ABSTRACT
The strength and ductility of reinforced concrete members confined by rectangular hoops according to Eurocode 8 (EC8) provisions are compared with values estimated by a probabilistic approach. The latter takes into account the effect of uncertainties in material properties as well as in the predicted values of ultimate concrete strain. Even though strength parameters representing the key points of the interaction diagrams are found to be conservative, safety margins are found to be non-uniform. In the case of member ductility, however, results clearly show that EC8 provisions need to be further calibrated in order to predict member ductility with a more appropriate degree of conservatism.
