This book presents the work done by the RILEM Technical Committee 274-TCE. It focuses on the estimation of the parameters which are necessary to properly design earthen constructions. It provides a compilation of the value classically obtained for the key parameters of earthen materials, a pedagogical presentation of the main testing procedures for earthen materials, their advantage and their drawback and an overview of most standards on earthen materials, whatever their origin and their language.The book is divided into eight chapters. After a general introduction on earthen materials and constructions, the state of the art on the material characterisation technics, the assessment of hygrothermal performance, the mechanical behaviour, seismic resistance and the durability will be presented, each in a dedicated chapter. On the basis of these last chapters, a critical review of the standards which are used for earthen material will be presented in the last chapter. The last chapter is dedicated to the analysis of the environmental potential of earth-based building materials.

The work of the RILEM Technical Committee (TC -236 BBM) was dedicated to the study of construction materials made from plant particles. It considered the question whether building materials containing as main raw material recyclable and easily available plant particles are renewable. This book includes a state-of-the-art report and an appendix. The state-of-the-art report relates to the description of vegetal aggregates. Then, hygrothermal properties, fire resistance, durability and finally the impact of the variability of the method of production of bio-based concrete are assessed. The appendix is a TC report which presents the experience of a working group. The goal was to define testing methods for the measurement of water absorption, bulk density, particle size distribution, and thermal conductivity of bio aggregates. The work is based on a first round robin test of the TC-BBM where the protocols in use by the different laboratories (labs) are compared. p>

Among different approaches that can be considered for concrete rehabilitation, bonded overlays are often the most economical alternative. The primary purpose of overlays is to extend the life of the candidate structures, either by restoring the quality and integrity of the surface and/or the re-establishing or improving the load-carrying capacity. Nevertheless, the durability of bonded overlay systems still draws concerns in the technical community because of bond sustainability problems encountered in a number of cases. At this time, there is still no accepted design approach or methodology that can warrant the practitioner a successful outcome of the repair. This State-of-Art report summarizes the findings with respect to all aspects involved in the overlaying process.

This book presents the detailed results of five task groups of the RILEM technical committee TC 237-SIB on Testing and Characterization of Sustainable Innovative Bituminous Materials and Systems. It concentrates on specific new topics in asphalt binder and mixture testing, dealing with new developments in asphalt testing, in particular also in view of new innovative bituminous materials, such as hot and cold recycled mixtures, grid reinforced pavements and recycled Reclaimed Asphalt Pavements (RAP), where test methods developed for traditional asphalt concrete are not a priori applicable. The main objective is providing a basis for pre-standardization by comparing different test methods and showing ways for fundamental improvements. Thus, the book also points the way for a further advanced chemo-physical understanding of materials and their role in pavement systems relying on fundamental material properties and suitable models for describing and predicting the intrinsic mechanisms that determine the material behavior.