Concrete petrography. A handbook of investigative techniques / Прикладная петрография. Руководство по методам исследования

Concrete is an essential and irreplaceable constructional material in the modern world. In  recent times, technological advances in the manufacture of cements and the expansion of  the use of concretes and related materials in civil engineering have led to a need for a practical, science-based understanding of these materials and the relationships between their  compositions and properties.
The very nature of concrete and its innate variability on very small scales requires investigative techniques which allow examination and analysis at microscopic and submicroscopic levels. A wide range of petrographic techniques are currently available, with the polarising and scanning electron microscopes in particular being well-established geological techniques. These same methods have been extended and developed to investigate concrete and related materials. They are unique in providing insights into the mineralogical, chemical and microstructural features of these materials and thus provide a scientific basis of understanding that allows the physical and mechanical behaviour of concrete and related materials to be evaluated and their future behaviour predicted <...>