7 July - 9 July 2025 | Rotterdam, The Netherlands​​​

SSCS: Numerical Modelling Strategies for Sustainable Concrete Structures

Concrete is the most widely used building material today, and one that will remain essential in the years to come. However, concrete infrastructure is ageing and deteriorating. Moreover, the production of concrete results in large CO2 emissions and depletion of primary raw materials. This makes it crucial to understand the long-term behaviour of concrete structures under complex environmental and mechanical loads, and to optimize how we use cement and raw resources in concrete structures, by developing alternative binders and embedding recycled materials and industrial by-products, ensuring that they are durable enough to meet the challenges of sustainable development. To do this effectively, we need reliable tools that can help us make informed strategic and technical decisions.

Numerical methods like finite elements, finite volumes, and finite differences offer a practical solution to this challenge. These approaches allow for better optimization of concrete construction by accounting for the material's complex properties, the structure's geometry, and environmental conditions and better prediction of remaining service life of existing infrastructure. Moreover, this optimization process must balance constraints such as time, cost, safety, energy use, and CO2 emissions, while also considering the full life cycle of the structures—ultimately offering a more reliable approach than traditional codes and analytical methods.

Following previous conferences in Aix-en-Provence (France, 2012), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil, 2015), Lecco (Italy, 2019), and Marseille (France, 2022), the next RILEM International Conference will be held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, in 2025. We look forward to meeting you!

Location

"Het Park" Dudok

Baden Powelllaan 12, 3016 GJ Rotterdam