Durability of Materials and Structures in Building and Civil Engineering

This book discusses the durability of construction materials in the context of structures. Steel, concrete, timber, masonry, aluminium, plastics and composites are all dealt with. The state of the art is presented for each material and the effects of the environment on durability are covered, including the particular problems faced with, for example, underground structures, and structures in marine and tropical environments. Where appropriate, authors assess properties of materials before considering the performance of structures. Each chapter is augmented by numerous examples illustrating the durability of elements in a structure, the performance of materials, and any problems encountered with durability. How these problems are overcome and improvement of durability is discussed as appropriate. The chapters are written by an international team of authors, resulting in a wide spread of information, drawing upon vast cumulative experience and illustrated by many real examples. In addition, a diverse array of climates is considered, making this a comprehensive volume containing much vital information for engineers and materials technologists.Further an introduction is given to organisations involved in creating national and international standards and the important legal aspects of durability and related issues are also presented. The book is very heavily illustrated with line drawings and graphs, photographs of specific examples and also materials under test and after forensic testing. This enables the reader to fully appreciate the topic of durability and how it interleaves with forensic engineering.