On the Need for a Risk-Based Framework in Eurocode 7 to Facilitate Design of Underground Openings in Rock

The European design code for geotechnical engineering, EN-1997 Eurocode 7, is currently under revision. As design of underground openings in rock fundamentally differs from design of most other types of structures, the revised Eurocode 7 must be carefully formulated to be applicable to underground openings. This paper presents the authors' view of how a design code for underground openings in rock needs to be organized to ensure that new structures are both sufficiently safe and constructed cost-effectively. The authors find that the revised version of Eurocode 7 carefully must acknowledge the fundamental decision-theoretical connection between design and risk management that should permeate all geotechnical design work. Otherwise, if the revised code is not given a risk-based framework, the authors fear that, as a consequence, the observational method will not be favorable to use in excavations of underground openings in rock. Then, cost-effective construction will be very difficult to achieve.