The 10th International Symposium on High Performance Concrete – Innovation & Utilization will be held in Beijing, China from 16 to 18 September 2014. The symposium will be a continuation of the successful previous symposia held every three years since 1987. It will bring together engineers, designers, researchers and scientists from around the world, to promote better understanding on common interests ranging from the latest research findings to the most challenging applications of high performance concrete for construction.
The deadline for submission of abstracts is 15 February 2014. For more information, visit http://www.hpc-2014.com
The second FRC International Workshop (First ACI-fib Joint Workshop), "Fibre Reinforced Concrete: from design to structural applications" will take place at the Polytechnique Montreal, Canada, on 24-25 July 2014.
The aim of this workshop is to provide the State-of-the-Art on the recent worldwide developments that have been made in term of specifications and real applications of fibre reinforced concrete structures. Presentations of case studies will focus both on structural design and on the description of applications such as beams, elevated floors, tunnel linings, slabs, pavements, precast elements, bridges and other applications.
The deadline for submission of abstracts is 15 January 2014. For more information visit http://www.polymtl.ca/frc2014.
International code harmonization: the role of the Asian Concrete Model Code
Tamon Ueda, Hokkaido University, Japan
Many national codes in Asia are heavily influenced by those from either Europe or the USA. The climatic, technological and economic conditions together with the material properties in Asia are, however, quite different from those in Europe and the USA, and even different among Asian countries. Thus, many Asian countries need their own national codes with suitable concepts and technologies. At the same time, many construction projects in Asia are carried out in multi-national environments in which various national codes are applied, meaning that international code harmonization is necessary. In order to work for the global issue, such as the construction of a sustainable world, Asia, as the largest economic zone in the 21st century, should take on a leading role. For this purpose, international code harmonization with the new direction of life cycle man- agement (LCM) would provide an efficient way.
The International Committee on Concrete Model Code for Asia (ICCMC) was established in 1994 as the first international body in Asia. The ICCMC issued the Asian Concrete Model Code (ACMC) in 2001, the first international structural code in Asia. The ACMC is an umbrella code with a performance-based concept and a multi-level document structure, which makes it suitable for the considerable diversity in Asia. It is also the first international code covering maintenance and repair, which makes the ACMC ready to adopt the LCM concept. The ACMC has been a model for various national codes. The main features of the ACMC, i.e. the performance-based concept, durability design concept, seismic design concept and the inclusion of maintenance/repair, are shared with JSCE Standard Specifications in Japan. The ICCMC has been working together with ISO/TC71 towards international code harmonization.
Life cycle assessments of concrete structures - a step towards environmental savings
Petr Hajek, Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic Ctislav Fiala, Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic Magdalena Kynclova, Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic
Considering the volume of concrete produced and the number of concrete structures built, the problem of the associated environmental impact forms a significant part of the entire global problem of sustainable development. Utilization of environmentally optimized concrete structures thus creates a potential for increasing the quality of construction and consequently a reduction of the environmental impact. A life cycle assessment (LCA) is a complex, multi-parametric assessment of the environmental impact of the structure over its whole life cycle. It covers, in one assessment process, all the essential environmental issues, including CO2 emissions, energy consumption, water consumption, waste generation, etc. In the case of concrete, selected criteria should support the design and construction of high-quality and at the same time environmentally friendly concrete structures. The principal problem is to collect relevant environmental input data for specific concrete types plus transport and production processes which can be used in the LCA procedure.
Structural systems for protection against extreme events
Klaas van Breugel, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Typical for extreme events is their multidisciplinary nature, and, consequently, solutions for protection against extreme events should mirror their inherent characteristics. This article discusses different types of hazards and extreme events in order to illustrate the complexity and scale of the problem. Concepts for judging hazards and associated risks are dealt with. Some features of the traditional risk concept are discussed, followed by a proposal for an extended risk concept, to be applied when dealing with extreme hazards. The emphasis will be on aspects that are typical of "low-probability/high-consequence risks", particularly industrial risks. The potential role of structural (concrete) protective systems for mitigating the consequences of industrial accidents is emphasized. Throughout this article, the role of structural designers and their possible contribution to the debate on adequate protection against extreme events is addressed.
