The Eismic-resistant Construction Standard is the regulation that regulates the construction of earthquake-resistant structures in Spain. It is published in two parts, General and Building (NCSE), and Bridges (NCSP). It is prepared by the Permanent Commission of Earthquake Resistant Standards (CPNS).

Each part is published separately, and is named by its acronym and year of publication. Those currently applicable are NCSE-02 and NCSP-07.

Contenido

La NCSE-02 fue publicada en el BOE el 11 de octubre de 2002, cuando derogó a la NCSE-94. Propone un método de cálculo basado en la resistencia, por lo que sus comprobaciones sólo son válidas en estado límite último. Esto implica que la norma trata solamente de la estabilidad de la estructura, ignorando los daños que se puedan producir en el resto de materiales y elementos del edificio. Un edificio que resiste a un seísmo según NCSE puede perder todos sus muros, instalaciones y demás elementos, siempre y cuando su estructura permanezca en pie.

Scope of application

In the case of buildings, the regulations are applied according to the importance of the building. Different types of buildings are considered of special importance, such as hospitals, fire stations, communications, transportation, or large shopping centers. In the case of buildings of normal importance, the standard is mandatory in areas with a seismic acceleration greater than or equal to 0.08g, which happens in the provinces of Huelva, Málaga, Granada, part of Jaén, Almería, Region of Murcia, Alicante, Lérida and northern part of Huesca. In the case of constructions of special importance, the scope extends to areas with a seismic acceleration equal to or greater than 0.04g, which occurs in Andalusia, the Region of Murcia, the south of the Valencian Community, the coast and Pyrenees of Catalonia, the north of Aragon, the north of Navarra, the east of the Basque Country, the east of Galicia and small bordering areas of Albacete and Badajoz.

Organization

The regulations are organized as follows:

The convergence of the NCSE towards the Eurocode 8 criteria is expected.

The NCSP was published in the BOE on June 2, 2007. There is no previous NCSP, since this part belonged to the instruction of actions.