ABSTRACT
The m o s t i m p o r t a n t p r o b l e m w h i c h has to be faced b y the engineer d u r i n g the d e s i g n process is the d e f i n i t i o n of the s t ruc tura l m o d e l . S t ruc tura l m o d e l l i n g is re lated, o n one h a n d to the analysis of the s t ructure , a n d o n the other h a n d to the v e r i f i c a t i o n of members : they represent t w o f u n d a m e n t a l steps for e v a l u a t i n g the s t ruc tura l safety. The f i rs t step is p e r f o r m e d i n order to de termine the stress d i s t r i b u t i o n u n d e r the ac t ion of des ign loads; the second one is a i m e d at the c o n t r o l of the a b i l i t y of m e m b e r s to w i t h s t a n d the i n t e r n a l forces. A s a consequence, i t is clear that the s t r u c t u r a l m o d e l l i n g is related to the use of a m e t h o d of g l o b a l analysis c o m b i n e d w i t h a m e t h o d of m e m b e r ver i f i ca t ion .
