, and future of Eurocode 7

Today, I will be delivering the 3rd ISSMGE webinar entitled 'Eurocode 7 - past, present, and future'. The webinar commences at 3pm GMT and already has around 140 delegates booked to attend.

Notes of the webinar are now available to download from here.

Information about the book 'Decoding Eurocode 7' by Bond and Harris (2008), which provides a lot more detail about the 'present' of Eurocode 7, can be obtained from the book's dedicated website.

The Thomas Telford 'Designers' Guide to Eurocode 7' by Frank et al. (2002) can be purchased from Amazon.

And if you are looking for training courses on the subject - now available for online or classroom delivery - please visit the training pages on the Geocentrix website (the next online 'Decoding Eurocode 7' course starts 26th January - here is a link to the booking form).

If you attended the webinar and would like to comment on it, please click the 'Comments' link below and tell me what you think. Feedback will be gratefully received!

Adoption of Eurocodes should facilitate work opportunities across Europe

Manuela Chiarello has written to NCE Letters (17/11/11):

'Engineering is intrinsically a very "flexible" and "exportable" profession. Codes of practice may vary, but knowledge from first principles and professional experience acquired in a specific engineering field are always valid. The adoption of Eurocodes should facilitate mobility and work opportunities across Europe'

Need for engineers to understand geology and for geologists to understand design

Peter Scott (Buro Happold) is reported in a news article in New Civil Engineer (17/11/11 issue) as saying:

'With the arrival of the Eurocodes there is a need for engineers to understand geology and for geologists to understand design. Eurocode 7 demands that there is continuity and communication between the data collection, design and construction operations. This takes the industry back to how it was in the 1970s when design engineers had a broader knowledge and were less specialist'

Peter was speaking at the CIRIA (Construction Industry and Information Association) conference on geotechnical issues in construction.

Delft Workshop over next two days

Tomorrow morning, at the crack of dawn, I fly off to Delft University of Technology, to attend the Workshop on 'Safety Concepts and Calibration of Partial Factors in European and North American Codes of Practice'. The Workshop runs from Wednesday lunchtime to Thursday lunchtime.

The programme is as follows:

Day 1

• M. A. Hicks: Opening
• G. A. Fenton: Load and Resistance Factor Geotechnical Design Code Development in Canada
• S. Paikowsky: LRFD Calibration and Implementation of Strength and Serviceability Limit States -Review of Research and Lessons Learned
• A. J. van Seters: The Dutch approach on geotechnical design by Eurocode 7
• J.-P. Magnan: Implementation of Eurocode 7 in French practice by means of national additional standards
• Discussion on topics of day one

Day 2

• B. Simpson: Reasons for British choices of design approach and partial factors
• B. Gajewska: Eurocode 7 and Polish Practice
• K. Lesny: Implementation of Eurocode 7 in Germany and consequences for practical design
• H. Schneider: Dealing with uncertainties in EC7 with emphasis on characteristic values
• T. Orr: Experiences with the implementation of Eurocode 7 in Europe
• A. J. Bond: Evolution of Eurocode 7
• Final discussion
• B. Simpson: Closure

Where in the world are ... the investigation and testing standards? (2011 update)

CEN TC 341 is producing a raft of International/European Standards that are heavily referenced by Eurocode 7. The information below summarizes where these documents have got to in their development process (based on the latest TC 341 progress report dated October 2011).

These are the 52 standards covered by TC 341. Published documents are shown in bold, with their dates of publication in (brackets); documents still under development are shown in italics.

EN 14688 Identification and classification of soil

• -1 Identification of soil (Aug 2008, confirmed until Oct 2013)
• -2 Classification principles of soil (Jul 2004, confirmed until Oct 2013)
• -3 Electronic data exchange (deleted)

EN 14689 Identification and classification of rock

• -1 Identification of rock (Dec 2003, confirmed until Oct 2013)
• -2 Electronic data exchange (deleted)

EN 17892 Laboratory testing (Technical Specifications)

• -1 Water content (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)
  • working draft of prEN by end 2011
• -2 Density of fine grained soils (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)
  • working draft of prEN by end 2011
• -3 Density of solid particles (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)
  • working draft of prEN by end 2011
• -4 Particle size distribution (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)
• -5 Oedmometer test (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)
• -6 Fall cone test (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)
  • working draft of prEN by end 2011
• -7 Compression test (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)
• -8 Unconsolidated triaxial test (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)
• -9 Consolidated triaxial test (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)
• -10 Direct shear test (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)
• -11 Permeability test (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)
• -12 Atterberg limits (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)

EN 22282 Geohydraulic testing

• -1 General rules (sent for UAP, May 2011)
• -2 Permeability tests using open systems (sent for UAP, May 2011)
• -3 Water pressure test (sent for UAP, May 2011)
• -4 Pumping tests (sent for UAP, May 2011)
• -5 Infiltrometer tests (sent for UAP, May 2011)
• -6 Permeability tests using closed systems (sent for UAP, May 2011)
• -X Geothermal testing methods for geothermal heat exchanger (to be sent for enquiry)
• -Y Installation of geotechnical monitoring measurements (working draft pending adoption)
• -Z Drilling parameters recording (working draft pending adoption)

EN 22475 Sampling and groundwater measurement

• -1 Sampling - principles (Sep 2006)
• -2 Sampling - qualification criteria (Sep 2006, confirmed until Oct 2012)
• -3 Sampling - conformity assessement (Dec 2007, confirmed until Oct 2013)

EN 22476 Field testing

• -1 Electrical cone penetration tests (sent for UAP, Oct 2011)
• -2 Dynamic probing (Jan 2005, confirmed until Oct 2015, amendment due 2012)
• -3 Standard penetration test (Jan 2005, confirmed until Oct 2015, amendment due 2012)
• -4 Menard pressuremeter test (sent for UAP, Oct 2011)
• -5 Flexible dilatometer test (sent for UAP, Oct 2011)
• -6 Self-boring pressurement test (activation pending)
• -7 Borehole jack test (sent for UAP, Oct 2011)
• -8 Full displacement pressurement test (activation pending)
• -9 Field vane test (enquiry Jul 2009, formal vote Jan 2012)
• -10 Weight sounding test (May 2005, confirmed until Oct 2011)
• -11 Flat dilatometer test (May 2005, confirmed until Oct 2011)
• -12 Mechanical cone penetration test (May 2009)
• -13 Plate loading test (no progress)
• -X Phicometer shearing test (Technical Specification, work item pending)
• -Y Menard pressuremeter test with an unload-reload loop (working draft pending adoption)

EN 22477 Testing of geotechnical structures

• -1 Pile load test - static axially loaded compression test (deleted - no progress)
• -2 Pile load test - static axially loaded tension test (no progress)
• -3 Pile load test - static transversally loaded test (no progress)
• -4 Pile load test - dynamically axially loaded compression test (no progress)
• -5 Testing of anchorages (enquiry Sep 2009, expected Oct 2012)
• -6 Testing of nailing (no progress)
• -7 Testing of reinforced fill (no progress)
• -X Pile load test - rapid axially loaded compression test (working draft pending adoption)

ISSMGE webinar: Eurocode 7 – past, present, and future

On Monday 19^th December 2011, I will be giving an online lecture entitled "Eurocode 7 – past, present, and future" on behalf of the International Society of Soil Mechancis and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE). The lecture will be delivered twice on the same day, at 9 am and 4 pm GMT,  so that as many people can attend throughout the world.

The lecture will provide a brief review of the development of Eurocode 7 and – in particular – the way it fits in with the development of other European standards for structural design, ground investigation and testing, and execution of geotechnical works. Some of the more important technical questions relating to the implementation of Eurocode 7 into design practice will be discussed and suggestions made for their possible resolution. Finally, the work that is currently underway to evolve the next generation of Eurocodes will be described.

I will post a link to the seminar's webpage when ISSMGE has set one up.

Performance-based design in geotechnical engineering

The title of the next Rankine Lecture, to be delivered by Professor Malcolm Bolton of Cambridge University on Wednesday 21st March 2012, has been announced as 'Performance-based design in geotechnical engineering'.

In this lecture, Bolton will argue that an assessment of geotechnical performance must involve ground displacements, and that the traditional approach of specifying safety factors is potentially wasteful.

'In particular, the Limit State Design (LSD) approach adopted in the Eurocodes will be shown to lack objectivity and therefore to be inadequate to the needs of clients and society at large'

Improvements will be proposed through the adoption of Mobilizeable Strength Design (MSD) principles in which the designer explicitly considers the stress-strain behaviour of the ground. Examples of the application of MSD will include earth retaining structures, slopes and foundations.

Something to look forward to!