Introduction to durability, sustainability and life cycle assessment of concrete structures : lecture notes of the DuRSAAM training course held September 2020

Concrete is one of the most popular building materials, making it also of concern when considering the environmental impact of the construction sector and the associated built environment. For example, the construction sector is responsible for over 35% of the EU’s waste generation, buildings account for 40% of energy consumed, construction activities require a vast amount of resources and cement, being a major component of concrete, accounts for 5 to 8% of the carbon emissions. Although concrete performs quite well in terms of environmental impact compared to other construction materials, its wide use makes sustainability of concrete crucial in minimizing the environmental impact, as can be characterized from life cycle assessments. Eco-friendly or circular concrete solutions are investigated widely in view of lowering environmental impact, while keeping the high technical performance expected from contemporary building solutions. The durability, sustainability and life cycle assessment of such emerging solutions is of considerable importance in the framework of the Green Deal or similar visions, and highlights the need for engineers skilled in these subjects. This also formed the motivation in organizing an introductory training course on durability, sustainability and life cycle assessment of concrete structures, which is at the basis of this eBook