The author details the reactions of various concretes on steel reinforcement. Although portland cements, slag cements and high alumina cements are all hydraulic binders, each possess special properties which are examined. The discussion of causes and methods of preventing the corrosion of steel reinforcement covers such aspects as galvanised steel reinforcement, effects of concrete composition, corrosion of steel reinforcments in concrete and prestressed reinforcement. It is concluded that the most significant influences on the corrosion of prestressing wire in concrete are: the presence of chloride; the presence of nitrates; the composition of the concrete; the degree of carbonation of the concrete; concrete compaction and, chlorides and sulphates should be used as far as possible when steel is embedded. (TRRL)

Corrosion of steel by concrete

https://repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2433/85808/1/KJ00004746786.pdf

Time-Dependent Statistics of the Ising Model

Emerging artificial intelligence methods in structural engineering

Pavement maintenance is one of the major issues of public agencies. Insufficient investment or inefficient maintenance strategies lead to high economic expenses in the long term. Under budgetary restrictions, the optimal allocation of resources becomes a crucial aspect. Two traditional approaches (sequential and holistic) and four classes of optimization methods (selection based on ranking, mathematical optimization, near optimization, and other methods) have been applied to solve this problem. They vary in the number of alternatives considered and how the selection process is performed. Therefore, a previous understanding of the problem is mandatory to identify the most suitable approach and method for a particular network. This study aims to assist highway agencies, researchers, and practitioners on when and how to apply available methods based on a comparative analysis of the current state of the practice. Holistic approach tackles the problem considering the overall network condition, while the sequential approach is easier to implement and understand, but may lead to solutions far from optimal. Scenarios defining the suitability of these approaches are defined. Finally, an iterative approach gathering the advantages of traditional approaches is proposed and applied in a case study. The proposed approach considers the overall network condition in a simpler and more intuitive manner than the holistic approach.

/pdf/an-iterative-approach-for-the-optimization-of-pavement-3n8m90r9v8.pdf

An iterative approach for the optimization of pavement maintenance management at the network level.

https://www.dora.lib4ri.ch/eawag/islandora/object/eawag%3A15205/datastream/PDF2/Marttunen-2017-Structuring_problems_for_multi-criteria_decision-%28accepted_version%29.pdf

Structuring problems for Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis in practice: a literature review of method combinations

Cost and CO2 emission optimization of precast–prestressed concrete U-beam road bridges by a hybrid glowworm swarm algorithm

The construction of bridges has been necessary for societies since ancient times, when the communication between and within towns, cities or communities was established. Until recently, the economic factor has been the only one considered in the decision-making of any type of construction process for bridges. However, nowadays, the objective should not be just the construction of bridges, but of sustainable bridges. Economic, social and environmental factors, which form the three pillars of sustainability, have been recently added. These three factors usually have conflicting perspectives. The decision-making process allows the conversion of a judgment into a rational procedure to reach a compromise solution. The aim of this paper is to review different methods and sustainable criteria used for decision-making at each life-cycle phase of a bridge, from design to recycling or demolition. This paper examines 77 journal articles for which different methods have been used. The most used methods are briefly described. In addition, a statistical study was carried out on the Multiple Attribute Decision-making papers reviewed.

/pdf/a-review-of-multi-criteria-decision-making-methods-applied-qjrrcmay8d.pdf

José V. Martí

Papers

Cost and CO2 emission optimization of precast–prestressed concrete U-beam road bridges by a hybrid glowworm swarm algorithm

A Review of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Methods Applied to the Sustainable Bridge Design

Design of prestressed concrete precast road bridges with hybrid simulated annealing

Structural design of precast-prestressed concrete U-beam road bridges based on embodied energy

Life cycle assessment of cost-optimized buttress earth-retaining walls: A parametric study