Harmonised procedure to update thermal loads in the Eurocodes. Case study for Italy

The characteristic values of temperature, corresponding to the maximum and minimum shade air temperature with an annual probability of being exceeded 0.02, and presented in the European construction standard for thermal actions (EN 1991-1-5:2003), are usually assessed at a country level and included in the National Annexes to that Eurocode part. Furthermore, it should be verified that the data used to derive the characteristic values are not outdated but are sufficiently recent to reflect the current climate and capture potential global warming-induced variations. The paper aims to support national authorities and standardisation bodies on elaborating maps for thermal actions based on publicly available datasets, consistent at a European level, and on harmonised modelling approaches. The work investigates how improvements and updates in data and modelling of the characteristic values could affect the values currently adopted in the Italian National Annexes to the Eurocodes. Specifically, research was conducted on (i) the role of density and distribution of observations, (ii) the adopted statistical method (from normal distribution to extreme value analysis, e.g. Gumbel and GEV), and (iii) the choice of the temperature dataset (including pan-European gridded observations, e.g. EOBS, and reanalyses, e.g. ERA5 Land) and (iv) the use of more recent data.

RIANNA Guido;  REDER Alfredo;  RAPOSO DE M. DO N. E S. DE SOTTO MAYOR Maria Luisa;  DIMOVA Silvia; 

2024-01-09

ELSEVIER

JRC130262

2405-8807 (online),   

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405880723000523,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC130262,   

10.1016/j.cliser.2023.100391 (online),