High Performance Structure and Materials VI (Wit Transactions on the Built Environment)

High Performance Structures and Materials VI contains most of the papers presented at the sixth International Conference on High Performance Structures and Materials. The conference was the latest in a series of biennial conferences organized by the Wessex Institute of Technology. The volume addresses issues involving advanced types of structures, particularly those based on new concepts or new materials. Many of the papers cover the search for high performing but altogether sustainable materials of the type that are now receiving increased attention.

The contributors also underline a number of current trends in structural design, including the interaction of three key components--materials selection, component design, and structural and construction design. These trends take into account optimization principles in such a way that the maximum amount of structural materials can be transformed, re-used, dismantled and displaced, contributing significantly to the sustainability of the constructions. An excellent example of these principles is included in the special session on Transformable Structures, organized by Niels De Temmerman and some of his co-workers, which includes several case studies.

Contents include: Emerging structural applications; Material charaterization; Composite materials and structures; Contact mechanics; High performance concretes; Steel structures; Natural fibre composites (Special session organized by K. Takemura); Experiments and numerical analysis; Moderate span footbridges (Special session organized by N. De Temmerman).

This book is a valuable contribution to the understanding of materials and structures and their interaction