Materials for Tomorrow's Infrastructure: A Ten-Year Plan for Deploying High-Performance Construction Materials and Systems

This report, "Materials for Tomorrow's Infrastructure: A Ten-Year Plan for Deploying High-Performance Construction Materials and Systems Executive Report" (CERF Report No. 94-5011.E) presents a high-level, policy-oriented summary of the High-Performance CONstruction MATerials (CONMAT) implementation plan. The CONMAT program will exploit the potential of high-performance materials to create significant improvements in the nation's infrastructure and improve U.S. competitiveness in the construction market. The intended audience is the Administration and Congress, other national policy makers, and government and industry leaders. The report emphasizes the operational objectives of the CONMAT program, including specific strategies designed to move research results into the marketplace. Brief descriptions of exemplary research and commercialization projects are provided by working groups representing ten different materials: aluminum, coatings, fiber-reinforced polymer composites, concrete, hot mix asphalt, masonry, roofing materials, smart material devices and monitoring systems, steel, and wood. The CONMAT effort builds on the 1991 National Civil Engineering Research Needs Forum organized by the Civil Engineering Research Foundation (CERF) and the 1993 initial concrete and steel program plan as presented in "High-Performance Construction Materials and Systems: An Essential Program for America and its Infrastructure" (CERF Report No. 93-5011). The report concludes with specific recommendations on how both the private and public sectors can support this critical initiative.