Ageing of Materials, Structures and Systems
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The omnipresence of ageing
A nation’s infrastructure accounts for a least 50% of its national wealth. From that observation it has been inferred that the performance characteristics and quality of our infrastructure are of fundamental importance to urban sustainability and the wellbeing of our environment. This infrastructure, however, is subject to ageing. Ageing reduces the capacity of structures to withstand even normal life loads they had been designed for. Under extreme load conditions the gradually vanishing robustness of ageing structures will come to light in an abrupt manner. We have been faced with ageing since the beginning of history. Ageing is an inherent feature of nature, but also of all man-made products. Small consumer good, electronic devices, power plants, electricity grids, infrastructure works and art treasures are all subjected to ageing. Although the consequences of ageing can be observed everywhere around us, and many strategies have been developed to mitigate these consequences, no comprehensive scientific perception of ageing exists today. Moreover, the omnipresence of ageing and the often very slow progress of ageing phenomena are two reasons why we have got used to the obviously unavoidable presence of ageing. Ageing is a matter of fact and we have learned how to adapt to it. More and more we realize that ageing is a huge financial burden for modern industrialized societies. Ageing of our assets, in the widest sense of the word, is a trillion-dollar issue and a burden for the environment as well. But ageing phenomena may also offer new and unexpected possibilities! Ageing may be not only for the worse, but also for the better. In either case we want to be in full control of ageing phenomena. Ageing of Materials, Structures and Systems For coordinated research on ageing of materials, structures and systems TU Delft has taken the initiative of creating the Ageing Centre. The idea for such a centre was launched first within the Delft Centre for Materials, DC-Mat. In February 2013 the Ageing Centre of the TU Delft had its kick-off event, followed by an international conference on ageing in Delft in 2014, AMS’14. This first international conference was considered a path-finding event, where we sought a sharper definition of ageing and where we articulated the essence and complexity of the ageing of materials and structures. Meanwhile a number of ageing studies have started and new funding options for more research are being explored. 老化无处不在 一个国家的基础设施投入至少占国民财富的50%,由此可以看出,基础设施的性能特点和质量对于推动城市可持续发展以及维护环境良好都至关重要。然而,基础设施却面临着老化的问题。老化降低了结构抵抗荷载的能力,甚至于抵抗起初所设计的正常寿命荷载的能力。结构在极端荷载条件下,其稳健性因老化而逐渐丧失的现象将会引起人们的重视。 我们一直都面临着老化的问题。老化既是自然界所固有的特点,也是所有人造产品的一个特点。从小的消费品和电子产品,到发电厂和电网,再到基建工程和艺术精品,都面临着老化的问题。尽管老化所产生的影响在我们周围无处不在,而且我们采取了很多措施来减小这些影响,但目前对老化的研究还没有得到全面科学的认识。无处不在的老化以及极其缓慢的老化过程是我们对老化这一不可避免的现象变得习以为常的两大原因。老化是事实存在的现象,而且我们已经学会怎样适应老化。然而,这种对待老化现象的态度似乎是在回避老化问题的严重性。我们越来越认识到,老化对现代工业化社会带来了巨大的财政负担。房屋(从广义上说)的老化已经成了涉及万亿美元的大问题,同时也对环境造成了影响。但是,老化或许也会带来新的未预料的可能性。老化不只是产生不良影响,同时也会带来新的可能性。不管是好是坏,我们都要完全掌控老化的全过程。 材料、结构与系统的老化 对于材料、结构与系统老化的联合研究,代尔夫特理工大学已经率先倡导建立老化研究中心(Aging Centre)。建立这样一个研究中心的想法首先由代尔夫特理工大学材料中心(DC-Mat)提出。在2013年2月,代尔夫特理工大学老化研究中心举办了其揭牌仪式活动,然后于2014年举办了关于老化研究的第一次国际会议(AMS’14)。此次国际会议主要涉及老化研究探寻,比如急剧老化的定义和材料与结构老化的本质和复杂性。同时,启动了一些老化研究课题,并探索了新的筹措研究资金的方式。 |