EC8

EC8 is commonly known as Eurocode 8, the European standard for the design of structures to resist earthquakes. It is part of the Eurocode family (EN 1998) published by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and adopted by European Union member states with national annexes that tailor provisions to regional seismicity and practice.

Scope and purpose: EC8 applies to structures in seismic regions, including new buildings, civil engineering works, and significant renovations where earthquake resistance is relevant. It provides principles and requirements aimed at ensuring safety, serviceability, and performance during and after seismic events.

Approach and content: The standard uses a limit-state design framework, addressing ultimate limit state (and, where appropriate, serviceability limit state) under seismic actions. Seismic actions are derived from site-specific hazard data and soil conditions. The code covers modelling approaches, structural analysis methods, materials and detailing, ductility and redundancy, and energy dissipation considerations to control damage and post-event functionality.

Structure: EC8 is organized into parts that cover general rules as well as design provisions for specific structure types, such as buildings and bridges, along with topics like assessment and retrofit and other special design situations.

Implementation and impact: Each country issues a national annex to reflect local hazard, practice, and regulations. EC8 is intended to be used alongside other Eurocodes to provide a comprehensive framework for seismic design, contributing to harmonization of practice across Europe and influencing non-European codes in some contexts.

See also: Eurocode, EN 1998 family, earthquake engineering.