Eurocodes - the new environment for structural design

After 25 years in the making, the suite of 10 European structural design st andards-generally known as the Eurocodes is at last becoming a reality. A t otal of 62 individual parts have been circulating in working draft form for several years but two have finally been converted to full EN (EuroNorm) st atus in October 2001. All other parts should be converted in a series of pa ckages by 2005 and, following a few years of coexistence, will replace all existing structural design standards in every EC member state by the end of the decade. This paper provides an introduction to the Eurocodes, describe s the potential benefits they offer to civil engineers and sets out the pro cess and timetable for implementation.