ABSTRACT
A comparison of reliability levels of steel structures designed according to Eurocodes and standards of the Russian Federation is focused on the major differences between basic principles of the both standards (such as load combinations, system of partial factors) considering steel structures. General comparison of the main parameters characterizing load effects and resistances is supplemented by a numerical example of the reliability analysis of generic steel members for different combinations of permanent and variable actions. It appears that in most cases standards of the Russian Federation lead to a lower reliability level than Eurocodes. The main reason of this difference is attributed to specification of design values of permanent and variable loads. For both considered systems of standards, reliability of structures exposed to snow load is significantly lower than for structures subjected to imposed load and harmonisation in this regard is required. Further studies concerning more complicated structural elements made of various steel grades and exposed to wind actions are needed.
