Construction Materials Fourth edition

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