TOWARDS THE NEW GENERATION OF EUROCODE 7

Abstract

Between 1991. and 1999., three versions of the Construction Eurocodes were published as pre-norms ("EuroNorm Vornnorm", ENV). The duration of each version was 3 years, when they could be used but without the status of fully adopted European Norms (EN). The experiences gained during the application of these pre-norms were used to harmonize and modify the pre-norms according to the final form of the European Norms (EN). Many pre-norms underwent significant changes and revisions until the final transformation into the fully adopted European Norm (EN). Work on the final version of the Construction Eurocodes began in June 1996 and continued until November 2006, when the final part of Eurocode 9 was ratified. International working group CEN TC250 (European Committee for Standardization) works on the new generation of Eurocode 7, after the shortcomings were noticed and the problems that appeared during the application of the current Eurocode 7 were considered in detail. The standard has been reorganized so that it now consists of three parts (instead of 2), new chapters were added (methods for soil improvement, the influence of groundwater), design rules were simplified, "alternative" methods were avoided, and the selection of nationally determined parameters was reduced. The paper presents the key changes in relation to the current Eurocode.