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Steel-Earth project aims at distributing among technicians, engineers, design companies and standardization bodies the results of three past RFCS projects (Steel-Retro [3], Opus [2] and PrecaSteel [1]), providing useful tools for the design and for the retrofit of existing buildings. Technical documents and practical applications to case studies, regarding design of steel and composite steel/concrete buildings and innovative steel-based techniques for the retrofit of existing r.c. and masonry constructions, have been elaborated and collected into a volume distributed during the final workshop of the dissemination project. Pre-normative and background documents concerning the design of steel and composite structures and the rehabilitation of existing constructions have been prepared. A lot of attention has been paid to the analysis of the influence of overstrength factors on the seismic design of steel and composite structures. The prepared documents have been distributed to the attending people and to the members of WG 2 (CEN/TC 250/SC 8/WG 2 “Steel and Composite Structures”) during the final workshop of the project. Technical sheets, working examples and background documents have been translated into several languages (German, French, Italian, Romanian and Greek) and are free available on the website of the project (https://www.steelconstruct. com/site/), where information regarding Steel-Earth are also presented. 11 Workshops in Italy, Greece, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Spain and Romania and 5 conferences in Emilia-Romagna have been organized, as well as 2 practical courses for engineers and academic people in Pavia (Italy). Flash-drives with the technical documents and applications elaborated in Steel-Earth have been distributed to the attending people.

This contribution summarizes the results achieved in the frame of the research project MEAKADO funded by the European Commission. The goal of this project is to develop specific design procedures for steel and steel-concrete composite structures in regions characterised by a low to moderate seismic activity, aiming at an appropriate balance between safety level and economical concerns. The research program focuses on moment-resisting and concentrically braced frames. The targeted design methodology consists in providing the structures with limited but controlled ductility through structural requirements that are less stringent than designing according to Eurocode 8 – Ductility Class Medium principle, focusing on intermediate values of the behaviour factor. The authors acknowledge the support received from the Research Fund for Coal and Steel of the European Commission in the frame of the research grant agreement RFSR-CT-2013-00022 “Meakado – Design of steel and composite structures with limited ductility requirements for optimized performances in moderate earthquake areas”

The purpose of the present contribution is to summarize the developments carried out in the framework of the research project MEAKADO funded by European Commission. The aim of this research program is to develop specific design methodologies for steel and steel-concrete composite structures in regions characterised by a low to moderate seismic activity. The precise objective consists in looking for an intermediate way of designing in which a reduced but controlled amount of ductility is accounted for, providing thus the necessary safety required for allowing facing the uncertainties on the seismic action, but where the requirements are less stringent than a pure application of EC8-DCM design principles. The research program focuses on moment-resisting and concentrically braced frames. It covers a combination of experimental and numerical studies and is expected to result in proposals formulated according to a pre-standard format in the perspective of further revisions of the design codes. The running research program summarized in the present contribution is being supported by the European Union's Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS) research programme under grant agreement n° RFSR-CT-2013-00022]. The contribution of the industrial partners OCAM and GREISCH Design Office is also hereby acknowledged.

The purpose of the present contribution is to summarize the current state of the developments carried out within the running research project MEAKADO, the final aim of which is to develop specific design procedures for steel and steel-concrete composite structures in regions characterized by a low to moderate seismic activity, with an appropriate reliability level. The intention is to find an optimal balance between safety and economical concerns. The authors acknowledge the support received from the Research Fund for Coal and Steel of the European Commission in the frame of the research grant agreement RFSR-CT-2013-00022 Meakado.