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DIANA User's Manuals

Material Safety Factors

Material safety factors are defined in sets and applied to specific material properties according to the Eurocode [53]. These factors account for the material property uncertainties which are present in the reinforced concrete. Material safety factors can be used in structural analysis and design checking analyses [Checking Design Analysis].

The type of a safety factor set must be defined as either Serviceability Limit State (SLS) or Ultimate Limit State (ULS) [Limit States]. For either type, Diana automatically sets up the corresponding defaults according to the Eurocode.

Each material safety factor set contains the following partial factors:

  • safety factor on the concrete stiffness

  • safety factor on the concrete tensile strength

  • safety factor on the concrete compressive strength

  • safety factor on the reinforcement stiffness

  • safety factor on the reinforcement yield strength

The safety factors are applicable to concerete material models and reinforcement. This means that the safety factors are only applied to the following material classes:

Material safety factor sets can be defined under Materials in the Diana Interactive Environment (DianaIE). In the Model evaluation block [Model Evaluation] of the structural analyses, other than design checking analysis, the user can specify which material safety factor set has to be used when defined. For design checking analyses, the material safety factor sets are applied in the Normative loading conditions commands block [Normative Loading Conditions].

For more specific information on material safety factor sets in design checking analyses, see Material Safety Factor Sets.