David Fernández-Ordóñez Hernández

fib. International Federation for Structural Concrete

The need for reliable test data to verify scientific theories together with the necessity to calibrate code‐oriented expressions and their level of safety have pushed researchers to develop test databases. Such databases collect the work of multiple independent scientific initiatives compiling experimental evidences on similar test configurations b...

The fib Model Code 2020 workshop: Focus on Sustainability and exis�ng structures The fib Model Code 2020 workshop will deal with the latest developments of the fib Model Code as an interna�onal code for the design, assessment, interven�ons and the through-life management of new and exis�ng concrete structures. The fib MC2020 is taking sustainabilit...

This paper presents a work performed in the last years on a Textile Reinforced Concrete (TRC) Prototype Pavilion, raising questions about research on architecture and engineering within a pedagogical context. The construction of the pavilion explores how a hands-on approach builds up multi-layered knowledge and constitutes a common ground of commun...

Textile reinforced concrete (TRC) is a cementitious‐based material where reinforcement consists of high‐strength noncorrosive textile fabrics. Due to the use of a noncorrosive reinforcement, cover requirements can be limited to minimum static values and the amount of clinker in the cement can also be notably reduced. In addition, the simplicity to...

The use of sustainability assessment tools is gaining importance in the construction sector. There exist several methods with different approaches and scopes; however, there is still no consensus about which method should be used to deal with the sustainability assessment of concrete structures. Among these, the multi-criteria decision-making based...

Sustainable Concrete: Materials and Structures Ruben Paul Borg ¹, Petr Hajek ², David Fernandez-Ordonez ³ ¹ Faculty for the Built Environment, University of Malta, Malta Member, fib The International Federation for Structural Concrete, Commission 7 Sustainable Concrete ² Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic, Chairman, fib The Intern...

“I was born a builder. It was for me both an overriding need and also an endless source of joy imposing upon the crude material those shapes and forms which sprang from my own imagination”. In his work, there was never conflict between construction and design. He solved both questions at the same time in such an original way that the solutions wer...

The paper addresses significant issues closely connected to infrastructure sustainability such as the different approaches to sustainability, the importance of infrastructures for the development of a region and the specificities of agriculture infrastructures. Other topics covered are existing sustainability rating systems, the lack of a standard...

Eugene Freyssinet, in an unpublished manuscript, wrote. “One day I had the idea that although I could not force concrete to follow steel strain deformations without breaking, I could impose steel the previous deformation of concrete. It would suffice to impose to the whole of the reinforcement up to a higher total tension stress so if it would foll...

Infrastructure of communication, and in particular roads, have centuries of existence. The design, construction, operation, maintenance and dismantling have been adapted to the requirements and challenges of each historical period. Sustainability is one of the main challenges of our society, including as main pillars: economic, environmental and so...

The fib Symposium 2016 in Cape Town, South Africa brings together engineers, scientists, specifiers, concrete technologists, researchers and other practitioners from around the world. The goal is to share knowledge and experience of current developments in concrete technology and structural concrete design, with a particular focus on performance-ba...

Precast concrete elements are factory made products that permits to industrialize the construction industry and, therefore, to shift work from temporary construction sites to modern permanent facilities. Factory production entails rational and efficient manufacturing processes, skilled workers, systematization of repetitive tasks, and lower labor c...

No abstract is available for this article.

In the Iberian Peninsula there are many masonry bridges enduring over time that require inspection and maintenance. In 2007 it was carried out a restoration project on the bridge of Sant Andreu de Terri (Girona, Spain). Prior to this intervention, the bridge did not meet the safety and comfort requirements for the crossing of people and the walls s...

Direct foundations with continuous elements, such as slabs, provide more advantages than direct foundations with isolated elements, such as footings, and deep foundations, such as piles, in the case of soil with natural or man-made cavities. The slabs are usually designed by two-dimensional models which show their shape on the plant, on a lineal el...

The recent interest in technology-supported collaborative learning in higher education represents a confluence of trends: the development of new tools to support collaboration, the emergence of constructivist-based approaches to teaching and learning and the need to create more powerful and engaging learning environments. The goal of the collaborat...

The recent interest in technology-supported collaborative learning in higher education represents a confluence of trends: the development of new tools to support collaboration, the emergence of constructivist-based approaches to teaching and learning and the need to create more powerful and engaging learning environments. The goal of the collaborat...

As a way of reinforcing classroom-based lessons, especially for continuous evaluation, the authors experimented with remote conferences and tutoring. These seminars were directed at three different groups of students: those who are struggling with the subject, those who were unable to attend all the lessons, and those seeking deeper insight. The au...

The project arises from the need to develop improved teaching methodologies in field of the mechanics of continuous media. The objective is to offer the student a learning process to acquire the necessary theoretical knowledge, cognitive skills and the responsibility and autonomy to professional development in this area. Traditionally the teaching...

The serious geotechnical problems arising in many tunnels bored in material giving rise to stability problems as a result of being expansive, makes the water channelizers. These are materials which are easily washed with sulphates dissolving with water causing the massif to become decompressed and to remould, aggravating and transferring the proble...

In many cases the only places available for the construction of a new car park are the existing streets or roads. These streets may also have important or historic buildings very close to the structure, which means that they cannot be disturbed in any way during the construction of the parking structure. In this particular case, the novelty is tha...

The need for housing has increased significantly during the last decades all over the world. It is felt particularly in countries where the population growth rate is high and the economy is developing fast; but everywhere people are shifting from the countryside to towns, where housing in neighbourhoods often becomes critical. The need for affordab...

The need for housing has increased significantly during the last decades. This need is considerable at present in third world and developing countries, where the population has a rate of growth much larger than developed countries. Furthermore the population in the world is shifting to the cities. In the surrounding areas of third world and develop...

Neste artigo apresenta-se a Ponte Sobre o Rio Tâmega, localizada no lanço E3 da SCUT Interior Norte. Trata-se de uma estrutura construída com vigas pré-fabricadas, com uma distância de 80 m entre a base dos pilares localizados na margem do rio. Estes pilares são inclinados, em forma de “V”, o que permite a execução da obra com elementos pré-fabrica...

Various conditionings, such as crossing of rivers or crossing at a great height of places with bad foundation conditions, can determine the conception of bridges with span lengths in such a way that it is not practicable to build them with precast beams of the same length as the span. Indeed, beams longer than a certain limit value (normally 30 to...

The modern trends in the development and application of precast concrete bridges are discussed. The development of precast bridges has been mainly done by the precast industry in collaboration with public authorities. Initially, the projects were based on beam systems with a cast in-situ deck. Later on, the developments went towards more completely...

Se han revisado los ensayos sobre cortante realizados por F.Leonhardt en 1961 en Stuttgart junto a R.Walter. También se han analizado los ensayos M.P. Nielsen y M.W. Braestrup en la Universidad Técnica de Dinamarca en 1980, y por último se han analizado los ensayos llevados a cabo por Teófilo Serrano en el CEDEX en el año 1982. En estos ensayos la...

Through more than half a century of experimentation, all kinds of prefabricated components applied to construction have been created. The evolution of the different constructive solutions for building has been possible thanks to a constant improvement of the techniques and to a fruitful collaboration with architects, engineers, designers and builde...

Evaluating the aesthetics of a bridge through the study of its proportions is one way of reflecting over its aesthetic values. In this article, some of the formal considerations concerning the bridge and each one of its components are outlined. The main objective is to establish an index of certain aspects so that formal as well as structural and f...