Mark Alexander – författare

Marine Concrete Structures: Design, Durability and Performance comprehensively examines structures located in, under, or in close proximity to the sea. A major emphasis of the book is on the long-term performance of marine concrete structures that not only represent major infrastructure investment and provision, but are also required to operate with minimal maintenance.

Chapters review the design, specification, construction, and operation of marine concrete structures, and examine their performance and durability in the marine environment. A number of case studies of significant marine concrete structures from around the world are included which help to reinforce the principles outlined in earlier chapters and provide useful background to these types of structures. The result is a thorough and up-to-date reference source that engineers, researchers, and postgraduate students in this field will find invaluable.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating health and economic impacts in the United States, communities of color, especially Black communities, have been disproportionately affected. On June 23, 2020, the Roundtable on Black Men and Black Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a virtual workshop to discuss the landscape of COVID-19, including how systemic racism contributes to the disproportionate effects related to infection rates and mortality of this virus and other health conditions. Presenters highlighted relevant research and creative responses from many perspectives, including how Black scientists, engineers, and doctors are contributing to solutions and are ready to do more. National Academies leaders and members also discussed the role of the National Academies in addressing the pandemic and underlying issues of systemic racism that have led to health disparities in the United States. This publication summarizes the presentation and discussion of the workshop.

This book provides an up-to-date survey of durability issues, with a particular focus on specification and design, and how to achieve durability in actual concrete construction. It is aimed at the practising engineer, but is also a valuable resource for graduate-level programs in universities. Along with background to current philosophies it gathers together in one useful reference a summary of current knowledge on concrete durability, includes information on modern concrete materials, and shows how these materials can be combined to produce durable concrete. The approach is consistent with the increasing focus on sustainability that is being addressed by the concrete industry, with the current emphasis on ‘design for durability’.

FOREWORD

OnSeptember 11, 2001, Muslim terroristslaunched an attack on the United States to punish it for being what Osamabin Laden considered the land of the infidels! In fact, this attack was anattack on the entire Western world and, even more important, it was an attackon Western civilization, the underlying objective being to take civilizationback fourteen hundred years to a time of great glory for the Islamic world.

Inthe wake of the attack by young Muslim extremists, which resulted in the collapseof the twin towers of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, our leadersattempted to assure us that the terrorists did not represent the entire Muslimworld. It was said that they were the actions of a minority, of an extremefringe group. It was, and continues to be, troubling, however, that we haveheard very little strong condemnation coming from the supposed moderate Muslimcommunity. Who are these moderates? Why have they not spoken out morevociferously? Do they really exist? When will they speak out with moralindignation? Indeed, will they ever?

Formost Westerners Islam is thought to be just another world religion, equal toChristianity and Judaism. But is this really the case? Upon closer study, Islamseems to be far different from the other two religions. Certainly no one wouldaccuse Muslims of being tolerant, non-judgmental, non-violent or peace-loving!While Muslims have been allowed to build hundreds of mosques in Westerncountries, Christian churches may only rarely be built, if ever, in Muslimcountries! Indeed in some Muslim countries such as the Sudan, it is official government policy to demolishchurches! In addition, it is difficult to believe that any world religion wouldadvocate treating women as second-class citizens, and actually get away withit!

Theconcept of brotherhood in Islam is strong. The posture advocated by ProphetMohammed in the Koran toward non-Muslims, however, is to seek them out andannihilate them. The phenomenon of suicide bombers is at once both pathetic andchilling. On the one hand, it is pathetic that young Muslims are taught thatthey can gain entrance into paradise by taking peoples lives in such agruesome manner. Carnal pleasures, of course, await the males upon entranceinto heaven! On the other hand, it is chilling to think that there are anypeople living in the 21st century ready to teach and encourage suchsavagery. What is the supposed theological justification for holding to suchbeliefs? Indeed, is there any such thing in Islam as theology in which thetenets of the faith are examined critically? Isnt it the case, rather, thatthe teachings of Prophet Mohammed are accepted literally, and without question?

Inhis book, The Dawning of a New Dark Age,Mark Alexander explores these questions, and often finds disturbing answers.Unlike many authors on the subject, Mark actually lived and worked amongMuslims for many years; so he has first-hand knowledge of the religion andculture. While on his tours of duty in the Middle East, Mark immersed himself in Islam and Arabic culture, studying thereligion both from Occidental and Oriental perspectives. He familiarizedhimself not only with the Koran, but also with the beliefs and attitudes ofMuslims in the street. This experience has given him unusually clear insightsinto the aspirations of the Muslim world. Marks conclusions will not becomforting to those who would like to believe that the long-term threat to theWest is limited to the aspirations of a few fundamentalist terrorists.

Douglas Kennedy, Ph.D.,

This book provides an up-to-date survey of durability issues, with a particular focus on specification and design, and how to achieve durability in actual concrete construction. It is aimed at the practising engineer, but is also a valuable resource for graduate-level programs in universities. Along with background to current philosophies it gathers together in one useful reference a summary of current knowledge on concrete durability, includes information on modern concrete materials, and shows how these materials can be combined to produce durable concrete. The approach is consistent with the increasing focus on sustainability that is being addressed by the concrete industry, with the current emphasis on ‘design for durability’.

This book gathers contributions presented at the 7th International Conference on Concrete Repair, Rehabilitation and Retrofitting (ICCRRR), held in Cape Town, South Africa, on November 4–6, 2024. The conference aims at sharing knowledge and experience on current developments in concrete technology, durability design and service life management, condition assessment of concrete structures, and concrete repair, rehabilitation and retrofitting. The contributions, which were selected through a rigorous international peer-review process, share exciting ideas that will spur novel research directions and foster new multidisciplinary collaborations.

Concrete and cement-based materials must operate in increasingly aggressive aqueous environments, which may be either natural or industrial.  These materials may suffer degradation in which ion addition and/or ion exchange reactions occur, leading to a breakdown of the matrix microstructure and consequent weakening.  Sometimes this degradation can be extremely rapid and serious such as in acidic environments, while in other cases degradation occurs over long periods.  Consequences of material failure are usually severe – adversely affecting the health and well-being of human communities and disturbing ecological balances. There are also large direct costs of maintaining and replacing deteriorated infrastructure and indirect costs from loss of production during maintenance work, which place a great burden on society.

The focus of this book is on addressing issues concerning performance of cement-based materials in aggressive aqueous environments , by way of this State-of-the-Art Report. The book represents the work of many well-known and respected authors who contributed chapters or parts of chapters. Four main themes were addressed: I. Nature and kinetics of degradation and deterioration mechanisms of cement-based materials in aggressive aqueous environments, II. Modelling of deterioration in such environments, III. Test methods to assess performance of cement-based materials in such environments, and which can be used to characterise and rate relative performance and inform long term predictions, IV. Engineering implications and consequences of deterioration in aggressive aqueous environments, and engineering approaches to the problem.