This work is an overview of the state of art on Ageing of Materials and structures in the world. Ageing of materials is a natural phenomenon. Each material we use will age. This ageing will influence the performance of the object where the materials is used. Furthermore, the ageing will be affected by the surroundings in which the object is placed. The main focus of the book is on materials used in infrastructure, energy, buildings and industry. The book in effect establishes the definition of ageing and its main research topics that are relevant for society.

In the past few years more and more attention has been devoted to the safety and serviceability as weil as durability and sustainability of structures. Meanwhile there are intensive research and development activities going on, e.g. on materials properties, deterioration mechanisms, geometrie- and structural design, execution aspect ad maintenance. Furthermore, codes and standards on service life design are being discussed and partially established world wide. It is now time to present a focused picture of the current status and future trends in this field, including theory, practice and education. The aim of the symposium is to provide a forum to researchers and practitioners for presenting the newest findings and to discuss new ideas on service life design and serviceability of infrastructural works, effectiveness of service life design methods and experiences from the practice.