This paper reviews several traditional and modern damp-proof courses (DPCs) techniques that have been used worldwide and show the limitation(s) of each technique. It also presents a new waterproofing technique employing the principles of capillary breaking layers (CBLs) used widely in earth structures. The paper presents the results of a study on rising damp based upon a practical one-year-long tests. The short and the long term hygrothermal behavior of the proposed technique was also investigated numerically using WUFI simulation program. It has been found that a capillary breaking layer can be successfully utilized to create a capillary barrier that is capable of blocking moisture rise in a brick wall and enhancing wall breathability at the level of treatment.

This paper presents a strengthening method used for improving the punching shear strength of flat slabs. Square internal patches of carbon fiber reinforced polymer were placed at the center of 450×450mm fresh concrete slabs, through casting, at a distance from the bottom (tension) face, producing four specimens. The dimensions of these patches were from 60×60mm to 200×200mm. The results have shown that the strengthened specimens had higher punching shear strength in comparison to the control specimen, with an increasing rate ranging from 15 to 45 %. In addition to the sensibly improved shear strength, this strengthening method is capable of changing the mode of failure from combined flexural-punching to pure punching shear failure.

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