The Science of Construction Materials

Ole Mejlhede Jensen is Professor of Construction Materials in the Department of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Denmark. He has worked close together with the late Professor Per Freiesleben Hansen for 15 years. Ole Mejlhede Jensen is presently chairman of the Technical Activities Committee and the Educational Activities Committee of RILEM.

Systems of matter.- Thermodynamic concepts.- First law.- Second law.- Calculations of equilibrium.- Electrochemistry.- Mathematical appendix.- Tables.- Solutions to check-up questions and exercises.

From the reviews: "Many of the aspects of the deterioration of concrete infrastructure, such as corrosion of reinforcing steel, cannot be addressed until the underlying physics and chemistry are clearly understood. The textbook, Science of Construction Materials, is the first one in English that synthesizes various materials science issues, which are the foundation of our recent advances in infrastructure materials.  An unusual and critically important aspect of the textbook is that it includes not only detailed concepts of thermodynamics and electrochemistry but also lays a mathematical foundation of computational models, which are necessary to tackle complex interactions between chemistry and mechanics. This book fills a much-needed gap in the scant literature available to students and researchers trying to learn the science of infrastructure materials."
Surendra P. Shah, Walter P. Murphy Professor of Civil Engineering, Director of the Center for Advanced Cement Based Materials, Northwestern University "This well-written and -illustrated book, authored by the late Freiesleben Hansen and edited by Mejlhede Jensen ... reviews the thermodynamic, kinetic, and electrochemical concepts that are applied to the solution of problems pertinent to construction materials. ... The work ends with solutions to questions and exercises, and a detailed subject index. Literature in this area is rather scant, so the book will be very beneficial to civil engineering students, researchers, and practicing engineers. ... Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional libraries." (T. Z. Kattamis, Choice, Vol. 47 (10), June, 2010)