Performance‐based approach in model code 2020: Working on future‐oriented standardization

Abstract

AbstractThe vision for fib MC2020 is to go beyond the point reached by fib MC2010, recent ISO codes, such as ISO 16311, and the current Eurocode activities to extend the application of Eurocodes to existing structures. The contents of fib MC2020 suit these forward‐looking objectives, dealing both with the design of new structures and all the activities associated with the life‐cycle management of existing concrete structures including matters, such as in‐service assessment and interventions upon them, including situations where new structural members are incorporated as parts of existing structures. With the fib MC2020 adaptations taking sustainability as a fundamental requirement, defining implications for subsidiary performance requirements critical to structural design and assessment procedures, it is logical that Model Code 2020 explicitly introduces and consequently seeks to make use of performance‐based concepts. A focus on performance provides a potential way to better align the interests of owners, users, technical consultants (such as structural engineers, material engineers, etc.), contractors, as well as material suppliers and manufacturers. It is envisaged that implementing the concept of the performance‐based approach in design and assessment will encourage rational design and technological progress which will facilitate the creation of superior structures for future generations, by removing constraints to the use of novel types of concrete and reinforcing materials and offering possibilities for optimization of solutions that better fit the needs of stakeholders. This paper addresses the principles of the performance‐based approach to design and assessment and discusses the manner in which it has been introduced in fib MC2020. The benefits and burdens associated with the performance‐based approach and the traditional prescriptive approach to engineering specification are discussed, both from a technical and process/commercial/contractual point of view, to describe the overall benefits of the performance‐based approach. Finally, the future outlook for a coherent integration of the performance‐based approach in design and assessment is addressed, paving the way for further work on standardization for sustainable concrete structures.