Review of plate buckling rules in EN 1993-1-5

EN 1993-1-5 provides harmonized European design rules for plated structures. It is a step forward in the harmonization process, but like all the Eurocodes it includes many options for national choices, in terms of parameters and also methods, which leads to quite different results. Actually, there are four different methods for dealing with buckling problems. One purpose of this paper is to illustrate differences by way of examples and also to suggest topics for studies intended to improve the design rules and bring them closer together. The revision of EN 1993-1-5 is due to take place around 2014 and there is ample time for performing research projects that can form the basis for the new version. Examples of such topics are the recalibration of buckling curves, reviewing the interaction checks and the verification format of the reduced stress method.