Probabilistic Assessment of Laps and Anchorages Strength in Reinforced Concrete Structures

In common practice and in design codes, the evaluation of laps and anchorages strength in reinforced concrete structures is performed by means of empirical or semi-empirical equations. These models couple the knowledge coming from both the experiments and the physical assumptions related to the actual resisting mechanism. In fib Model Code 2010 an efficient semi-empirical resisting model for the evaluation of laps and anchorages strength has been proposed. However, such kind of model should be calibrated referring to the levels of reliability required by the design codes in order to use it for design purposes and structural verifications. In the present paper, a consistent calibration procedure based on Monte Carlo method is used for the probabilistic assessment of the abovementioned semi-empirical model, accounting for both aleatory and epistemic uncertainties. Then, the design formulation is defined according to a specific level of reliability, and its application for the calculation of the required laps and anchorages length in reinforced concrete structures is commented. Finally, the comparison with the provisions of Eurocode 2 and fib Model Code 2010 is proposed and discussed.