FEATURE
Eurocode design factors and limits
National Annex to BS EN 1990 – Draft for Public Comment
Charles King
BSI has published the draft National Annex to BS EN 1990, Eurocode -
Basis of Structural Design. BS EN 1990 gives information required for
design in all materials covered by the Eurocodes.
The National Annex
• defines which load combinations should be used for Ultimate Limit
State and Serviceability Limit State,
• gives values for partial factors for loads,
• gives values for load combination factors ψ (“psi”),
• gives “guidance” for deflections.
Steel designers may find the biggest surprises in Table NA1, “Examples
of limiting values of vertical deflections”, and in Table NA2, “Examples
of limiting values of vertical and horizontal deflections”. The National
Annex states that “the serviceability criteria should be specified for
each project and agreed with the client. Tables NA1 and NA2 are given
below for guidance.” Although only given for guidance, such values
tend to become the limits used in almost all specifications.
Vertical deflections
Vertical deflection limits are given in Table NA1, Examples of limiting
values of vertical deflections. The values from a few categories in Table
NA1 are given in Table 1. The values in this table are for the total
deflection from dead plus live loads (“permanent plus variable loads” in
Eurocode terminology). They are clearly more onerous than the
“suggested limits” given in Table 8 of BS 5950-1: 2000 which are
calculated for imposed load only, three of which are given in Table 2.
Vertical deflections in longer span floors
For longer span structures, the proposed Table NA1 might cause less
concern because the dynamic response of a floor is often the governing
design criterion. Although minimum natural frequency alone cannot
guarantee acceptable dynamic response, it has been common practice to
design composite floors to a minimum natural frequency of 4Hz.
Natural frequency is often calculated using SCI P-076, Design Guide on
the Vibration of Floors, which recommends that the loading considered
for calculation of floor frequency is (Dead Load + 10% Imposed Load).
In many floors, (Dead Load + 10% Imposed Load) is approximately
equal to 0.5 (Dead Load + Imposed Load).
If an individual beam with a span of 10m were designed for a deflection
of L/300 under (Dead Load + Imposed Load), then the deflection under
Table 1. Vertical deflections: Values from Table NA1 of the Draft for Public Comment of the National Annex to BS EN 1990
Member supporting partition walls
• Brittle (not reinforced)
• Reinforced
• Removable
Ceilings
• Plastered
• Suspended
Roofing and Flooring
• Rigid (e.g. ceramic tiles)
• Flexible (e.g. flexible floor covering)
Table 2. Vertical deflections: Values from Table 8 of BS 5950-1: 2000
Cantilevers
Beams carrying plaster or other brittle finish
Other beams (except purlins and sheeting rails)
(Dead Load + 10% Imposed Load) would be approximately 0.5
(10,000/300) = 16.7mm. Therefore, the natural frequency, f, of the beam
is f = 18/√δ = 18/√16.7 = 4.4Hz. If the beam were part of an internal
floor bay of 10m x 10m with both primary and secondary beams, the
mode shape would be similar to Mode B of Design Example 2 in SCI P-
076. Allowing for the combined affects of the flexibility of the primary
beams, secondary beams and the slab, the resulting frequency of the
entire floor would be 4.0Hz, which is the design value commonly used in
practice for the design of a composite floor. Therefore, a limit of L/300
would not have affected the design of this floor. For a bay in which
Mode B could not be assumed, the span at which the limit of L/300
affects the design would be even less.
Horizontal deflections
Horizontal deflection limits are given in Table NA2, Examples of
limiting values of horizontal deflections. This contains no explicit
exclusion of portal frames as in Table 8 of BS 5950-1: 2000. However, the
condition of “no cracking in bearing walls without reinforcement” and
“no cracking in partitions” are not relevant to normal portal
construction or detailing.
Conclusions
The differences between the National Annex to BS EN 1990 and
BS 5950-1 are a cause for concern because they could result in increased
cost of structures without good reason. Therefore, the SCI encourages
member companies to study the Draft for Public Comment and respond
to BSI. (The SCI would also be glad to receive feedback either positive
or negative feedback from members on this topic.)
The document is: Draft BS EN 1990 National Annex to BS EN 1990:
Basis of Structural design. DPC: 03/700353 DC
It is obtainable from:
BSI, 389 Chiswick High Road, London W4 4AL
Telephone +44(0)20 8996 9000 Fax +44(0)20 8996 7001
The latest date for comments is 31 August 2003. The responsible
committee secretary is given as Mr M.K. Greenley. The document
contains guidance on the acceptable format for the submission of
comments on the second page.
Charles King, is Senior Manager – Standards, at The Steel Construction
Institute.
Vertical total deflection Calculated from
dead + imposed loads
≤ L/500
≤ L/300
≤ L/300
≤ L/300
≤ L/200
≤ L/500
≤ L/250
Vertical imposed load deflection
≤ L/180
≤ L/360
≤ L/200