ISO 19338:2014

Performance and assessment requirements for design standards on structural concrete

ISO 19338:2014 provides performance and assessment requirements for design standards of structural concrete. It can be used for international harmonization of design and construction requirements. ISO 19338:2014 includes requirements, which define the required structural concrete performance; criteria, which give means for expressing the requirements; and assessment clauses, which give acceptable methods of verifying the specific criteria.

Exigences de performance et d'évaluation pour la conception des normes relatives au béton structurel

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 16-Sep-2014
• ICS: 91.080.40 - Concrete structures
• Technical Committee: ISO/TC 71/SC 4 - Performance requirements for structural concrete
• Drafting Committee: ISO/TC 71/SC 4 - Performance requirements for structural concrete
• Current Stage: 9599 - Withdrawal of International Standard
• Start Date: 03-Mar-2025
• Completion Date: 13-Dec-2025

Relations

• Revised: ISO 19338:2025 - Performance requirements for standards on concrete structures
• Effective Date: 23-Apr-2020
• Revises: ISO 19338:2007 - Performance and assessment requirements for design standards on structural concrete
• Effective Date: 12-Nov-2011

Overview

ISO 19338:2014 - Performance and assessment requirements for design standards on structural concrete - is an international, umbrella‑type standard that defines performance requirements, criteria, and assessment methods for structural concrete design standards. Intended to support international harmonization of design and construction requirements, it provides high‑level rules for expressing required performance (safety, serviceability, durability, fire resistance, fatigue, etc.) and for verifying compliance through acceptable assessment methods.

Key points:

• Establishes requirements, criteria, and assessment clauses for structural concrete.
• Covers the full design lifecycle: concept, design service life, construction, quality control and maintenance.
• Third edition (2014) - intended to be used with engineering judgment and national/regional codes.

Key topics and technical requirements

ISO 19338:2014 organizes performance and assessment needs around practical engineering topics:

• Limit states and design approaches: Structural safety (ultimate limit states), serviceability, restorability, durability, fire resistance and fatigue limit states; supports both limit‑state and performance evaluation approaches.
• Loadings and actions: Defines categories of actions to consider (permanent, variable, accidental, construction, impact, earthquake, wind, environmental actions) and guidance on load factors and combinations.
• Materials and analysis: Requirements for material properties, analysis methods (including experimental analysis), strength calculations, stability and resistance criteria.
• Assessment factors: Partial safety factors for materials, resistance factors and reliability concepts to ensure consistent safety levels.
• Special topics: Precast and composite action, prestressed concrete, earthquake resistance design, detailing and durability requirements.
• Construction and quality control: Construction requirements and quality assurance provisions to ensure performance through the design service life.

Practical applications

ISO 19338:2014 is used to:

• Guide the development or revision of national and regional design standards for structural concrete to align with international best practice.
• Support performance‑based design and assessment of concrete structures for durability, fire resistance, fatigue and seismic performance.
• Provide a common framework for compliance assessment, testing strategies and quality control during construction and maintenance planning.
• Aid manufacturers, specifiers and owners in defining design service life and maintenance regimes.

Who uses this standard

• Structural and civil engineers
• Code writers and standards committees
• Regulatory authorities and certification bodies
• Contractors, precast and prestressed concrete producers
• Consultants, inspectors and researchers focused on concrete durability and performance

Related standards

Normative references and related documents include:

• ISO 2394 - General principles on reliability for structures
• ISO 6241 - Performance standards in building - Principles for their preparation
• ISO 7162 - Performance standards in building - Contents and format for evaluation

Keywords: ISO 19338:2014, structural concrete, performance requirements, assessment, design standards, durability, limit states, loadings, quality control, harmonization.

Standards Content (Sample)

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 19338
Third edition
2014-09-15
Performance and assessment
requirements for design standards on
structural concrete
Exigences de performance et d’évaluation pour la conception des
normes relatives au béton structurel
Reference number
©
ISO 2014
© ISO 2014
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on the internet or an intranet, without prior
written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below or ISO’s member body in the country of
the requester.
ISO copyright office
Case postale 56 • CH-1211 Geneva 20
Tel. + 41 22 749 01 11
Fax + 41 22 749 09 47
E-mail [e-mail]
Web www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii © ISO 2014 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 General requirements . 4
4.1 Overall structural concept . 4
4.2 Structural integrity . 4
4.3 Design approach . 4
4.4 Design service life . 4
4.5 Workmanship, materials and quality assurance . 4
5 Performance requirements . 4
5.1 General . 4
5.2 Structural safety and ultimate limit states . 4
5.3 Serviceability limit states . 4
5.4 Restorability limit states . 5
5.5 Durability limit state . 5
5.6 Fire resistance limit state. 5
5.7 Fatigue limit state . 5
6 Loadings and actions . 5
6.1 General . 5
6.2 Load factors . 5
6.3 Action combinations . 5
6.4 Permanent loads . 6
6.5 Variable loads . 6
6.6 Accidental loads . 6
6.7 Construction loads . 6
6.8 Impact load . 6
6.9 Earthquake forces. 6
6.10 Wind forces . 6
6.11 Environmental actions . 6
7 Assessment . 6
7.1 Materials . 6
7.2 Analysis of concrete structures . 6
7.3 Strength calculations . 7
7.4 Partial safety factors for materials . 8
7.5 Resistance factors . 8
7.6 Resistance criteria . 8
7.7 Stability . 8
7.8 Precast concrete and composite action . 8
7.9 Prestressed concrete . 8
7.10 Designs for earthquake resistance . 9
7.11 Detailing requirements . 9
7.12 Durability . 9
7.13 Fire . . 9
8 Constructions and quality control. 9
8.1 Construction requirements . 9
8.2 Quality control .10
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of any
patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or on
the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity
assessment, as well as information about ISO’s adherence to the WTO principles in the Technical Barriers
to Trade (TBT) see the following URL: Foreword - Supplementary information.
The committee responsible for this document is ISO/TC 71, Concrete, reinforced concrete and pre-stressed
concrete, Subcommittee SC 4, Performance requirements for structural concrete.
This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition (ISO 19338:2007), of which it constitutes
a minor revision. It also incorporates the Technical Corrigenda ISO 19338:2007/Cor, 1:2008 and
ISO 19338:2007/Cor, 2:2009.
iv © ISO 2014 – All rights reserved

Introduction
Concrete is the most popular material used in the construction market. Presently, about one-third of a
ton of concrete is produced each year for every human being in the world (some 2 billion tons per year).
International Standards on concrete technology can play a significant role for improving the global
trade climate. International Standards in the field of concrete and its use in civil infrastructure are ever
more needed as the economic development of the world continues.
ISO/TC 71/SC 4 was established to develop standards for performance requirements of structural
concrete. This International Standard gives the performance and assessment requirements for design
standards on concrete structures. It is an umbrella-type document with general provisions and guidelines
intended to provide wide latitude of choice in terms of general requirements for performance and
assessment of concrete structures. It should be used, therefore, in conjunction with sound engineering
judgment.
National and regional standards are generally more prescriptive in nature than International Standards
and vary somewhat from region to region.
In a document accessible at http://isotc.iso.org/livelink/livelink/Open/ISO_19338, ISO/TC 71/SC 4 has
defined a procedure to assess whether a national or regional standard can be deemed to satisfy this
International Standard. This separate document also gives the list of national and regional standards
that so far have gone through the procedure and are deemed to satisfy this International Standard.
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 19338:2014(E)
Performance and assessment requirements for design
standards on structural concrete
1 Scope
This International Standard provides performance and assessment requirements for design standards
of structural concrete. It can be used for international harmonization of design and construction
requirements.
This International Standard includes
a) requirements, which define the required structural concrete performance,
b) criteria, which give means for expressing the requirements, and
c) assessment clauses, which give acceptable methods of verifying the specific criteria.
2 Normative references
The following documents, in whole or in part, are normatively referenced in this document and are
indispensable for its application. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated
references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 2394, General principles on reliability for structures
ISO 6241, Performance standards in building — Principles for their preparation and factors to be considered
ISO 7162, Performance standards in building — Contents and format of standards for evaluation of
performance
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
3.1
accidental load
actions whose chance of occurrence is very small but intensity is very large compared with variable
actions
3.2
action
assembly of concentrated or distributed mechanical forces acting on/in a structure (direct actions),
deformations imposed on the structure or contained within it (indirect actions), or environmental
actions (3.7)
3.3
analysis
acceptable methods of evaluating the performance index or verifying the compliance of specific criteria
Note 1 to entry: Analysis may also be called assessment.
3.4
criteria
means of expressing the performance requirements for structural concrete by specific technical values
and appropriate limits
3.5
design service life
period for which the structure or structural element is to be used for its intended purpose with
anticipated maintenance but without substantial repair being necessary
3.6
durability
ability of a structure or structural element to assure no deterioration that is harmful to required
performance in the relevant environment
3.7
environmental actions
assembly of physical, chemical, or biological influences which may cause restraint effects or deterioration
to the materials making up the structure, which in turn may adversely affect its serviceability,
restorability, and safety
3.8
experimental analysis
use of physi
...