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