N° 129.1978. Contribution to the Conference on Trial and Comparison Calculations based on the CEB-FIP Model Code for Concrete Structures

The third edition of the CEB/FIP Recommendations, published as Volume II, Model Code for Concrete Structures, in May 1978, is the first CEB/FIP document produced explicitly in the form of a Code of Practice. It should be read in conjunction with Volume I, the Code for Structural Safety, and the Manual on Buckling.

The new CEB/FIP Model Code represents the culmination of 25 years of international code-drafting activities by CEB, based on research as well as the insight and experience of many distinguished engineers. It incorporates important innovative features, and it was therefore considered necessary to test the new Code and its application against established national Codes of Practice. This process also served to verify the cohesion and compatibility of the text within a broader international framework, based on a number of agreed design examples and standardized loading arrangements and magnitudes.

The work was carried out under the guidance of an international Steering Committee by teams of experienced design engineers in approximately 15 countries. Their critiques and conclusions, derived from these trial calculations, were incorporated into the final edition of the Model Code.

Indeed, the trial calculations can be regarded as a highly significant pioneering undertaking—a novel approach to the revision of Codes of Practice, particularly in the international context. They are expected to remain relevant in the future and to continue to be used by CEB and its associated international organisations.