ABSTRACT
RILEM, The International Union of Testing and Research Laboratories for Materials and Structures, is an international, non-governmental technical association whose vocation is to contribute to progress in the construction sciences, techniques and industries, essentially by means of the communication it fosters between research and practice. RILEM activity therefore aims at developing the knowledge of properties of materials and performance of structures, at defining the means for their assessment in laboratory and service conditions and at unifying measurement and testing methods used with this objective. RILEM was founded in 1947, and has a membership of over 900 in some 80 countries. It forms an institutional framework for cooperation by experts to:
• optimise and harmonise test methods for measuring properties and performance of building and civil engineering materials and structures under laboratory and service environments;
• prepare technical recommendations for testing methods; • prepare state-of-the-art reports to identify further research needs.
