Civil engineering structures have to meet long-term availability and sustainability requirements, with particular emphasis placed on technical safety, efficiency and ecology. Life-cycle civil engineering relates to the design, inspection, monitoring, assessment, maintenance, and rehabilitation of civil engineering structures in order to effectively manage the function of these structures throughout their lifetime.

The objective of the International Association for Life-Cycle Civil Engineering (IALCCE) is to promote international cooperation in the fields of life-cycle civil engineering for the purpose of enhancing the welfare of society (http://www.ialcce.org). For this reason, it was deemed appropriate to bring together all the very best work that has been undertaken in the field of life-cycle civil engineering at the Third International Symposium on Life-Cycle Civil Engineering (IALCCE 2012) held in one of Vienna´s most famous venues, the Hofburg Palace, October 3-6, 2012. The First International Symposium on Life-Cycle Civil Engineering (IALCCE 2008) was held in Varenna, Lake Como, Italy (June 10-14, 2008), and the Second International Symposium on Life-Cycle Civil Engineering (IALCCE 2010) was held in Taipei, Taiwan (October 27-30, 2010).

IALCCE 2012 has been organized on behalf of the IALCCE under the auspices of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU). This four-day symposium encompasses all aspects of life-cycle civil engineering. The interest of the international civil engineering community in fields covered by the IALCCE has been confirmed by the significant response to the IALCCE 2012 call for papers. In fact, over 500 abstracts from 52 countries were received by the Symposium Secretariat, and approximately 60% of them were selected for publication. Contributions presented at IALCCE 2012 deal with state-of-the-art as well as emerging applications related to the key aspects of the life-cycle civil engineering field.

All major aspects of life-cycle engineering are addressed, including aging of structures, deterioration modeling, durable materials, earthquake and accidental loadings, sustainability, fatigue and damage, structure-environment interaction, design for durability, failure analysis and risk prevention, lifetime structural optimization, long-term performance analysis, performance-based design, service life prediction, time-variant reliability, uncertainty modeling, damage identification, field testing, health monitoring, inspection and evaluation, maintenance strategies, rehabilitation techniques, strengthening and repair, structural integrity, decision making processes, human factors in life-cycle engineering, life-cycle cost models, project management, lifetime risk analysis and optimization, whole life costing, artificial intelligence methods, bridges and viaducts, high rise buildings, offshore structures, precast systems, runway and highway pavements, tunnels and underground structures.

The proceeding Life-Cycle and Sustainability of Civil Infrastructure Systems contains the lectures and papers presented at the Third International Symposium on Life-Cycle Civil Engineering. It consists of a book of extended abstracts and a DVD with 345 full papers presented at IALCCE 2012, including the Fazlur R. Khan Lecture, 10 Keynote Lectures and 334 Technical Papers from 52 countries.

The aim of the editors is to provide a valuable source for anyone interested in life-cycle and sustainability of civil infrastructure systems, including students, researchers and practitioners from all areas of engineering and industry.

On behalf of International Assocation for Life-Cycle Civil Engineering and the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, the chairs wish to wholeheartedly thank all contributing authors and those individuals who were actively involved in the organization of the IALCCE 2012 Symposium and in the production of the Proceedings. The chairs also wish to acknowledge the members of the International Scientific Committee and the National Advisory Committee for their efforts. In addition, the chairs would like to thank the members of the National Organizing Committee for their time and efforts dedicated in making IALCCE 2012 a successful event.

The chairs also take this opportunity to thank all sponsors, whose support contributed to the success of this Symposium. A special acknowledgment must also be given to the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) for organizing and co-sponsoring the Symposium along with the International Association for Life-Cycle Civil Engineering (IALCCE), as well as BOKU´s Department of Civil Engineering and Natural Hazards, whose support facilitated the Symposium´s organization.

We look forward to meet you all at the IALCCE 2012 symposium.

Sincerely,

Alfred Strauss, Dan M. Frangopol, Konrad Bergmeister

Chairs of IALCCE 2012
Vienna, Austria and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA, August 2012

IALCCE 2012 Secretariat • Peter-Jordan-Str. 82, 1190 Vienna, Austria • ialcce2012@boku.ac.at • Phone: +43-1-47654-5284 • Fax: +43-1-47654-5299