On the relation between the mean compressive strength and the characteristic one

Jean Michel Torrenti (1) , Frank Dehn (2)

1 MAST - Département Matériaux et Structures
2 KIT - Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Since the beginning of the construction of structures with reinforced concrete, it has been known that concrete presents a variability that should be taken into account. In modern codes, this variability implies the use of a characteristic strength corresponding to a 5% fractile of the distribution of strength. The actual relation in Eurocode 2 between the characteristic and the mean strength fck = fcm ? 8 MPa was introduced several years ago by Rüsch and is integrated in CEB or fib model codes since 1978. In this article, it is presented how the relation was obtained and it is discussed if this relation is still valid considering the fact that the range of concrete strengths is now larger. Considering the scatter of the SD, the relation proposed by Rüsch could still be used but engineers should keep in mind that the SD on site could be very different from the one predicted by means of the relation between fck and fcm.

Mots clés: CHARACTERISTIC STRENGTH; MEAN STRENGTH; CONCRETE

Mots clés: BETON RENFORCE; REGLEMENTATION; RESISTANCE A LA COMPRESSION; EUROCODE; FATIGUE (MATER); BETON ARME DE FIBRES; ESSAI DE COMPRESSION; NORME; EUROPE

Domaines: Matériaux

Jean Michel Torrenti, Frank Dehn. On the relation between the mean compressive strength and the characteristic one. Structural Concrete, 2019, 12 p. ⟨10.1002/suco.201900153⟩. ⟨hal-02469760⟩