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ACI Journal 100-s42
ACI Journal 100-s42
Calibration of the design code for concrete structures is presented from material tests performed in 2000 and 2001 (Nowak and
in two studies. The first one focused on the development of resistance Szerszen 2003). The quality of workmanship can have a strong
models. This paper deals with the reliability analysis and selection influence on materials, and it is assumed to be of average level.
of resistance factors. The structural types considered in this study
include beams, structural slabs, and columns. The analysis is
performed for reinforced concrete and prestressed concrete elements. CALIBRATION PROCEDURE
A wide range of materials is covered: ordinary concrete, high- The calibration procedure used for selection of resistance
strength concrete, lightweight concrete, reinforcing bars No. 3 factors is based on the structural reliability theory (Nowak and
through 11, and two grades of prestressing strands. The reliability Collins 2000). The calibration procedure includes five steps.
analysis requires the knowledge of the statistical parameters for First, the types of structural elements and materials covered
load and resistance. Resistance models are described in the first by ACI 318 Code are identified. It is important to select the
paper. In addition to the material parameters based on the new test representative dimensions and reinforcement ratios for
results, the parameters used in previous studies (1970s) were structural elements. Depending on the structural types, the
considered. Load models are based on the data available in literature. typical load component ratios D/(D + L) are determined,
Reliability indexes are calculated using various load combinations, where D = dead load effect and L = live load effect.
the basic combination of dead load and live load, and other
combinations with snow, wind, and earthquake for the two
The second step is to select the statistical models for load
resistance models considered (older database and new material components that are needed for reliability analysis. For each
database). The resulting values of the reliability index calculated time-varying load, two load components are considered: an
for the old data base and old load models, and potential consequences arbitrary-point-in-time value and the maximum lifetime value.
of failure, served as a basis for the selection of the target reli- The models include the mean value and coefficient of variation.
ability index. For each type of structural element and load combination It is assumed that the database for loads available in the
case, several possible values of the resistance factor were considered literature is sufficient for the purpose of this calibration. For
(rounded to the nearest 0.05). The recommended values provide a load combinations, Turkstras rule was applied (Turkstra 1970;
close fit to the target reliability levels. Turkstra and Madsen 1980; Nowak and Collins 2000).
The third step, selection of the resistance models, is one of
Keywords: analysis; load; resistance. the most important tasks in the calibration process. The
available database for material properties was reviewed. The
INTRODUCTION quality of materials (concrete and steel) has improved over the
This is the second of two papers presenting the calibration years and it is not reflected in the design formulas, particularly
of the Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete in the resistance factors. Therefore, this step in the calibration
(ACI 318). The first study (Nowak and Szerszen 2003) focused process included the collection of new material test results
on the development of the statistical models for resistance and redevelopment of statistical models for resistance.
including strength of materials: concrete (ordinary concrete, The next step in the calibration process focused on the
high-strength concrete, and lightweight concrete), reinforcing reliability analysis procedures. Various available procedures are
steel, and prestressing steel. This paper deals with the reliability presented in the literature (for example, Nowak and Collins
analysis and selection of resistance (strength reduction) factors. 2000; Thoft-Christensen and Baker 1982; Madsen, Krenk,
The 2002 edition of the Building Code Requirements for and Lind 1986; and Melchers 1987). In this study, safety was
Structural Concrete (ACI 318-02) specifies loads and load measured in terms of the reliability index.
combinations consistent with ASCE 7, Standard on Minimum The developed procedure was applied to calculate the
Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures (1998). reliability indexes for the considered structural types and
The objective of this calibration is to calculate a new set of materials, for various ratios of load components, designed
resistance factors (strength-reduction factors) based on a exactly according to ACI 318-99 (no under-design or over-
probabilistic analysis using the currently available statistical design). The analysis was performed for two sets of statistical
data, so that the reliability of designed elements is consistent models for resistance: 1) based on the material test data from
with a predetermined target level. 1970s and early 1980s; and 2) based on new material test data
The calibration procedure follows the basic steps as described provided by the industry and processed in conjunction
by Nowak and Collins (2000). Load and resistance parameters with this study.
are treated as random variables. Therefore, structural perfor-
mance is measured in terms of the reliability index (Nowak ACI Structural Journal, V. 100, No. 3, May-June 2003.
MS No. 02-177 received May 28, 2002, and reviewed under Institute publication
and Collins 2000). The statistical parameters of load are policies. Copyright 2003, American Concrete Institute. All rights reserved, including
based on the available literature, and for resistance, two the making of copies unless permission is obtained from the copyright proprietors.
Pertinent discussion including authors closure, if any, will be published in the March-
databases are considered: one from the 1970s, and the other April 2004 ACI Structural Journal if the discussion is received by November 1, 2003.
D (6)
D+L
D+L+S
D+L+W
D+L+E
Fig. 2Reliability indexes calculated for D + L load com-
bination; reinforced beam made of ordinary concrete (shear). D+L+S+W
D+L+S+E
Fig. 11Reliability indexes calculated for D + L + S + W Fig. 14Reliability indexes calculated for D + L + S + W
load combination (wind is dominating load); reinforced beam load combination (wind is dominating load); reinforced column
made of ordinary concrete (flexure). made of ordinary concrete (tied).
Fig. 12Reliability indexes calculated for D + L + S + W Fig. 15Reliability indexes calculated for D + L + S + W
load combination (wind is dominating load); reinforced beam load combination (wind is dominating load); reinforced column
made of ordinary concrete (shear). made of ordinary concrete (spiral).
and if it is very costly to increase , then even T that is lower in this study, however. Because of insufficient input data in
than an otherwise required value can be acceptable. The this study, the target reliability levels were selected on the
selection of the optimum T, however, requires a considerable basis of the existing code (ACI 318-99).
database. The code provisions in ACI 318 apply to various The calculated reliability indexes, presented in Table 3 and
types of structural components, and it is assumed that T is to be Fig. 1 to 20, represent element reliability as opposed to the
selected for primary members (important components), and the system reliability. The relationship between the element
failure of a component can cause failure of other components. reliability index e and system reliability index s depends on
For secondary members, T can be reduced. There is practically type of the system (parallel, series, or mixed) and degree
no basis available to determine the consequences of failure of correlation between the elements. In general, statically
and cost of safety for the structural components considered determinate structures can be treated as series systems, and s
It was observed that the reliability indexes are low for the ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
load combinations with dead load being approximately 80 to The research reported in this paper (PCA R&D Serial No.2634) was
90% of the total load, and with live load being 10 to 20%. To conducted by the authors, with the sponsorship of the Portland Cement
achieve uniform values of , it is recommended to replace Association (PCA Project Index No. 99-10) and the Precast/Prestressed
Concrete Institute. The contents of this paper reflect the views of the authors,
the first load combination in Eq. (2) (1.4D < R), with who are responsible for the facts and accuracy of the data presented. The
contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the Portland Cement Association
1.4 ( D + L ) < R (7) or the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute.