Problems in Service Life Prediction of Building and Construction Materials

Degradation, the chemical/physical response of building and con­ struction materials exposed to in-service environments, must be predicted prior to their installation in structures if materials are to be effectively selected, used and maintained. These assessments of materials degradation require that methods be available to aid prediction of service life. The objectives of building materials science are a) to charac­ terize and categorize materials, b) to predict, preferably in a mathematical sense, material or component response including expected service life, and c) to make improvements in material response through improvements in design, formulation, processing or specification. For building and construction materials, continued progress has been made towards objective (a), but little progress has been made towards objectives (b) and (c). Of these, the mathematical prediction of service life appears to be of greater importance, because, if general approaches or models having application to a wide range of building and construction materials can be identi­ fied, then the categorization, selection, use and improvement of materials can proceed in a systematic manner. Researchers in advanced technologies, such as aerospace, nuclear, electronics and medicine, have apparently been more successful than researchers in building and construction technology in responding to the need for reliable predictions of service life.

Inhalt

I. State of the Art of Service Life Prediction of Building and Construction Materials.- Overview of Methodologies for Prediction of Service Life.- Barriers to the Prediction of Service Life of Polymeric Materials.- Barriers to the Prediction of Service Life of Inorganic Materials.- Barriers to the Prediction of Service Life of Metallic Materials.- II. Approaches to Service Life Prediction in Advanced Technologies.- Approaches to Service Life Prediction of Metals in the Nuclear Industry.- A Damage Tolerance Approach for Structural Integrity of Aerospace Vehicles.- III. Commonalities Between Service Life Prediction Problems in Building/Construction Technology and Advanced Technologies.- Essential Data for Service Life Prediction.- Report of Discussion Group on Inorganic Materials.- Report of Discussion Group on Polymeric Materials.- Report of Discussion Group on Metallic Materials.- IV. Mathematical Analysis Technioues Used in Advanced Technologies.- Some Mathematical Models Useful in Reliability Analysis for Advanced Technologies.- V. Mathematical Analysis Techniques Used in Building and Construction Technololgy.- Service Life Predictions from Accelerated Aging Test Results Using Reliability Theory and Life Testing Analysis.- Mathematical Modelling of Microstructure and Properties of Hydrated Cement.- Mathematical Modelling of Atmospheric Corrosion and Environmental Factors.- Stochastic Modeling of Building Materials Performance in Durability.- VI. Formulation of Recommendations.- Report of Discussion Group on Inorganic Materials.- Report of Discussion Group on Polymeric Materials.- Report of Discussion Group on Metallic Materials.- Concluding Remarks.- List of Participants and Addresses.