Safety formats for nonlinear analysis tested on concrete beams subjected to shear forces and bending moments

Safety formats for nonlinear analysis have mainly been tested on beams and columns subjected to normal forces and bending moments. Therefore, it is unclear, whether available safety formats lead to the intended reliability when they are applied to structures that fail due to shear loading. To test available safety formats for nonlinear analysis, a tool was developed which allows a full probabilistic nonlinear analysis of beam sections subjected to arbitrary combinations of normal and shear forces as well as bending moments. Applying this tool to test the safety format according to EN 1992-2 on beams subjected to a combination of shear forces and bending moments showed that EN 1992-2 led to a reliability level that was lower than the target reliability. The safety format according to Schlune et al. (submitted for publication) [1] led to better agreement with the target reliability.

► A tool for full probabilistic analysis of concrete beam sections was developed.
► Safety formats were tested on beams subjected to shear forces and bending moments.
► The safety format for nonlinear analysis according EN 1992-2 led to unsafe results.
► The safety format according to Schlune [Schlune H. Safety Evaluation of Concrete Structures with Nonlinear Analysis. Ph.D. thesis. Gothenburg: Chalmers University of Technology; 2011.] led to the target reliability.