EBookClubs

Read Books & Download eBooks Full Online

EBookClubs

Read Books & Download eBooks Full Online

Book Concrete Structures for Oil and Gas Fields in Hostile Marine Environments

Download or read book Concrete Structures for Oil and Gas Fields in Hostile Marine Environments written by fib Fédération internationale du béton and published by fib Fédération internationale du béton. This book was released on 2008-12-01 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Concrete offshore structures have been successfully delivered to the international oil and gas industry for more than 35 years. Some 50 major concrete platforms of different shapes and sizes, supporting large production and storage facilities, are currently operating in hostile marine environments worldwide and have excellent service records. After some years with little development activity, today there is a renewed interest in robust structures for the Arctic environment, for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals and for special floating barges and vessels. Currently, concrete solutions are being considered for projects north and east of Russia, north of Norway and offshore Newfoundland, among others. Concrete is also in increasing demand in built up coastal areas for a variety of purposes such as harbour works, tunnels and bridges, cargo terminals, parking garages and sea front housing developments where durability and robustness are essential. The mandate of fib Task Group 1.5 was to gather the experience and know-how pertinent to the development, design and execution of offshore concrete structures, and to elaborate on the applicability of concrete structures for the Arctic environments. The findings of the Task Group are presented in fib Bulletin 50. The report is based on experience gained from the design, execution and performance of a number of offshore concrete structures around the world and in particular in the North Sea. Ongoing inspections have shown excellent durability and structural performance, even in structures that have exceeded their design lives, in conditions often characterized by extreme wave loads, freezing conditions, hurricane force winds and seismic actions. This forms the "background" for discussing the applicability of concrete structures for the Arctic regions. Although to a large extent dedicated to oil- and gas- related structures, the report is also relevant to other marine applications where the same design principles, material selection criteria and construction methods apply. fib Bulletin 50 is not in itself a code, nor is it a textbook. Rather, extensive reference is made to proven and readily available design codes and construction guides, as well as relevant papers and proceedings and other fib publications.

Book Precast concrete buildings in seismic areas

Download or read book Precast concrete buildings in seismic areas written by FIB – Féd. Int. du Béton and published by FIB - Féd. Int. du Béton. This book was released on 2016 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This document has a broad scope and is not focussed on design issues. Precast construction under seismic conditions is treated as a whole. The main principles of seismic design of different structural systems, their behavior and their construction techniques are presented through rules, construction steps and sequences, procedures, and details that should lead to precast structures built in seismic areas complying with the fundamental performance requirements of collapse prevention and life safety in major earthquakes and limited damage in more frequent earthquakes. The content of this document is largely limited to conventional precast construction and, although some information is provided on the well-known “PRESSS technology” (jointed ductile dry connections), this latter solution is not treated in detail in this document. The general overview, contained in this document, of alternative structural systems and connection solutions available to achieve desired performance levels, intends to provide engineers, architects, clients, and end-users (in general) with a better appreciation of the wide range of applications that modern precast concrete technology can have in various types of construction from industrial to commercial as well as residential. Lastly, the emphasis on practical aspects, from conceptual design to connection detailing, aims to help engineers to move away from the habit of blindly following prescriptive codes in their design, but instead go back to basic principles, in order to achieve a more robust understanding, and thus control, of the seismic behaviour of the structural system as a whole, as well as of its components and individual connections.

Book Large Floating Structures

Download or read book Large Floating Structures written by C.M. Wang and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-09-06 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book surveys key projects that have seen the construction of large floating structures or have attained detailed conceptual designs. This compilation of key floating structures in a single volume captures the innovative features that mark the technological advances made in this field of engineering and will provide a useful reference for ideas, analysis, design and construction of these unique and emerging urban projects to offshore and marine engineers, urban planners, architects and students.

Book Integrated life cycle assessment of concrete structures

Download or read book Integrated life cycle assessment of concrete structures written by fib Fédération Internationale du béton and published by fib Fédération Internationale du béton. This book was released on 2013-09-03 with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Concrete is after water the second most used material. The production of concrete in the industrialized countries annually amounts to 1.5-3 tonne per capita and is still increasing. This has significant impact on the environment. Thus there is an urgent need for more effective use of concrete in structures and their assessment. The scope of activities of the fib Task Group 3.7 was to define the methodology for integrated life-cycle assessment of concrete structures considering main essential aspects of sustainability such as: environmental, economic and social aspects throughout the whole life of the concrete structure. The aim was to set up basic methodology to be helpful in development of design and assessment tools focused on sustainability of concrete structure within the whole life cycle. Integrated Life Cycle Assessment (ILCA) represents an advanced approach integrating different aspects of sustainability in one complex assessment procedure. The integrated approach is necessary to insure that the structure will serve during the whole expected service life with a maximum functional quality and safety, while environmental and economic loads will be kept at a low level. The effective application and quality of results are dependent on the availability of relevant input data obtained using a detailed inventory analysis, based on specific regional conditions. The evaluation of the real level of total quality of concrete structure should be based on a detailed ILCA analysis using regionally or locally relevant data sets.

Book Partial factor methods for existing concrete structures

Download or read book Partial factor methods for existing concrete structures written by FIB - Féd. Int. du Béton and published by FIB - Féd. Int. du Béton. This book was released on 2016 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For a large part of the existing buildings and infrastructure the design life has been reached or will be reached in the near future. These structures might need to be reassessed in order to investigate whether the safety requirements are met. Current practice on the assessment of existing concrete structures however needs a thorough evaluation from a risk and reliability point of view, as they are mostly verified using simplified procedures based on the partial factor method commonly applied in design of new structures. Such assessments are often conservative and may lead to expensive upgrades. Although the last decades reliability-based assessment of existing concrete structures has gained wide attention in the research field, a consistent reliability-based assessment framework and a practically applicable codified approach which is compatible with the Eurocodes and accessible for common structural engineering problems in everyday practice is currently missing. Such an approach however allows for a more uniform, more objective and probably more widely applied assessment approach for existing concrete structures. Hence, in this bulletin two different partial factor formats are elaborated, i.e. the Design Value Method (DVM) and the Adjusted Partial Factor Method (APFM), enabling the incorporation of specific reliability related aspects for existing structures. The DVM proposes a fundamental basis for evaluating partial factors whereas the APFM provides adjustment factors to be applied on the partial factors for new structures in EN 1990. In this bulletin both methods are elaborated and evaluated and a basis is provided for decision making regarding the target safety level of existing structures.

Book Tailor Made Concrete Structures

Download or read book Tailor Made Concrete Structures written by Joost C. Walraven and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2008-05-01 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent years knowledge of concrete and concrete structures has increased, as has its applications. New types of concrete challenged scientists and engineers, and ecological constraints encouraged the implementation of life cycle design of concrete structures, moving the focus more and more to maintenance and uprating of structures. And since bui

Book Design of precast concrete structures against accidental actions

Download or read book Design of precast concrete structures against accidental actions written by fib Fédération internationale du béton and published by fib Fédération internationale du béton. This book was released on 2012-01-01 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the 1980’s, several buildings throughout the world have been subject to gas explosions, impact by cars or airplanes, or car bomb attacks. In many cases the effect of the impact or explosion has been the failure of a critical structural member at the perimeter of the building. After the failure, the load supported by that member could not be redistributed and part or all of the structure has collapsed in a progressive manner. The phenomenon that occurs when local failure is not confined to the area of initial distress, and spreads horizontally and/or vertically through the structure, is termed progressive collapse. Progressive collapse is a relatively rare event, as it requires both an accidental action to cause local damage and a structure that lacks adequate continuity, ductility, and redundancy to prevent the spread of damage. It is technically very difficult and economically prohibitive to design buildings for absolute safety. However it is possible to construct precast concrete buildings that afford an acceptable degree of safety with regard to accidental actions. A structure is normally designed to respond properly, without damage, under normal load conditions, but local and/or global damages cannot be avoided under the effect of an unexpected, but moderate degree of accidental overload. Properly designed and constructed structures usually possess reasonable probability not to collapse catastrophically under such loads, depending on different factors, for example: the type of loading; the degree and the location of accidental loading in regard to the structure and its structural members; the type of structural system, the construction technology, and the spans between structural vertical members, etc. No structure can be expected to be totally resistant to actions arising from an unexpected and extreme cause, but it should not be damaged to an extent that is disproportionate to the original cause. The aim of fib Bulletin 63 is to summarize the present knowledge on the subject and to provide guidance for the design of precast structures against progressive collapse. This is addressed in terms of (a) the classification of the actions, (b) their effect on the structural types, (c) the strategies to cope with such actions, (d) the design methods and (e) some typical detailing, all supplemented with illustrations from around the world, and some model calculations.

Book Proceedings fib Symposium in Amsterdam Netherlands

Download or read book Proceedings fib Symposium in Amsterdam Netherlands written by FIB – International Federation for Structural Concrete and published by FIB - Féd. Int. du Béton. This book was released on 2008-05-01 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book Fibre reinforced concrete From design to structural applications

Download or read book Fibre reinforced concrete From design to structural applications written by FIB - Féd. Int. du Béton and published by FIB - Féd. Int. du Béton. This book was released on 2016 with total page 497 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The FRC-2014 Workshop Fibre Reinforced Concrete: from Design to Structural Applications was the first ACI-fib joint technical event. The Workshop, held at Polytechnique Montreal (Canada) on July 24th and 25th 2014, was attended by 116 participants from 25 countries and 4 continents. The first international FRC workshop was held in Bergamo (Italy) in 2004. At that time, the lack of specific building codes and standards was identified as the main inhibitor to the application of this technology in engineering practice. Ten years after Bergamo, many of the objectives identified at that time have been achieved. The use of fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) for designing structural members in bending and shear has recently been addressed in the fib Model Code 2010. Steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC) has also been used structurally in several building and bridge projects in Europe and North-America. SFRC has been widely used in segmental tunnel linings all over the world. Members of ACI544 and fib TG-4.1 have been involved in writing code based specifications for the design of FRC structural members. More than fifty papers were presented at the Workshop from which forty-four were selected for this joint ACI/fib publication. The papers are organised in the document under six themes: Design guidelines and specifications, Material properties for design, Behaviour and design of beams and columns, Behaviour and design of slabs and other structures, Behaviour and design of foundations and underground components, and finally, Applications in structure and underground construction projects.

Book Structural Concrete Textbook  Volume 5

Download or read book Structural Concrete Textbook Volume 5 written by fib Fédération internationale du béton and published by fib Fédération internationale du béton. This book was released on 2012-06-01 with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The third edition of the Structural Concrete Textbook is an extensive revision that reflects advances in knowledge and technology over the past decade. It was prepared in the intermediate period from the CEP-FIP Model Code 1990 (MC90) tofib Model Code for Concrete Structures 2010 (MC2010), and as such incorporates a significant amount of information that has been already finalized for MC2010, while keeping some material from MC90 that was not yet modified considerably. The objective of the textbook is to give detailed information on a wide range of concrete engineering from selection of appropriate structural system and also materials, through design and execution and finally behaviour in use. The revised fib Structural Concrete Textbook covers the following main topics: phases of design process, conceptual design, short and long term properties of conventional concrete (including creep, shrinkage, fatigue and temperature influences), special types of concretes (such as self compacting concrete, architectural concrete, fibre reinforced concrete, high and ultra high performance concrete), properties of reinforcing and prestressing materials, bond, tension stiffening, moment-curvature, confining effect, dowel action, aggregate interlock; structural analysis (with or without time dependent effects), definition of limit states, control of cracking and deformations, design for moment, shear or torsion, buckling, fatigue, anchorages, splices, detailing; design for durability (including service life design aspects, deterioration mechanisms, modelling of deterioration mechanisms, environmental influences, influences of design and execution on durability); fire design (including changes in material and structural properties, spalling, degree of deterioration), member design (linear members and slabs with reinforcement layout, deep beams); management, assessment, maintenance, repair (including, conservation strategies, risk management, types of interventions) as well as aspects of execution (quality assurance), formwork and curing. The updated textbook provides the basics of material and structural behaviour and the fundamental knowledge needed for the design, assessment or retrofitting of concrete structures. It will be essential reading material for graduate students in the field of structural concrete, and also assist designers and consultants in understanding the background to the rules they apply in their practice. Furthermore, it should prove particularly valuable to users of the new editions of Eurocode 2 for concrete buildings, bridges and container structures, which are based only partly on MC90 and partly on more recent knowledge which was not included in the 1999 edition of the textbook.

Book Structural Concrete Textbook  Volume 4

Download or read book Structural Concrete Textbook Volume 4 written by fib Fédération internationale du béton and published by fib Fédération internationale du béton. This book was released on 2010-06-01 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The second edition of the Structural Concrete Textbook is an extensive revision that reflects advances in knowledge and technology over the past decade. It was prepared in the intermediate period from the CEP-FIP Model Code 1990 (MC90) to fib Model Code for Concrete Structures 2010 (MC2010), and as such incorporates a significant amount of information that has been already finalized for MC2010, while keeping some material from MC90 that was not yet modified considerably. The objective of the textbook is to give detailed information on a wide range of concrete engineering from selection of appropriate structural system and also materials, through design and execution and finally behaviour in use. The revised fib Structural Concrete Textbook covers the following main topics: phases of design process, conceptual design, short and long term properties of conventional concrete (including creep, shrinkage, fatigue and temperature influences), special types of concretes (such as self compacting concrete, architectural concrete, fibre reinforced concrete, high and ultra high performance concrete), properties of reinforcing and prestressing materials, bond, tension stiffening, moment-curvature, confining effect, dowel action, aggregate interlock; structural analysis (with or without time dependent effects), definition of limit states, control of cracking and deformations, design for moment, shear or torsion, buckling, fatigue, anchorages, splices, detailing; design for durability (including service life design aspects, deterioration mechanisms, modelling of deterioration mechanisms, environmental influences, influences of design and execution on durability); fire design (including changes in material and structural properties, spalling, degree of deterioration), member design (linear members and slabs with reinforcement layout, deep beams); management, assessment, maintenance, repair (including, conservation strategies, risk management, types of interventions) as well as aspects of execution (quality assurance), formwork and curing. The updated textbook provides the basics of material and structural behaviour and the fundamental knowledge needed for the design, assessment or retrofitting of concrete structures. It will be essential reading material for graduate students in the field of structural concrete, and also assist designers and consultants in understanding the background to the rules they apply in their practice. Furthermore, it should prove particularly valuable to users of the new editions of Eurocode 2 for concrete buildings, bridges and container structures, which are based only partly on MC90 and partly on more recent knowledge which was not included in the 1999 edition of the textbook.

Book Precast tunnel segments in fibre reinforced concrete

Download or read book Precast tunnel segments in fibre reinforced concrete written by fib Fédération Internationale du Béton and published by FIB - Féd. Int. du Béton. This book was released on 2017-08-01 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the publication of this bulletin, fib Commission 1 is initiating a new series of documents related to the use of structural concrete in underground construction, where structural concrete plays a major and increasingly important role. The usage of underground space is more than ever a key issue of urban planning and fib decided to start addressing the issues related to the design and construction of concrete structures in this particular environment. In this context one the most significant applications of structural concrete is tunnel lining, for which the properties of reinforced concrete are particularly well suited through compressive strength, water tightness, ductility, and durability. Reinforced concrete tunnels linings have mostly been traditionally cast in situ, but the development of Tunnel Boring Machines has lead to the invention of precast concrete segmental lining technology, which is nowadays one of the most promising applications of Fibre Reinforced Concrete (FRC). Thanks to the courage and dedication of innovative designers and contractors, a number of large tunnels have already been built around the World with FRC precast linings, and this report presents the experience acquired with these projects, and also provides guidance about the way to apply 2010 fib Model Code recommendations on FRC to these structures. The main drivers of this evolution from RC to FRC are a better ductility, more durability, and easier fabrication and construction process. As Commission 1 chair, I am very grateful to Alberto Meda and to all members of this task group for opening the way to this new field of underground structures within our commission, and to have efficiently produced a document that will be useful to our members and to the construction community around the World.

Book Planning and design handbook on precast building structures

Download or read book Planning and design handbook on precast building structures written by FIB - Féd. Int. du Béton and published by FIB - Féd. Int. du Béton. This book was released on 2014 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1994 fib Commission 6: Prefabrication edited a successful Planning and Design Handbook that ran to approximately 45,000 copies and was published in Spanish and German. Nearly 20 years later Bulletin 74 brings that first publication up to date. It offers a synthesis of the latest structural design knowledge about precast building structures against the background of 21st century technological innovations in materials, production and construction. With it, we hope to help architects and engineers achieve a full understanding of precast concrete building structures, the possibilities they offer and their specific design philosophy. It was principally written for non-seismic structures. The handbook contains eleven chapters, each dealing with a specific aspect of precast building structures. The first chapter of the handbook highlights best practice opportunities that will enable architects, design engineers and contractors to work together towards finding efficient solutions, which is something unique to precast concrete buildings. The second chapter offers basic design recommendations that take into account the possibilities, restrictions and advantages of precast concrete, along with its detailing, manufacture, transport, erection and serviceability stages. Chapter three describes the precast solutions for the most common types of buildings such as offices, sports stadiums, residential buildings, hotels, industrial warehouses and car parks. Different application possibilities are explored to teach us which types of precast units are commonly used in all those situations. Chapter four covers the basic design principles and systems related to stability. Precast concrete structures should be designed according to a specific stability concept, unlike cast in-situ structures. Chapter five discusses structural connections. Chapters six to nine address the four most commonly used systems or subsystems of precast concrete in buildings, namely, portal and skeletal structures, wall-frame structures, floor and roof structures and architectural concrete facades. In chapter ten the design and detailing of a number of specific construction details in precast elements are discussed, for example, supports, corbels, openings and cutouts in the units, special features related to the detailing of the reinforcement, and so forth. Chapter eleven gives guidelines for the fire design of precast concrete structures. The handbook concludes with a list of references to good literature on precast concrete construction.

Book Code type models for concrete behaviour

Download or read book Code type models for concrete behaviour written by fib Fédération internationale du béton and published by fib Fédération internationale du béton. This book was released on 2013-11-01 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: fib Model Code 2010 represents the state-of-the-art of code-type models for structural behaviour of concrete. It comprises constitutive relations and material models together with the most important explanatory notes. However the underlying normative work, i.e. the fundamental data as well as the considerations and discussions behind the formulas could not be given within the Model Code text. Based on various experiences gained after the publication of Model Code 1990 this lacking background information will lead in the following to numerous questions arising from Model Code users. Consequently the present bulletin claims to conquer this general weakness of codes in a way to guard against any future misunderstandings of the Model Code 2010 related to its chapter 5.1 (Concrete). It discusses the given formulas in connection with experimental data and the most important international literature. The constitutive relations or material models, being included in MC1990 and forming the basis and point of origin of the Task Group’s work, were critically evaluated, if necessary and possible adjusted, or replaced by completely new approaches. Major criteria have been the physical and thermodynamical soundness as well as practical considerations like simplicity and operationality. This state-of-the-art report is intended for practicizing engineers as well as for researchers and represents a comprehensible summary of the relevant knowledge available to the members of the fib Task Group 8.7 at the time of its drafting. Besides the fact that the bulletin is a background document for Chapter 5.1 of MC2010, it will provide an important foundation for the development of future generations of code-type models related to the characteristics and the behaviour of structural concrete. Further it will offer insights into the complexity of the normative work related to concrete modelling, leading to a better understanding and adequate appreciation of MC2010.

Book Benchmarking of deemed to satisfy provisions in standards

Download or read book Benchmarking of deemed to satisfy provisions in standards written by fib Fédération internationale du béton and published by fib Fédération internationale du béton. This book was released on 2015-05-01 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Standards for specifying and ensuring the durability of new concrete structures are commonly of the prescriptive kind. fib Bulletin 76: Benchmarking of deemed-to-satisfy provisions in standards - Durability of reinforced concrete structures exposed to chlorides presents the benchmarking of a number of rules for chloride-induced corrosion as given in national codes such as European, US and Australian standards. This new benchmark determines the reliability ranges in the chloride-induced depassivation of rebar if the deemed-to-satisfy rules of different countries are taken into consideration. It does not only involve (probabilistic) calculations using input mainly based on short-term and rapid laboratory-test data but also involves input based on an independent assessment of existing structures. The reliability analyses are carried out using the probabilistic design approach for chloride-induced corrosion presented in fib Bulletin 34: Model Code for Service Life Design (2006), fib Model Code for Concrete Structures 2010 and ISO 16204:2012. The work compares the calculated reliability ranges thus determined with the target reliabilities proposed by current specifications and, based on the comparison, offers a proposal for the improvement of deemed-to-satisfy rules and specifications. fib Bulletin 76 presents and discusses in detail the input data for the examined model parameters and offers an extensive annexe documenting the values of the individual parameters used in the analyses. It thus provides a reliable database for the performance-based probabilistic service-life design of concrete structures exposed to chlorides, be they in the form of salt fog, sea water or de-icing salts.

Book View Full Size Image Corrugated steel web bridges

Download or read book View Full Size Image Corrugated steel web bridges written by FIB - Féd. Int. du Béton and published by FIB - Féd. Int. du Béton. This book was released on 2015 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To date, very little has been published on the topic of corrugated-steel-web bridges. fib Bulletin 77 offers the global engineering community a first complete overview of this fascinating technology. The shear capacity of corrugated-steel web began to be studied in Japan in 1965 and resulted in the use of corrugated steel in steel-girder webs as a replacement for web stiffeners. After Japan laid the groundwork for the technology, France built the first composite bridge with corrugated-steel webs and upper and lower concrete slabs in the 1980s. Composite bridges had already been popular in France but engineers found that concrete slab creep meant that prestressing force spread into the steel plates, causing high losses. Corrugated-steel web, which reduces axial stiffness, was welcomed as a solution to this problem and several bridges were designed and built with this technology. Building on France’s composite technology, Japan began developing corrugated-web precast box-girder bridges in the 1990s and today has over 140 corrugated-web bridges, by far the largest number for any country in the world. Japanese engineers have come a long way in solving issues such as fatigue and ultimate load behaviour and have made good use of corrugated-steel web’s advantages for bridge building, which include reduced self weight (of approximately 15% compared with the weight of an ordinary concrete box-girder bridge), economy and improved construction processes. fib Bulletin 77: Corrugated-steel-web bridges covers numerous examples of bridges in Japan and France as well as an in-depth case study and analysis of a large corrugated-steel-web bridge in Germany. This publication offers designers, proprietors, contractors and architects alike relevant technical and theoretical information on construction processes along with ideas for future development.

Book Precast Insulated Sandwich Panels

Download or read book Precast Insulated Sandwich Panels written by fib Fédération internationale du béton and published by FIB - Féd. Int. du Béton. This book was released on 2017-12-01 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the mid-20th century, with the rise of industrial prefabrication, precast concrete sandwich panels started being used as cladding for buildings. Since then, society and construction industry have become increasingly aware of energy efficiency in all fields, including affordability and sustainability consciousness, while maintaining the buildings’ durability. As such, buildings have been subject to increasingly stringent requirements which has kept the technology of sandwich panels continually at the forefront of building envelope evolution. Nowadays, sandwich panels have reached the highest standards of functional performance and aesthetic appeal. In building construction, these sandwich panel attributes combine with the well-known advantages of prefabrication including structural efficiency, flexibility in use, speed of construction, quality consciousness, durability, and sustainability. Sandwich panels have gained more exposure, thus representing quite a significant application within the prefabrication industry and a vital component of the precast market. The fib Commission “Prefabrication” is eager to promote the development of all precast structural concrete products and to share the knowledge and experience gained, to aid with practical design and construction. By issuing this comprehensive overview, “Guide to Good Practice”, a better understanding of design considerations, structural analysis, building physics, use of materials, manufacturing methods, equipment usage and field performance will be provided. This document contains the latest information currently available worldwide. The Commission is particularly proud that this document is a result of close cooperation with PCI and that it is published by both the fib and PCI. This cooperation started six years ago, first with comparing the different approaches to several issues, then progressively integrating and producing common documents, like this one, that hasn’t yet been treated in a specific Guide by either body. This Guide is intended to be the reference document to all who are interested in utilising the advantages of Precast Sandwich wall panels. In conjunction with the previously published Planning and Design Handbook on Precast Building Structures, the designer will have significant resources to integrate sandwich wall panels into any applicable structure.