LEDCOR
26 - 04 Mar 2026
Limit States Philosophy
Estimated Time: 2–3 min | Difficulty: Intermediate
Question
Why does CHBDC separate Service, Ultimate, and Fatigue limit states instead of using a single global safety factor?
Explanation:
Collapse, excessive deformation, and fatigue cracking represent fundamentally different behaviours with different consequences and statistical uncertainties. CHBDC assigns separate load and resistance factors so that each failure mode achieves an appropriate reliability level. A single global safety factor would either:
Separating limit states enables consistent reliability while maintaining structural efficiency.
Learning Resources: