Non-linear finite element analyses have intrinsic model and user factors that influence the results of the analyses. However, non-linear finite element analysis can provide a tool to assess safety using realistic descriptions of material behaviour with actual material properties. A realistic estimation of the existing safety and capacity of slender column elements can be achieved by means of "true" material properties. Nevertheless, it seems that for some structural components, such as slender columns, non-linear finite element analyses can, due to its complexity and its various setting parameters, cause the risk of overestimating the real performance of analysed components or systems. Hence, an invited expert group has carried out an investigation into the experimental testing and the prediction of the bearing capacity of slender columns by performing independent non-linear finite element analyses in order to determine the practical applicability, and its inconsistencies, with respect to the stability failure of slender columns. This work aims the characterization of modelling uncertainties, concerning the prediction of slender columns stability when forecasted by non-linear finite element analysis.

Experimental verification of global reliability of slender reinforced concrete columns from the regular concrete C45/55 and high performance concrete C70/85 was realized within the applied research of the Faculty of Civil Engineering at Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (SUT). Production of test columns and samples was in cooperation with ZIPP Bratislava Ltd. Columns are designed in the way to collapse due to stability before the resistance of the critical cross-section is reached. The relative compression of concrete was scheduled about 1,5 ‰. For performed experimentally verified slender columns, the reliability of simplified and nonlinear design methods according to European standards was compared.

The European standard for the design of concrete structures that are likely to lose stability requires taking into account the effects of second order theory. This effect increases the impact of a bending moment due to member deformation and additional eccentricity. Slender members can be calculated by the use of a non-linear method. This approach shows a deficit in global reliability for cases where the concrete columns fail due to the loss of stability before reaching the design resistance in the critical cross-sections. Buckling is a brittle failure which occurs without any warning, and the probability of its formation is markedly influenced by the slenderness of the column. Here, the calculation results are presented and compared with the results from an experiment which was carried out in cooperation with STRABAG Bratislava LTD at the Central Laboratory of the Faculty of Civil Engineering SUT in Bratislava. The columns were designed according to the methods stated in STN EN 1992-1-1, namely, a general non-linear method. The focus of this study is to compare multiple approaches based on codes used in Germany (DIN 1045-1, 2001) and Austria (ÖNORM B 4700, 2001) with the present European code mentioned above. The paper aims to compare the global reliability of slender concrete columns with variable slendernesses of 90 and 160.

In diesem Beitrag werden Berechnungen und vergleichende experimentelle Ergebnisse des Stabilitätsverlusts von schlanken Stahlbetonstützen aus einer Versuchsreihe präsentiert. Das primäre Ziel der Arbeit war der Vergleich der Bemessungsmethoden bei der Ermittlung der globalen Zuverlässigkeit schlanker Stahlbetonstützen. Der Schlankheitsgrad der Stützen betrug λ > 90, wobei die untersuchten Stützen nach EN 1992‐1‐1 dimensioniert wurden. Die oben erwähnten experimentellen Untersuchungen dienten zudem als Grundlage für die Bewertung und Kalibrierung der deterministischen und probabilistischen nichtlinearen Modellbildung. Diese probabilistische Modellbildung der Normalkraft‐Momenten (N‐M)‐Beziehung und des Stabilitätsversagens ist eine Grundlage für die Entwicklung eines objektivierten Bemessungsansatzes und der zugehörigen Teilsicherheitsbeiwerte.

The European standard EN1992-1-1 shows a significant lack of an overall reliability in cases when loss of stability of concrete columns precedes reaching of resistance in a critical cross-section. The columns, subjected to axial force and bending moment, experimentally tested in the laboratory of Faculty of Civil Engineering SUT in Bratislava, were designed so that the loss of stability occurs at the concrete strain about 1.5 ‰ on the compressed edge of a critical cross-section.