Global economic growth causes an increase in natural resources exploitation, particularly in construction branch. The growing use of electricity contributes to climate change. Therefore, it is necessary to search the solutions, which will allow for reducing natural resources exploitation. One of the many opportunities to do that is the application of the recycled materials. The authors of the given article have analyzed three variants of construction solutions. One of them was the production of the walls of a building from reinforced concrete prefabricates with styrofoam insulation layer. The second variant for analysis were prefabricated walls from lightweight concrete, made of sintered clay aggregate with a foam core. The third proposed variant was a system of multi-layered walls, which was made of lightweight concrete with granulated expanded glass aggregate (GEGA). The main objective of the research was to assess the use of lightweight GEGA prefabricates, focusing on economic and technological aspects of the solution. The authors have analyzed the entire construction costs; ceilings and stairs were assumed as reinforced concrete elements. In calculations, the weight of the elements was taken into account, as well as transportation and mounting costs. On the basis of this cost analysis, it was concluded that the use of prefabricated element, made of lightweight concrete with GEGA, could be a replacement for the solutions, widely applied until these days. The analysis has also shown that the use of prefabricates with GEGA is sensible from the economic viewpoint, as it allows for saving construction time. Moreover, the solutions, proposed here, allow for saving natural resources and assuming a more environmentally friendly and caring attitude.

The purpose of the research was to assess the possibility of using granulated expanded glass aggregate (GEGA) with cement grout as a replacement of a sub-grade and frost-protection layer, made of natural fine aggregates (NATU), stabilized with a hydraulic binder. Instead of traditional parts of the road construction, such as the sub-grade and frost-protection layer with the application of fine aggregate, stabilized with cement, the authors propose only one layer, made of lightweight water-permeable material, containing GEGA with a grain size from 8 to 11.2 mm. In the article the authors present the physical properties of the materials, applied for the road layers, the properties of the fine aggregate, stabilized with cement, and those of the cement composite with GEGA as an alternative solution. The laboratory test results of fine aggregates, stabilized with cement and of cement composites with GEGA, are presented. Porosity, volume density, compressive strength, and frost resistance are being researched. The results of those tests are meant to play an essential role in designing the thickness of road layers. Different types of pavement structure (asphalt and concrete) and different values of road load are being considered in the given work. The paper is concluded with considerations on an innovative solution, involving the use of ecological materials.

Interest has recently grown in the application of game theory (GT) to solve a number of diverse problems in the field of construction. The use of GT by a general contractor (GC) of construction works to indicate the best strategy leading to winning court proceedings in a situation of conflict with investor (IN), has not been investigated until now. Thus the aim of this paper is to indicate the optimal strategy from the GC viewpoint in a conflict situation with the IN. The article presents a list of the most common causes of conflict between parties of a construction work contract, defines the background of the problem and the cause of the dispute, and subsequently the authors generate a theoretical model of the game. Based on the analyzed game model, the expected payoffs for players were calculated and the probability boundary value determined in making the GC apply the indicated strategy. The study results show that while the probability of issuing a judgment favorable for the GC is at least equal to 0.69 it is justified to use an aggressive strategy. The analysis also confirms that from the financial perspective, litigation in most cases of conflicts in the area of construction should be the ultimate choice.

The authors are seeking new methods for improving the efficiency of the investments associated with the maintenance and operation of existing civil engineering structures. It is demonstrated how the knowledge about the elements of construction and operation phases and their relationships, combined with monitoring data can be used for more effective management of the risks associated with civil engineering projects. The methodology chosen for estimating the probabilities of risk events is known as Bayesian Belief Networks (BBNs). To better illustrate how the proposed approach works the authors use the example of multi-family residential building located in Gdansk made in the wood-frame technology.

Hydrotechnical constructions are mostly objects functioning in extreme conditions and requiring a custom-made construction project. In the case of using prefabricated elements, it is required to develop production, transport, assembly, conservation and repair technology. Concerning the problem of concrete cracks, modern repair systems allow positive effects to be achieved in many cases of concrete elements repair. In this work an attempt has been made to assess the properties of concrete, situated in the Baltic Sea environment, in which traditional rebar was partly replaced by dispersed fibre-phase. Fibre-reinforced concrete belongs to the group of composite materials. The presence of fibres helps to increase the tensile strength, flexural strength and resilience and also prevents the appearance of cracks. In the given paper we will also discuss basic parameters of steel and polymer fibres and the influence of both types of fibres on the maturing and hardened concrete. In this work special attention has been paid to the advantages of polypropylene and polymer fibres with regard to commonly-known steel fibres. The use of synthetic fibres will be advantageous in constructions where the reduction of shrinkage cracks and high resilience are essential. On top of that, the use of synthetic fibres is highly recommended when constructing objects that will be exposed to the impact of an aggressive environment. Undoubtedly, polymer fibres are resistant to the majority of corrosive environments. Fibre-reinforced concretes are a frequently implemented construction solution. The possibility of concrete modification allows the emergence of new construction materials with improved physical-mechanical properties, under the condition of being applied relevantly.

Recently there has been growing interest in the application of game theory (GT) to solve many diverse problems in the field of construction, including i.a.: tender preparation, selection of a contractor for construction works, negotiating terms and conditions of cooperation of the parties to the contract, analysis and modeling of investment risk. In the authors opinion, the use of GT by general contractor (GC) of construction works to indicate the best strategy leading to winning court proceedings in a situation of conflict with investor (IN), so far has not been the subject of research. Taking into account the above, the aim of the presented paper is to indicate the optimal strategy from the GC point of view in the conflict situation with IN. The article presents a list of the most common causes of conflicts between parties of the construction works' contract, defines the background of the problem and the cause of the dispute, and on its basis, the authors generate the theoretical model of the game. Based on the analyzed game model, expected payoffs for players were calculated and the probability border value at which GC should apply the indicated strategy determined. The results of the study show that in the case when the probability of issuing a judgment favorable for GC is at least equal to 69.23%, it is justified to use an aggressive strategy. The analysis also confirms that from the financial perspective, litigation in most cases of conflicts in the area of construction should be the last choice.