Proceedings PRO110 : International RILEM Conference Materials, Systems and Structures in Civil Engineering 2016 Segment on Historical Masonry

Title: Proceedings of the International RILEM Conference Materials, Systems and Structures in Civil Engineering 2016 Segment on Historical Masonry Edited by: Inge Rörig-Dalgaard and Ioannis Ioannou e-ISBN: 978-2-35158-179-7 ISBN:978-2-35158-178-0 Pages: 275 Publication date: 2016

The conference “Materials, Systems and Structures in Civil Engineering – MSSCE 2016” is
part of the RILEM week 2016, which consists of a series of parallel and consecutive
conference and doctoral course segments on different topics as well as technical and
administrative meetings in several scientific organizations. The event is hosted by the
Department of Civil Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark and the Danish
Technological Institute and it is held at the Lyngby campus of the Technical University of
Denmark 15-29 August 2016.
This volume contains the proceedings of the MSSCE 2016 conference segment on “Historical
Masonry”. This conference segment has been organised to revitalize interest in Historical
Masonry within the RILEM community. Historical structures comprise a major part of our
architectural and cultural heritage. Despite the fact that one may get the impression that these
structures have been there forever and therefore have a never-ending history, the truth is
somehow different. Historical structures need extra care and continuing attention to survive in
the changing and challenging environment they are exposed to. At the same time, the
complexity of these structures, in the form of construction materials and typologies, adds to
the difficulty in approaching them effectively and efficiently. Special demands are therefore
imposed upon academics and practitioners who work with historical masonry structures in
order to maintain their durability, without affecting their original character.
In view of the above, the present conference segment deals with theory, modelling and results
from experimental investigations within the wider field of Historical Masonry. The topics
covered include masonry materials (characterization and reproduction), measurement
techniques, mechanisms of masonry decay and methods of assessing and protecting masonry.
Papers featuring in the proceedings present state-of-the-art knowledge that extends to some
interesting case studies. All contributions have been peer-reviewed thanks to the voluntary
work of the members of the scientific committee and a select group of colleagues around the
world.
Despite the fact that we had to compete against a number of other major conferences in the
field, also taking place in 2016 (e.g. Terra, IBMAC, Stone Congress and HMC), we managed
to get together a significant number of participants from all over Europe and USA, thus
making the Historical Masonry conference segment one of the busiest events during the
RILEM Week. We would therefore like to thank each and every one of the contributors for
their input and attendance and for inspiring discussions on the topic we are all very much
interested in. Special thanks to our 2 distinguished keynote speakers (Profs G.W. Scherer and
P.B. Lourenco). Their presence in Lyngby will surely contribute to make this conference a
success.
Working together to create a platform for collaboration on Historical Masonry has been a joy!
We hope that you will also enjoy the conference and your stay in Denmark. May this
conference segment be the starting point for increased activity within RILEM in the field of
Historical Masonry!

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