Editorial

The area of structures and constructions in plain, reinforced and pre-stressed concrete is developing very fast in Brazil in recent years, with a great technical development and strong investment in the upgrade and expansion of the country infrastructure.

At the same time it is comforting to observe that academic programs and associated research centers have also received generous funding and support from the public sector and, in some cases, estab- lished strong cooperation links with the industry. Today, there are 131 research groups related to con- crete registered in the country, 22% of which are considered of excellence, with a demand to produce and publish at an international level.

The subjects under study are the most varied, starting with materials science, conducted by research- ers from Materials, Chemical and Civil Engineering, passing by Structural Engineering and reaching the systemic point of view from researches in Architecture and Urbanism.

The IBRACON journal of scientific dissemination, classified in the system CAPES QUALIS as B2, was created and maintained with focus on these researchers. It is open to all visions and contributions aligned with improvement of the quality of life, economy of resources and energy, safety, robustness and sustainability of civil construction, in concrete and related materials.

In this issue seven articles of great interest are published: two of them reporting major studies regarding the interaction of the concrete structure with complementary systems. One examines the influence of founda- tion settlements, while the other deals with the influence of end conditions when composite cold-formed steel-concrete beams are connected to masonry in fire situations. In the field of structural rehabilitation there are two important contributions: one about the reinforcement of columns using self consolidating concrete, and the other focused on the comparison of compressive strength of mortars from laboratory tests with effective values observed in loco. An interesting and up-to-date article in the field of Materials treats the influence of lithium nitrate in the alkali-silica reaction. Finally, two articles are presented on the behavior of structures in use, one focusing on the monitoring of a 600m railway bridge and another on the seismic activity of the Northeastern Region of Brazil, recently affected by earthquakes.

With this number, IBRACON believes to achieving one of the most important objectives of this vehicle, which is to provide researchers with qualified means for the dissemination of research and technical developments related to structures and materials for civil construction, enriching the Brazilian engi- neering and promoting knowledge exchange with researchers worldwide.

Américo Campos Filho, José Luiz Antunes de O. e Sousa, Luiz Carlos Pinto da Silva Filho and Paulo Helene

Editors

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  16 Sept 2014
• Date of issue
  Sept 2010