Durability is described as the ability of a material to maintain its physical and mechanical properties over time. In reinforced concrete (RC) structures, concrete is the ideal material to protect the steel reinforcement. However, the RC structures are exposed to environmental loads, which cause the deterioration of materials as corrosion of reinforcement. The standard STN EN ISO 9224 describes the calculation of the whole corrosion loss. Despite these calculations, it is appropriate to perform the measurements on the real samples, which are time consuming. For this reason, it is useful to use accelerated corrosion test. The basis of our research was to compare the results of thickness of corrosion loss in accelerated corrosion test according the standard STN EN ISO 9227 with the calculation of corrosion loss according the standard STN EN ISO 9224.

An example of reliability verification of existing concrete member represent an extension of previous authors contribution “New European document for assessment of existing structures”. The illustrative example of the member is based on the new Technical specification [2]) and valid Eorocodes ČSN EN 1990 [7] and ČSN EN 1991-1-1 [9]. The contribution should provide background information supporting implementation of the new European document on assessment of existing structures to national standards.

The knowledge of internal heat gains from people performing certain activities is important for energy simulation calculations. The most commonly used data are present in Czech standard for heat load calculation, based on the values specified in ASHRAE. The standard greatly simplifies heat production from children. A calculation based on the heat balance presents a production of sensible and latent heat from people, depending on age, physical proportions, type of activity and thermal conditions in space. The results are compared with the data presented in the literature including the ratio between convection and radiation heat flow. The main goal of the analysis is to determine the heat flow from the children as an input for energy simulation calculations of school buildings.

The upcoming CEN Technical Specification (TS) on assessment of existing structures is related to the fundamental concepts and requirements of the current generation of EN Eurocodes. The final draft of the Technical specification was already submitted to the technical committee CEN TC250 in April 2018. The document concerns all types of buildings, bridges and construction works, including geotechnical structures, exposed to all kinds of actions. It contains requirements, general framework of assessment, data updating, structural analysis, different verification methods (partial factors, probabilistic methods, risk assessment), interventions, heritage building. The submitted contribution provides background information on the principles accepted in the final draft of TS and practical examples of applications of existing structures including panel buildings.

Paper deals with the definition of energy flexible building, its impact on the stability of the grid with the planned increasing share of energy from renewable sources and the possibility of using the heat storage capacity of building structures. Paper further analyzes the selected methodology for evaluation of the energy flexibible building and gives an example of thermally activated building structures.

The article deals with a design of very slender steel columns loaded in compression. The design resistance of common compression columns results from the buckling resistance, which is due to a high slenderness low. Modification of a common column into a stayed prestressed system leads to a multiple increase of its design resistance. The article describes prestressed steel stayed columns with one central crossarm. First the formulas for critical loads of “ideal stayed columns” are presented, second the formulas for maximal resistances of “imperfect stayed columns” are given. The reduction of the maximal resistances by a material partial safety factor results into a design resistances in accordance with Eurocode 1993-1-1. Finally a solved example is presented with a comparison of resistances received for the prestressed (stayed) column and non-prestressed (common) column with a very high slenderness.

Oak wood is characterized by good durability against biotic damages. However, its surface treatment by coatings is problematic, especially in the exterior expositions. In most cases, there is a rapid degradation and damage caused by weathering. Transparent variants of coating systems suffer from this phenomenon even more than pigmented ones. The article contains the results of practical experiments that lead to some general recommendations, which use leads to surface treatment of oak wood in exterior with longer durability and better colour stability.

The subject of this paper is an experimental and numerical analysis of the stability of the wall panels with one-side board sheating. The reinforcement of the panel is provided by means of glued timber composite I-shaped element consisting of a web made of a wood-based desk embedded into flanges of solid timber. The mechanism of the behaviour of these panels, mode of the failure and reliable procedure to determine the buckling load-bearing capacity not been fully explored so far. The main aim of this project is to create reliable numerical model using experiments and parametric study for optimized design. Outcome of the work is a design model and dimension tables for one-side board sheating wall panels of light timber structures with a rib in the form of an I-stud.

Fluid fuel combustion technology in coal-fired power plants is also very popular in the Czech Republic, resulting in a relatively high production of a specific by-product – fluidized fly ash, which differs from the classical high-temperature fly ash in mineralogical composition with a high sulphur content of anhydrite CaSO₄. Fluidized ash is not yet used in the production of fired building materials, where it could be used as a cheap source of calcium oxide (for example, the production of porous ceramic tiles). However, the issue of sulphur dioxide leakage during the re-firing of fluidized fly ash in ceramic raw materials mixtures has to be solved. This paper deals with the analysis of the basic properties of domestic fluidized fly ash and provides a reflection on its possible use in building production.

The article describes a virtual furnace for fire resistance test of structures. The virtual furnace is a numerical model of a ceiling furnace created in FDS (Fire Dynamics Simulator) program, which is based on the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method. The numerical model is validated by the aid of several fire tests carried out in a horizontal furnace at the fire laboratory PAVUS, a.s. Results of the gas temperature within the furnace show good agreement with the experiments, even in the case of presence of a flammable test specimen. The use of numerical modeling based on fluid dynamics analysis has been therefore proven to be a suitable method for modeling fire resistance tests.

The article describes an experiment which simulated real fire of baby stroller in closed space. The aim was to calculate the danger of burning heat, the density and development of the heat flow, CO and CO₂ concentration, oxygen loss and optical density of smoke in defined positions.

Dowel joints with wooden fasteners are an important part of many timber structures. They have been used especially in historical timber structures. This type of fasteners can be used for the construction of modern wooden structures or for the production of individual wooden structural elements, such as the Holz100 system of the Austrian company Thoma or for similar Brettstapel structural elements. Actual normative materials (principally Eurocode 5) do not provide sufficient safe design description for such structural joints. A complex model of failures in different directions to the grain of wood is missing. The article focuses on a pilot study on the evaluation of mechanical behaviour of dowel joints and presents the results of experiments of all-wood joints with dowels made of various wood species.

The mechanical properties of earthen building material have been intensively investigated for the last fifty years. Different earth mixtures are used for different building technologies, such as walls, bricks or plasters. Therefore, it is almost impossible to set a specific numerical value for a parameter in general. These values may vary significantly and are listed within range. The properties of each earth mixture are dependent on the clay content (type of clay minerals), filler, water and additives. Depending on the building technology several tests can be performed to determine the mechanical properties. This review article discusses mechanical properties of earth, the tests and limit values. These properties include density, binding force, compressive strength, tensile strength, bending tensile strength, bond strength, resistance to abrasion, modulus of elasticity and impact strength of corners.

The paper summarizes latest research on the influence of natural clay materials and earth structures on the quality of indoor microclimate regarding relative humidity. This laboratory research has been carried out at FCE CTU in Prague and UCEEB CTU in Prague and focuses on the dynamic sorption properties of building structures based on natural clays compared to building structures based on common building materials.

The article describes basic principles of the SBToolCZ green building assessment methodology stressing its up-to-date methods for school buildings. An example of a certified school is given. Renovation of this school was assessed and optimised by the SBToolCZ system which lead to the conversion into intelligent, zero energy building.

The article focuses on assessment of fire closure of external walls and is divided into two parts – a current state of knowledge and an experimental part. The current state of knowledge summarises methods for assessing the fire closure of external walls – calculation methods (heat flux density, heat release rate, mathematical models) and fire tests (cone calorimetry, reaction to fire test for facades or fire resistance test). The experimental part builds on the state of knowledge and is divided into two experiments – the test in a cone calorimeter and an alternative test of fire closure.

The paper presents the building-physical context of the use of roof windows in buildings with very low energy demand. It shows their relatively significant influence on the total heat loss of a single family house and the consequence of the specific disadvantageous set-up in the pitched roof. It is shown that the thermal transmittance should not exceed 0.7 W/(m²K) with a strict limitation of thermal coupling in the connection to the roof. In the second part, the paper shows the positive effect of the slanting of the inner lining on the quality of day lighting.

In July 2018, a two-year monitoring of the FENIX Group a.s. in Jeseník. During this time, different battery operating modes were applied to test their capabilities to ensure the power operation of the object. This article describes the entire period in terms of energy flows in the building. The key parameters are energy consumption, supply to the grid, self-sufficiency of the building from the photovoltaic source and its local use. A number of articles have been written about the building, detailing the building and energy aspects [1, 2]. Therefore, the description of the energy economy in the building will be given only to the extent necessary for a general view of the building's energy.

Ability of transfer of combustion through the safety gap is an important feature of flammable gases or vapors of flammable gases. This maximum experimental safety gap, which is experimentally determined, is used as a safety element during transport, storage, and generally handling with flammable substances. Maximum Experimental Safe Gap (MESG) is a standardized measurement of how easily a gas (or vapour) flame will pass through a narrow gap forming by two surfaces. Testing methodology and precise application of results are given in ČSN EN 60079-20-1. This standard and other regulations prescribe the determination of the maximum experimental safety gap under atmospheric conditions. In today´s technology, transport and storage of flammable substances a work under increased pressures is very common. For safety reasons, a method and test facility for the determination of maximum experimental safety gap under non-atmospheric conditions was proposed.

Earth is one of the oldest building materials and in many countries still the most common building material, often preffered for its low cost and self-construction possibilities. Also in Europe, soil was used for centuries as a building material and nowadays expanding again because of it´s enviromental characteristics. Unfortunatelly, traditional unstabilized earth buildings are vulnerable to earthquakes and as many earthen buildings are located in earthquake prone areas, serious damages and life-threatening collapse of many houses occurs regullary. This article shows possibilities of seismic protection and earthquake resistant construction techniques of traditional earthen buildings.