Comparison of the reliability index between American codes and Chinese codes

Abstract

Abstract

The primary purpose of this research is to apply the reliability analysis techniques to the evaluation of two different series’ structural design codes using in America and China. This research is focused on two kinds of structures: beams and columns. For the objective, eight calculation examples were generated. They would be separately designed by Chinese codes (the GB50010-2010 & GB50009-2012) and American codes (ASCE 7-10 and ACI318-14). In the eight calculation examples, two of them were beam structures and the others were column structures. The GB 50010-2010 is the national code for design of concrete structures in China. The GB50009-2012 is the load code for design of building structures. They are widely used in structural design in China. The examples designed by Chinese codes would progress the load combination and determine the required resistance by GB50009-2012 (load code for design of building structures). Afterward, according to the GB50010-2010, reinforcement ratios were estimated. For the examples designed by American codes, the load combination and required resistance would be determined by ASCE 7-10, reinforcement ratio would be calculated based on ACI 318-14. In this research, the Monte Carlo method was used to evaluate the reliability index for examples. Then the reliability index for each example was applied to the sensitivity analysis, the results of which would give a good view for comparison of the two series’ codes.