The pulsed high power microwave (HPM) technology has been developed worldwide for over 20 years. The sources of HPM pulses are a weapon of mass destruction. They pose danger especially to computer and telecommunications equipment and systems, both the military and civilian ones. This paper presents a survey of literature on electromagnetic wave radiation absorbing and shielding materials to be used in construction. Relevant protective measures should include the shielding of buildings or their parts and the absorption of radiation by building envelopes and their elements. The main focus is on the possibilities of improving the shielding and absorptive properties of common construction materials, such as concrete, mortars and synthetic resins. The survey covers the following groups of materials: carbon-based admixtures, nickel powder, iron powders, ferrites, magnetite and polymers. The final part of the survey is devoted to hybrid foam microwave absorbers in which the shape of the material’s inner structure and that of its surface play a special role.

This paper presents an assessment of the condition of wood coming from a wharf timber sheet wall after 70 years of service in a (sea) water environment. Samples taken from the structure’s different zones, i.e., the zone impacted by waves and characterised by variable water-air conditions, the zone immersed in water and the zone embedded in the ground, were subjected to non-destructive or semi-destructive tests. Also, the basic parameters of the material, such as its density and moisture content, were determined. Moreover, the ultrasonic, stress wave and drilling resistance methods were used. Then, an X-ray microtomographic analysis was carried out. The results provided information about the structure of the material on the micro and macroscale, and the condition of the material was assessed on their basis. Also, correlations between the particular parameters were determined. Moreover, the methods themselves were evaluated with regard to their usefulness for the in situ testing of timber and to estimate, on this basis, the mechanical parameters needed for the static load analysis of the whole structure.

Material properties largely depend on their structure, and are strongly dependent on the scale of observation. Under the influence of various processes, the structure of a material can undergo evolution, which leads to major changes in the mechanical parameters and morphology of the medium. To understand the behaviour of a given material exposed to the influence of various factors, e.g. loading and temperature treatment, and to be able to modify it appropriately, it is crucial to recognize its structure both in the scale of engineering applications and at the micro-scale. The article proposes a procedure for assessing changes in the structure of sandstone exposed to the temperature treatment. The presented procedure allows the morphology of the material to be evaluated and the influence of temperature treatment on mechanical parameters of rocks to be analysed, by combining use of different laboratory techniques. The changes in rock material have been characterized using three investigative techniques, i.e. a uniaxial compression test, nanoindentation and micro-computed tomography. The uniaxial compression tests were carried out for 11 different temperature values in the range of 23–1000 °C, which enabled the determination of the change in uniaxial compressive strength and Young’s modulus of the sandstone as a function of temperature. Micro-scale laboratory tests were utilised to identify changes in the mechanical and morphological parameters of the sandstone exposed to the temperature of 1000 °C. The results were referred to those obtained for the reference samples, i.e. not subjected to heating (T = 23 °C). Comparison of the results showed an evident relation between the microstructure changes and the mesoscopic properties.

The paper presents numerical simulation of hysteretic live load effect in a soil-steel bridge. The effect was originally identified experimentally by Machelski [1], [2]. The truck was crossing the bridge one way and the other in the full-scale test performed. At the same time, displacements and stress in the shell were measured. The major conclusion from the research was that the measured quantities formed hysteretic loops. A numerical simulation of that effect is addressed in the present work. The analysis was performed using Flac finite difference code. The methodology of solving the mechanical problems implemented in Flac enables us to solve the problem concerning a sequence of load and non-linear mechanical behaviour of the structure. The numerical model incorporates linear elastic constitutive relations for the soil backfill, for the steel shell and the sheet piles, being a flexible substructure for the shell. Contact zone between the shell and the soil backfill is assumed to reflect elastic-plastic constitutive model. Maximum shear stress in contact zone is limited by the Coulomb condition. The plastic flow rule is described by dilation angle ψ = 0. The obtained results of numerical analysis are in fair agreement with the experimental evidence. The primary finding from the performed simulation is that the slip in the interface can be considered an explanation of the hysteresis occurrence in the charts of displacement and stress in the shell.