Welcome! This is my personal website that I maintain myself.
I am a geomaterials specialist and construction materials engineer experienced in the investigation of buildings and structures. I have extensive knowledge of modern and historic construction materials including building stone, aggregates, concrete, mortars, plasters, soils, bituminous mixtures, ceramics, metals and paints.
This site includes links to my CV and pdf downloads of my Publications.
I like to travel and a selection of photographs taken during my explorations can be viewed in the Travel Galleries.
A brief explanation of what geomaterials specialists do is included in the FAQ section.
Latest News! (updated 23/05/10)
New Publication June 2010: Geomaterials under the Microscope - A Colour Guide
Geomaterials are of enormous economic importance to the global
construction industry. This is the first comprehensive guide to the
petrography of geomaterials, making the petrographers specialist
knowledge available to practitioners, educators and students worldwide
interested in modern and historic construction materials, be they
microscopists or in the fields of geology, architechture, surveying,
engineering, construction, archaeology, conservation, materials science
and forensic science.
The book provides some 365 superb quality colour photomicrographs of
geomaterials plus concise explanations of their petrographic properties
and how to interpret them.
An introductory chapter provides an overview of geomaterials practice and a state-of-the-art review of petrographic techniques. Each of the subsequent chapters covers a different group of construction materials and includes an explanation of their history, manufacture and use in construction. The text draws upon diverse published references to provide a unique summary of the properties and classification of construction materials. Comprehensive lists of further reading are provided for each materials type.
Readership:
Practitioners, educators and students in Petrography, Microscopy, Geology, Surveying, Engineering, Archaeology, Conservation, Architecture, Materials Science and Forensic Science.
Contents:
Introduction, Overview of geomaterials and petrography, Petrographic techniques, Sampling and
specimen preparation
Building stone, Introduction to building stone, Testing building stone, Stone from igneous, sedimentary & metamorphic rocks, Petrography of stone defects and decay
Roofing slate, Introduction to roofing slate, Testing roofing slates, Properties of roofing slate, Weathering and deterioration of roofing slate, Interpretation of slate test results
Aggregates, Introduction to aggregates, Aggregate type, Aggregate grading, shape and surface texture, Soundness, impurities and undesirable constituents of aggregates, Potential alkali-reactivity of aggregate for concrete, Matching aggregates for conservation
Concrete, Introduction to concrete, Assessment of concrete structures, Investigating the composition and quality of concrete, Concrete aggregates, Portland-type cements, Additions and admixtures, Water/cement ratio, Air voids, Modal analysis of concrete, Workmanship, Examining deteriorated and damaged concrete, Carbonation and reinforcement corrosion, Cracking, Weathering, Sulfate attack, TSA, DEF, Sea water attack, Attack by acids and alkalis, Pop-outs, Alkali-aggregate reactions (AAR), Fire-damaged concrete, High-alumina cement concrete
