Eurocode 8: Design of structures for earthquake resistance

The extent of the protection that can be provided to different categories of buildings, which is only measurable in probabilistic terms, is a matter of optimal allocation of resources and is therefore expected to vary from country to country, depending on the relative importance of the seismic risk with respect to risks of other origin and on the global economic resources.

It is also applicable to the seismic design of cable-stayed and arched bridges, although its provisions should not be considered as fully covering these cases.

The scope of EN 1998-3 is defined as follows: In EN 1998-4, principles and application rules for the seismic design of the structural aspects of facilities composed of above-ground and buried pipeline systems and of storage tanks of different types and uses, as well as for independent items, such as for example single water towers serving a specific purpose or groups of silos enclosing granular materials are addressed.

EN 1998-5 establishes the requirements, criteria, and rules for the siting and foundation soil of structures for earthquake resistance.

EN 1998-6 establishes requirements, criteria, and rules for the design of tall slender structures: towers, including bell-towers, intake towers, radio and TV-towers, masts, chimneys (including free-standing industrial chimneys) and lighthouses.