ABSTRACT
Performance and lifetime assessment of new and existing concrete structures is a complex multidisciplinary topic that has been developed and intensively discussed for many years. The non-linear finite element analysis (NLFEA) can support significantly in this issue because NLFEA is used to develop safety formats that allow to guaranty the safety demands of our society. The provisions associated with NLFEA in codes enable a range of interpretation which values of material input parameters should be or must be used in order to derive reliability-consistent design values of the structural resistance. The objectives of this contribution are as follows: Non-linear analysis safety formats and deterministic equations for the derivation of the fracture energy are examined and subsequently it is investigated how uncertainties in the input variables of the resistance model and the different equations for the fracture energy affect the system responses and the design values of the structural resistance.
