Forensic Construction Materials Engineering

This course is offered for the students who are interested in forensic construction materials engineering, which comprises techniques and protocols to associate construction damage and failure to the materials characteristics and design. The course is especially suited for those students who would like to work in the field of consultancy.

The main focus of the course is on concrete, reinforced-concrete, masonry, glass, natural resources, asphalt concrete and other bituminous materials. However, the techniques discussed can be considered equally useful for steel, composites and bio-based construction materials.

The content covers the following topics. Each week, a workshop session is devoted to the applications of the forensic techniques on various construction materials.

Week 1. Introduction and damage types

Week 2. Sampling and specimen preperation

Week 3. Optical microscopy

Week 4. Corrosion techniques

Week 5. Electron microscopy and microanalysis

Week 6. X-ray techniques

Week 7. Selected topics

Week 8. Practical aspects, reporting and communication

Formative feedback will be provided on the weekly assignments.

Summative assessment: portfolio (100%)

In this course, a portfolio is defined as: participation in the workshops, writing a technical report based on the workshop activities and participating in an oral discussion with the lecturer(s) concerning the workshop activities.

The summative assessment will cover the following workshop activities + discussion. The order and subject of the activities may change depending on the availability of the facilities. This will be communicated with the students timely.

Workshop 1: Sampling /specimen prep. / NDT (10%)

Workshop 2: Optical microscopy characterization (10%)

Workshop 3: Forensic techniques for corrosion (10%)

Workshop 4: Electron microscopy and microanalysis (10%)

Workshop 5: X-ray techniques (10%)

Workshop 6: Selected topics (10%)

Discussion: Discussion of the final consultancy report (40%)

The portfolio discussion will take place in an individual conversation with the student where questions about the content of the module may also be expected.

A successful participation in the elective requires a minimum grade of 5.8

For more information on grading, see article 14 in the Rules and Guidelines (RGBE):

https://www.tudelft.nl/en/student/ceg-student-portal/education/education-information/educational-rules-and-regulations

Permitted Materials during Exam

N/A