Editorial

Abstract

Readers of this journal will be aware of the fabulous scope of its subject, ranging from unprocessed natural soils, aggregates and rocks, right through to highly researched and engineered materials and their proprietary variants. Then there are the complicated ways in which these various materials are used together, either as composite or elemental products, or somewhere and somehow within the whole construction process, ranging perhaps from a humble wall through ever more complex buildings and on to mighty civil engineering projects. Each one of these materials and their combinations has its own inventory of properties and history of potential issues that will be of vital importance for those extending, maintaining or restoring our built environment and infrastructure.