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The object of the seminar at the Dead Sea in Israel is to discuss the future trends in research, development, and practical engineering applications related to durable concrete construction. The seminar is organized under the scientific sponsorship of Technical Committees of International Union of Testing and Research Laboratories for Materials and Structures (RILEM) and of Japan Concrete Institute (JCI) dealing with curing, cracking and durability of concrete. A focus of the seminar will be the design and construction of concrete structures exposed to severe environmental conditions. Examples of such environments are highly concentrated magnesium, sulfate and chloride brines of the hot weather Dead Sea and calcium chloride salt exposure of infrastructure (e.g. pavements and bridges) in cold climates. Although reinforced concrete structures can be designed and built to be durable in harsh conditions, there are numerous occasions where this potential is not materialized. The economic implications of the damage when such deterioration occurs are quite large. The annual cost of repairs of concrete and reinforced concrete structures deteriorated due to chloride corrosion only in the Middle East, Japan, North Europe and North America, is estimated to be hundreds of billions of dollars. Therefore, the problem of durable concrete materials and life-cycle evaluation of concrete structures for use under severe conditions in different climates, hot and cold, is critically important. The research cooperation in studying the processes of concrete deterioration in different environments, and the development of advanced high-performance materials, with a focus on utilization of industrial by-products, such as coal fly ash and granulated slag, is expected to bring scientific and practical benefits for the society.
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