ABSTRACT
Abstract In this paper, the requirements for the quality control and the acceptance of structural steels are examined. The attention is focused on the statistical tests regarding the conformity between the manufacturer internal tests and the official tests. The consequences of the conformity requirement are discussed through the numerical simulation of the inelastic static response of some frames, including the effects of the random material variability. The analysis method is the Montecarlo simulation. Key works: Quality Control, Probabilistic Methods, Inelastic Behaviour 1 Introduction
Seismic-resistant steel structures are usually designed relying on their ability to sustain plastic deformations. Therefore, the earthquake input energy is dissipated through the hysterethic behaviour of the material. However, the plastic deformations have to be limited to values compatible with the structural local and global ductility in order to prevent collapse and to safeguard the human lives.
