Construction Material Durability Survey

The Brief: Construction material durability survey

Buildings and infrastructure in general are constructed from a wide range of different materials including metals, ceramics, polymers, composites and various natural materials.   A good design and appropriate use of materials can ensure a reasonable level of in-service performance.  However, often things can go wrong.  Poor design, inappropriate use of materials, combination of incompatible materials, attack from environmental pollutants, unprecedented extreme weather events, corrosion and biodegradation are a few examples of possible underlying causes of a visible problem.

Imagine that you are applying for a job in a construction company, and as part of the selection process, you were asked to identify a real problem with a building or infrastructure and complete a survey with the following tasks.

1. Documentation of the durability problem: take a photograph illustrating the issue. This could be cracking, corrosion, deformation, discolouration, spalling, freeze-thaw damage for example.  (Note, this should not be an image from the internet!)
2. Description of the durability problem: write a short paragraph describing the issue in simple terms – what is shown in the photograph. Annotate your photograph if it adds clarification to your points.
3. Analysis of the durability problem: write another short paragraph elaborating on the issue and either describing or speculating on the underlying science or engineering issues which have led to the problem. If you can give some chemical reactions or a mechanism such as freeze thaw then this should be described here. If possible, use diagrams – you will have limited space and a picture is often worth a thousand words!
4. Solution of the durability problem: finally, justifying your answer, describe a possible solution to the problem. This could include replacement, repair, treatment or a change in environment – for instance reduce traffic if NOx was causing problem with an historic building.

This coursework is worth 10% of the unit as a whole and shouldn’t take an excessive amount of time.  It will be marked using the following criteria:-

1. Relevance of the documentation (photograph) and description of the problem.
2. Accuracy of the identified durability issues of the chosen structure.
3. Clarity of analysis of the underlying science or engineering issues objectively (most important key issues are shown).
4. Feasibility of the proposed solution to the durability problem/s.
5. If in order to elaborate your survey (identification of a durability problem with due diagnosis and potential treatment/ solution) you have made assumptions, you are asked to state them clearly.