Basic principles and conceptual advances of the Spanish Seismic Code NCSE-94

Abstract

The actual substitution of the old Spanish Seismic Code, valid since 1974, by a new regulation means important technical changes which affect every stage of the aseismic design of buildings, all the way from load assessment to structural calculation. This new approach implies also interesting conceptual changes, not only from the design point of view but also at the construction phase and during the lifetime of the building. In this paper these questions are critically revised, focusing in the analysis of the main differences between the old and new codes, and the degree of convergence of the latter with the future European Code in this field (Eurocode 8).