RELIABILITY-BASED CODES IN THE UNITED STATES: CHALLENGES TO PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING PRACTICE

Abstract eng:
Structural reliability principles provide a unifying framework for addressing building safety and serviceability issues in modern codified design. Working together to improve structural design practice through the implementation of probability-based codes, researchers in reliability together with structural designers and code-writers have elevated both the practice of structural engineering and quality of reliability research to levels that otherwise would not have been possible. Probability-based limit states design criteria in the United States are found in the load combinations in ASCE Standard 7-05, Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures; in the AISC Specification for Structural Steel Buildings; and in ASCE Standard 16-95, LRFD for Engineered Wood Construction. The future will present exciting opportunities for the reliability community to build upon past successes and to work with code developers and structural engineers to improve the design and construction process. This paper discusses some of these opportunities in the context of structural codes and engineering design decisionmaking in North America.

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