Special Issue on Sustainable Materials and Structures

This special issue consists of extended and revised versions of 10 papers selected from those presented at the First International Conference on Performance-Based and Life-Cycle Structural Engineering (PLSE 2012). The conference was co-organized by the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) and the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD) of Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), and was held on December 5–7, 2012, in Hong Kong. PLSE 2012 was organized as the first conference in a series to provide an international platform for scientific exchange and international cooperation in the areas of performance-based and life-cycle structural engineering for a wide range of structures, such as building, bridges, and offshore platforms. Both performance-based and life-cycle structural engineering are important areas of structural engineering research; they have also gained gradual acceptance in structural engineering practice. In particular, performance-based life-cycle structural engineering, based on a full integration of these two areas, offers an exciting new direction for structural engineering within the context of sustainable urban development.

The conference program comprised approximately 230 presentations, including nine keynote lectures and 34 invited lectures. Eleven mini-symposia on specialized topics were also organized as part of the conference. As one of the six journal special issues that have arisen from PLSE 2012, this special issue is focused on the topic of “sustainable materials and structures” and primarily addresses the following topics: long-term or life-cycle performance of concrete materials and structures, long-term performance of structures incorporating fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites, and recycling of materials for structural purposes.

As Guest Editors of this special issue, we would like to acknowledge the contributions of many individuals to the successful compilation of this special issue. In particular, we would like to thank all authors for their careful preparation of the papers and the reviewers for their prompt and high quality reviews. Sincere thanks are also due to Professor Antonio Nanni, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, for his kind support during the development of this special issue.