This work presents a methodology for obtaining a quantitative expression of the superficial deterioration of bricks affected by climatic conditions. The method combines in situ measurements with laboratory data. Input data on material recession were obtained from photogrammetric observations, the material properties were derived from laboratory tests or the relevant literature, and climate data were provided from regional environmental monitoring service. The climatic parameters considered in this study are: relative humidity, number of freeze-thaw cycles (i.e., mean number of days per year with temperatures below zero), and peak sun hours per day. The methodology proposed estimates the deterioration rate of brick façades under variable climate conditions over time. As a conclusion of this research, a new tool for the structural evaluation of brick walls is presented.

This paper proposes a simple method for calculating the shear deformation and the shear capacity of reinforced and prestressed concrete elements containing shear reinforcement. This new approach considers that, for large deformations, concrete elements follow compatibility conditions based on displacements of the composite material subjected to shearing forces. The result is a beam, inspired by the Timoshenko-Ehrenfest beam theory, which considers a new hypothesis regarding shearing deformation, informed by the behavior of the shear reinforcement. The new method is compared with previous approaches, allowing us to assess the technological advances of the new proposal. The new method is easy to implement and provides information about the shearing deformation (in the elastic and plastic domains) and the shearing capacity of concrete beam-column elements. A detailed example is developed, in which all the components of the shear deformation are evaluated, and the simplification of the new method is analyzed in comparison with other more comprehensive methods in the elastic domain.

The new Eurocode 2 provides valuable information on the required concrete cover to protect reinforcement against corrosion induced by carbonation, for two design service life values of 50 and 100 years. However, to design structures with an even longer service life and assess existing ones, additional tools are necessary. The ‘square root of time’ relationship is a well-established method for estimating the penetration of the carbonation front, making it useful for long-term design and assessment purposes. In this article, we propose a new function that adjusts the evolution of the carbonation front to the Eurocode 2 values. This function is a powerful tool for designing extremely durable structures and assessing existing ones. To demonstrate its effectiveness, we provide two examples of its application.