About COST ACTION TU1404
Cement-based materials (CBM) are the
foremost construction materials worldwide. Therefore, there are widely
accepted standards for their structural applications. However, for
service life designs, current approaches largely depend on CBM strength
class and restrictions on CBM constituents. Consequently, the service
life behaviour of CBM structures is still analyzed with insufficiently
rigorous approaches that are based on outdated scientific knowledge,
particularly regarding the cumulative behaviour since early ages. This
results in partial client satisfaction at the completion stage,
increased maintenance/repair costs from early ages, and reduced service
life of structures, with consequential economic/sustainability impacts.
Despite significant research advances that have been achieved in the
last decade in testing and simulation of CBM and thereby predicting
their service life performance, there have been no generalized
European-funded Actions to assure their incorporation in standards
available to designes/contractors.
The main purpose of COST TU1404
Action is to bring together relevant stakeholders (experimental and
numerical researchers,standardization offices,manufacturers,designers,contractors,owners and authorities) in
order to accelerate knowledge transfer in the form of new
guidelines/recommendations, introduce new products and technologies to
the market, and promote international and inter-speciality exchange of
new information, creating avenues for new developments.
