Emeritus ProfessorNick Buenfeld, FREng

Most of the world's infrastructure is built from concrete and the premature deterioration of concrete structures is a major global problem. There are at least 10 different ageing processes that may undermine the durability of a concrete structure. Prof Buenfeld seeks to observe, measure, understand and model these so we can predict long-term behaviour, look after our existing infrastructure more effectively and design new structures to be more sustainable.

His more fundamental research has been supported by the European Commission and by 24 grants from the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), as listed below.  His more applied research has been funded by, amongst others, the UK Department of Trade and Industry, the National Physical Laboratory, CIRIA, Highways England, British Nuclear Fuels Ltd, NIREX, London Underground Ltd, Fosroc International and Lafarge. 

He is also a founding member of UKCRIC, a multi-university initiative aiming to transform the UK's research on civil infrastructure supported by a capital grant of £138M from BEIS.

Prof Buenfeld has authored/co-authored around 250 publications, the majority in leading peer-reviewed international journals - these can be viewed via the PUBLICATIONS tab above. Awards include the Le Chatelier Distinguished Paper Award of the Journal of Cement & Concrete Research (2021 and 2024), the Outstanding Paper 2020 Award of the Materials & Structures Journal, The Institution of Civil Engineers' MCR Award, and The Institution of Civil Engineers Telford Premium. His many invited lectures include the 7th Sir Frederick Lea Memorial Lecture and the 5th YK Cheung Lecture. 

Research group members
Past members of Prof Buenfeld's research group include: Dr Emeka Agbasi, Dr Yousef Ahmed, Dr James Aldred, Dr Muthena Alisa, Dr Sukina Alzyoud, Prof Ki Yong Ann, Dr Chanakya Arya, Mr Roy Baxter, Dr Said El Belbol, Dr Xi Chen, Dr Ron Davies, Dr Saeed Dehghanpoor, Dr Mohammad Denno, Dr Alaa Hassanein, Dr Nadir Hassanein, Dr Waleed Khushefati, Dr Dennis Lee, Dr Jia Xiang Liew, Dr Iain McLoughlin, Mr Andrew Morris, Dr Bharti Reddy, Mr. Young Han Shin, Dr Tarek Shurafa-Daoudi, Prof Julia Stegemann, Dr John Stewart, Dr Rob Sweeney, Dr Stella Syropoulou, Ms Eleanor Tipping, Dr Fatmawati Wahid, Prof Hong Wong, Dr Zhigen Wu, Dr Marcus Yio, Dr J-Z Zhang, Dr Kai Zhang.

Please note: Prof Buenfeld is no longer recruiting new PhD students or Research Assistants/Fellows.

Laboratories/Facilities
Prof Buenfeld has established labs for preparing specimens, simulating/accelerating natural exposure and monitoring deterioration.  He has also established a dedicated microscopy suite which is used for observing the microstructural effects of ageing with state-of-the-art field emission scanning electron, confocal and optical microscopes. These are complimented by EDX, microXRF and Raman instruments for mapping chemical composition. Ageing is almost always controlled by transport phenomena and Prof Buenfeld has developed a unique range of laboratory tests for measuring all of the ionic and molecular transport processes involved.  Additional facilities enable surface, pore structure and chemical characterisation of cement-based materials and corrosion monitoring, together with more conventional concrete technology and structural testing labs. Prof Buenfeld's lab-based research has been complemented by a range of computer-based models, especially for use in service life prediction.