New Experimental Techniques for Evaluating Concrete Material & Structural Performance

Concrete is a truly unique material, exhibiting a wide range of mechanical, physical, and chemical properties, which in turn, are affected by the type of load condition, the constituents, the local environment, the processing method, the structural application, etc. Because of this complex behavior, it is crucial that accurate and meaningful experimental methods be developed and used, in order to efficiently utilize concrete, to guarantee the public's safety, and to minimize cost. This is particularly true in the 1990s, as new and novel concretes, admixtures, and reinforcements are developed.