Durability of engineering structures: Design, Repair and Maintenance

by Jan Bijen

Focusing on the design of buildings for service life, Structures Durability of Engineering covers effective maintenance and repair techniques for reducing the likelihood of failure.

Durability of engineering structures describes the in-situ performance of all the major man-made materials used in civil engineering construction and some relatively new high-performance materials.

Durability of engineering structures explores deterioration mechanisms and the measures to counteract them, subsequent maintenance and repair techniques, and the latest standards on durability and repair.

Durability of engineering structures covers life cycle costing and environmental life cycle assessment methods. Practical case studies show how repairs can be made and the best ways of ensuring long term durability.

This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. The performance of engineering structures changes with time. In general, deterioration mechanisms cause decreasing performance.

This is of course quite natural but is often forgotten or not given full attention during the design stage. Unfortunately, most standards for structural design and building products do not cover design for continuous compliance with structural and other requirements during service life or do so only to a limited extent.

Designing for durability is left to the structural designer or the architect who often do not have the required skills. The result can be failure with unforeseen maintenance and repair often at high costs and, in the most severe case, human casualties.