Innovative Structural Materials

Recent years have seen enormous advances in the technology of concrete as a material, through which its strength, compactness and ductility can reach levels never dreamed of before. Thanks to these improved material properties, the strength and durability of concrete structures is greatly improved, their weight and dimensions reduced, the scope of concrete as a structural material is widened and – despite the higher material costs – overall economy is possible, with positive impacts on sustainability as well. Similar advances are underway in reinforcing materials, notably high strength steel and fibre-reinforced polymers, and in the way they are combined with concrete into high performance structures. Developments in materials and equipment, as well as new concepts, have lead to innovative construction techniques, reducing cost and construction time and making possible the application of concrete under extreme conditions of construction or environment. All these advances will be highlighted in the book by the top experts in the field of concrete structures, namely those currently active in the field’s leading and truly international scientific and technical association: the International Federation of Structural Concrete (fib) www.fib-international.org. Audience: Practicing engineers and firms, academics, researchers and graduate students, will all find the book timely, informative and very interesting.

This book is devoted to innovative structural materials for multi-materialization. It is based on results of a 10-year national project, The Innovative Structural Materials Research and Development Project, which was carried out in Japan, aimed at reducing the weight of materials (steel, aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, titanium alloys, thermoplastic CFRP, carbon fiber) and components used in transportation equipment such as automobiles. In this project, collaborative research in a total of nine fields including materials, joining, and structural designing was also carried out in order to realize multi-materials. This book is compiled with the aim of handing down the technical and academic results obtained through these research and development activities to the next generation of researchers and students. This book enables material engineers and researchers in the field of materials related to transportation equipment, graduate students in various technical fields, and engineers and researchers belonging to material users to grasp the full picture of material development and multi-materials technologies. For the understanding of engineers and researchers who will work on multi-materials, this book explains the current state of technology and science in each field and explains the innovative results obtained by research in each field.

This book forms the proceedings of the international seminar held by the Institution of Structural Engineers and the Building Research Establishment in Brighton in April 1993. It brings together contributions from 20 countries on recent innovations in building and construction.

This indispensable reference is an in-depth introduction to the fundamentals of the design of surface structures. It looks at some of the most innovative structures and technologies to date, demonstrating their use of materials in creating successful surface architecture.

Composed of a series of essays, this book deals with the broad issues affecting the nature of architectural materials and provides a focused review of the state of the art materials. It also provides designers with the tools they need to evaluate and select from the thousands of different materials that are available to them. The book is organized into three sections; 'Time' looks at how the materials used in architectural design have changed over the years showing how we have come to use the materials we do in contemporary design. 'Materials' covers all five material families; metals, polymers, ceramics, composites and natural materials giving in depth information on their properties, behavior, origins and uses in design. It also introduces a review of the cutting edge research for each family. 'Systems' outlines the technical design-orientated research that uncovers how new architectural assemblies can be designed and engineered. All of this practical advice is given along with many real case examples illustrating how this knowledge and information has been, and can be, used in architectural design.

This book tackles the complex topic of implementing innovation and the successful application of advanced technology in the construction industry. It provides a practical guide for the transformation of the industry by detailing appropriate and effective implementation methods, required skill sets and structural changes necessary to facilitate the practical and innovative application of technology. The construction industry is behind other industries in its level of innovation and adoption of technology, and is of critical importance to many of today’s global challenges, such as climate change, global warming and resource scarcity. There is therefore a need for smarter and more efficient ways of managing available resources. This book elaborates on how the innovative application of technology could offer hope for the construction industry in it’s imperative to rise to current and future global challenges. It includes the real-world case studies of innovative projects that go beyond the current state-of-the-art academic research, and have improved productivity, quality and performance in the construction sector. This book provides readers from both industrial and academic backgrounds with a comprehensive guide on transforming the construction industry with the efficient and effective implementation of technologies and modern methods of construction.

This book is devoted to innovative structural materials for multi-materialization. It is based on results of a 10-year national project, The Innovative Structural Materials Research and Development Project, which was carried out in Japan, aimed at reducing the weight of materials (steel, aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, titanium alloys, thermoplastic CFRP, carbon fiber) and components used in transportation equipment such as automobiles. In this project, collaborative research in a total of nine fields including materials, joining, and structural designing was also carried out in order to realize multi-materials. This book is compiled with the aim of handing down the technical and academic results obtained through these research and development activities to the next generation of researchers and students. This book enables material engineers and researchers in the field of materials related to transportation equipment, graduate students in various technical fields, and engineers and researchers belonging to material users to grasp the full picture of material development and multi-materials technologies. For the understanding of engineers and researchers who will work on multi-materials, this book explains the current state of technology and science in each field and explains the innovative results obtained by research in each field.

"Long Term Durability of Structural Materials" features proceedings of the workshop held at Berkeley, CA in October, 2000. It brought together engineers and scientists, who have received grants from the initiative NSF 98-42, to share their results on the study of long-term durability of materials and structures. The major objective was to develop new methods for accelerated short-term laboratory or in-situ tests which allow accurate, reliable, predictions of the long-term performance of materials, machines and structures. To achieve this goal it was important to understand the fundamental nature of the deterioration and damage processes in materials and to develop innovative ways to model the behavior of these processes as they affect the life and long-term performance of components, machines and structures. The researchers discussed their approach to include size effects in scaling up from laboratory specimens to actual structures. Accelerated testing and durability modeling techniques developed were validated by comparing their results with performance under actual operating conditions. The main mechanism of the deterioration discussed included environmental effects and/or exposure to loads, speeds and other operating conditions that are not fully anticipated in the original design. A broad range of deterioration damage, such as fatigue, overload, ultraviolet damage, corrosion, and wear was presented. A broad range of materials of interest was also discussed, including the full spectrum of construction materials, metals, ceramics, polymers, composites, and coatings. Emphasis was placed on scale-dependence and history of fabrication on resulting mechanical behavior of materials.