Editorial

Abstract

ReviewersReviewers are selected by the Editors among the IBRACON members with recognized competence in the specific field of each contribution. They are acknowledged at the end of each volume.We are pleased to release the first issue of a new volume (Volume 4 Number 1) of the IBRACON Structures and Materials Journal (RIEM). Professor Paulo Helene, who has been collaborating as Editor since RIEM´s first volume, is now being replaced by Prof. Romildo Dias Toledo Filho in the Editorial team. We thank Prof. Paulo Helene for his important contribution to RIEM. As a Former Editor, Prof. Paulo Helene will continue collaborating with our Journal as a member of the Editorial Board. We would also like to thank Prof. Romildo for accepting our invitation to join the Editorial team. In this issue seven articles are presented, dealing with interesting and up-to-date themes. The first article is related with the use of CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced polymer) as external reinforcement of beams. In the study the strengthening behavior of regular concrete beams is analyzed and compared with that of beams molded with cement mortar and short steel fibers. The second article presents a proposal of thermal performance evaluation of a one-storey housing typology, considering the use of cast-in-place monolithic panels of concrete, varying panel thickness and concrete density. The third paper reports an investigation about the flexural behavior of steel fibers reinforced self-compacting concrete beams. The fourth paper reports the consequences of erosions on concrete structures of urban stormwater channels, based on inspections in over 180 km of channels in the drainage system of Belo Horizonte city (Brazil). The fifth article presents the development of a mechanical model to reinforced concrete analysis based on the finite element method, taking into account the non-linear material behavior with shear strength mechanisms. The sixth article discusses the design, manufacture and constructions issues related to precast lattice-reinforced joist slabs in reinforced concrete structures. Motivated by reports on damage and collapse of existing RC building structures after recent earthquakes, the seventh article presents a comparative analysis, with special attention to the influence of bond-slip mechanisms on the cyclic behavior of structural elements reinforced with plain bars (poor bond properties) and deformed bars (good bond properties). Our journal, created in 2008 as a result of a successful combination of the former IBRACON Structural Journal and IBRACON Materials Journal, completed three years of publication without interruption. In the beginning, twenty articles were published per year. This number is increasing and our target is to publish forty articles per year in the near future. We know that this goal can only be reached with the interest of our members in submitting good quality papers and with the collaboration of our reviewers. We thank all of you for the efforts in making RIEM a relevant publication in the area of concrete str...