Abstract:
This book is an updated and extended version of
the third edition, which was published in 2001. This
has proved to be as popular and successful as the
first two editions, but the continuing advances in
construction materials technology and uses, not least
in the many factors and issues relating to the sustainability of construction, have resulted in the need
for this new fourth edition.
The first edition was published under the title
Concrete, Timber and Metals in 1979. Its scope, content and form were significantly changed for the
second edition, published in 1994, with the addition
of three further materials – bituminous materials,
masonry and fibre composites – with a separate part
of the book devoted to each material, following a
general introductory part on ‘Fundamentals’.
This overall format was well received by both
students and teachers, and was retained in the
third edition, with a short section on polymers
added. In this new edition, this format has again
been retained; the principal modifications and extensions are:
• the ‘Fundamentals’ section has been reformatted
into chapters which can more readily be studied
independently if required
• a new section on glass has been added, reflecting
its increasing use as a structural material;
• for each material the issues concerned with endof-life and recycling, now major considerations,
have been discussed
• a new section on ‘Selection, use and sustainability’
has been added, which compares the mechanical
properties of all the materials and considers some
of the factors relating to their selection for use
and the consequences for society and the environment. This brings together much of the property
data presented in the individual sections, and
leads on to issues of sustainability that
