We are honoured to invite you to attend the 12th International Conference on Building Materials and Components that we will be hosting from 12th to 15th April 2011 in Porto, Portugal.

This International Conference is the 12th Meeting of the well-known and prestigious DBMC Conferences that take place every 3 years. Its scope is to bring together those concerned about durability of building materials and components and thus provide a forum for discussion of the most recent research and practice in this domain.

Established since the 12th Century, Portugal is one of the oldest countries in Europe. Its climate is mild with both Atlantic and Mediterranean characteristics. The historic city of Porto is located in the North of Portugal and was classified as World Heritage by UNESCO in 1996. It has good accessibility with an International Airport just a few kilometres away from the centre.


THEMES:

THEME 1
Building Physics and Durability
T11 Degradation mechanisms;
T12 Environment characterisation;
T13 Natural and accelerated ageing tests.

THEME 2 Service Life Prediction Methodologies
T21 Predictive models;
T22 Field studies;
T23 Risk analysis.

THEME 3 The Durability Approach for Historical and Old Buildings
T31 Durability of traditional materials;
T32 Durability of refurbishment solutions.

THEME 4 Building Pathology vs. Durability
T41 Methodologies of research;
T42 Cases of failure.

THEME 5 Asset and Maintenance Management
T51 Service life planning;
T52 Inspection routines and repair actions.

THEME 6 The Durability of Innovative Materials, Systems and Components
T61 Durability assessment;
T62 Designing for durability.

THEME 7 Life Cycle Analysis and Durable Construction
T71 Economical and environmental assessment of the building;
T72 Life cycle analysis of materials and components.

THEME 8 Standardization and Regulations

THEME 9 Information Technology as a Tool for Durable Construction Design