August 2017

CIB W080 – Prediction of Service Life of Building Materials andComponents

New Joint Commission Coordinators
In July 2017 the CIB Programme Committee appointed
Dr Michael Lacasse and Prof Jorge M.C.L. de Brito as
new Joint Coordinators of the Working Commission
W080 – Prediction of Service Life of Building Materials
and Components.
Contact details
Dr. Michael Lacassemichael.lacasse@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
http://www.nrc.ca/

He has specific expertise in the testing andperformance evaluation of wall cladding andassemblies for water penetration and air leakage.
As well he is knowledgeable on the usage,
characterization and evaluation of the durability ofjointing systems and sealants used in building facades
and the service life of related materials andcomponents.
A few of his research accomplishments include:Developing methods to estimate the service
life and durability of building materials,components and wall assemblies

Building materials: Durability of sealants andjointing products
Building Physics: how heat, air and moisturetransport through building envelopes affects
the durability of wall components andassemblies.

Prof. Jorge M.C.L. de Britojb@civil.ist.ut.pt
http://www.civil.ist.utl.pt/

Dr. Michael A. Lacasse has authored or co- authoredover 250 contributions a selection of which can beobtained from the following web site:
http://nparc.cisti-icist.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/home/
Prof Jorge M.C.L. de Brito

Short CV’s
Dr. Michael Lacasse
Dr. Michael A. Lacasse is a building engineer and since1991 has worked as a research officer in theConstruction Portfolio of the National Research Council
Canada. His work focuses on the weathertightness offacades and development of methods to assess thelong-term performance of building materials,components and wall assemblies.
More recently he has been involved in projects thatcenter on evaluating the hygrothermal performance ofwood frame walls incorporating drainage components
and developing limits states design methods for
estimating the durability of wall assemblies.

Prof Jorge M.C.L. de Brito is full Professor at theInstituto Superior Técnico (IST) since 2009. He is also
since 1995member of the CERIS Research center (450researchers) and is acting as Head for the period of
2017-2018.
The main scientific areas of research are:
Sustainable construction (recycled aggregatesin concrete and mortars)

Bridge and building management systems

Buildings service life (prediction)
Construction technologyParticipation in 21 competitively-financed
research programs (4 international), four ofwhich as Principal Investigator

CIB Newsletter

A selection of the Research topics developed so far
within the area of Service Life Prediction among otherare:Service life of constructions: development ofmethodologies to estimate the durability ofconstructions elements

Statistical modelling of service life prediction offaçade claddingsApplication of a deterministic and a stochastic
approach of the factorial method to service life
prediction of buildings façades
Service life prediction of buildings façades
using artificial intelligence models (artificialneural networks)Application of fuzzy models, based on expert
surveys, for the prediction of the functional
service life of cultural and religious buildings
Development of probabilistic service life
prediction models to be used in Life Cycle
Assessment and Life Cycle Costs studies
Prof Jorge M.C.L. de Brito has authored or coauthored over 600 papers in journals and conferences
a selection of which can be obtained from the followingweb site:
http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jorge_Brito5

Updated Commission Description
VisionTo help ensure sustainable building practices, thecommission is intent on providing the building(construction) industry with the most recent advancesin respect to methods for service life prediction (SLP)and the design for durability of building components
and assemblies.
Objectives
The objectives of the W080 are to consider theprediction of service life of building materials andcomponents and assemblies in respect of the need to:Identify existing systematic methods for SLP
Propose improvement of existing andrecommend new methods

Inform on the state-of-the-art for SLP
Actively disseminate knowledge of SLP throughsupport of the international conference on“Durability of Building Materials andComponents” held triennially since 1978

Scope
The scope of the commission includes:(1) Providing information on and enhancing existing
methods for:





The factorial method of SLP,
Stochastic methods and reliability-based
approach to SLP
Material and component specific SLP methods
Design for durability of building (construction)
components and assemblies
Damage and dose-response functions as areused for SLP(2) Undertaking collaborative projects within the broad
community that encompasses both the research andpractitioner domains and that help foster the use of
SLP methods and methods for design for durability ofbuilding components and assemblies.
(3) Actively participate in standards development
initiatives that foster extending the use of SLP
methods(4) Actively support the dissemination of knowledge of
SLP through support of the international conference on“Durability of Building Materials and Components” held
triennially since 1978It is envisaged that access to research on Service Lifeand Durability will be offered through the web.
Information
More information on CIB Commission W080 –Prediction of Service Life of Building Materials andComponents can be found here.
The W080 Work Programme will have five approved
projects, of which four are new. This will be presented
in some detail in a separate news article.

Follow CIB on

Info Section:
Page 2 of 2

Around the Commissions
30-08-2017