The Architectural Institute of Japan published in February 2017 the Guide Book for Fire-Resistive Performance of Structural Materials (2017) (Third Edition), a systematically organized compilation of information on the high-temperature properties of various structural materials under fire conditions. This guidebook provides a survey of the existing literature and a systematic classification of current knowledge regarding the high-temperature properties under fire and post-fire conditions of the various structural materials used in buildings, which are classified into five main categories, namely concrete, steel, wood-based materials, aluminum and new materials (FRP, glass, membrane materials, etc.). This paper presents an outline of this Guide Book.

One of the authors reported on the possibility of applying the mechanical anchorage method to shear reinforcement in a Technical Report in the November 1998 issue of the JCI Concrete Journal. Since that time, various achievements have been accumulated while applying the mechanical anchorage method to various structures. Recently, it has become desirable to apply this approach from the design stage as an effective method to be used as part of the “i-Construction” initiative that aims to improve productivity at construction sites. This paper introduces the application results of the mechanical anchorage method, and reports on the latest research on performance evaluation methods and application methods.