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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2021) | Viewed by 17116

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Xiaoyong Wang

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Guest Editor

Department of Architectural Engineering, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon-si 24341, Republic of Korea
Interests: cement and concrete; composite structures; numerical modeling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Concrete is being widely used in various types of infrastructures. CO₂ emission happens during the life cycle stages of concrete, and the emission of CO₂ becomes an urgent problem to be solved in the concrete industry. Low CO₂concrete is a new type of concrete with low CO₂ emission and comparable performance to ordinary concrete. Governments, industry, and the research community are very concerned about material design, structural design, and construction methods of low CO₂concrete. This Special Issue will provide a broad communication platform for low CO₂concrete and highlight realistic and feasible directions for government decision-making and industrial production of low CO₂ concrete.

The Special Issue will introduce the latest progress in low CO₂ concrete and contribute to the development of low CO₂society. The topics of this Special Issue include but are not limited to the following: material design of low CO₂concrete; hydration performance; mechanical properties and durability of low CO₂ concrete; workability and construction methods of low CO₂ concrete; structural design considering CO₂ emissions; the application of multi-scale methods in low CO₂ concrete. In addition, this Special Issue also covers the CO₂ uptake of hardened concrete due to the carbonation and carbonation curing of fresh concrete.

This Special Issue welcomes experimental, theoretical, and review papers.

Thank you for your contributions.

Dr. Xiao Yong Wang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Material design of low CO₂ concrete
Hydration performance
Mechanical properties
Durability and sustainability
Working performance and construction methods
Structural design considering CO₂ emissions
Multi-scale study in low CO₂ concrete
CO₂ uptake of hardened concrete
Carbonation curing

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 2065 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of the Curing Conditions on the Carbonation Curing Efficiency of Ordinary Portland Cement and a Belite-Rich Cement Mortar

by Hyeju Kim, Junjie Pei, Salman Siddique and Jeong-Gook Jang

Sustainability 2021, 13(9), 5175; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13095175 - 6 May 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2548

Abstract

In the present study, the efficiency of five different carbonation and/or water curing conditions on the properties of belite-rich cement mortar and ordinary Portland cement mortar was investigated. The hybrid curing of samples was carried out by submerging samples at different levels in water or in a lime-saturated solution kept under carbonation curing conditions. The compressive strength was measured to compare the physical properties of the cement mortars, and X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis results were analyzed to compare the physicochemical properties. The results revealed that the supply of additional moisture during carbonation curing tends to decrease carbonation curing efficiency and that the hydration products of cement paste are predominantly affected by the depth at which the specimen was immersed in the liquid rather than the type of liquid used. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low CO₂ Concrete)

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13 pages, 27273 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Preparation and Properties of Sustainable Concrete Using Activated Sludge of Industrial By-Products

by Young-Yeop Kim, Hyun-Min Yang and Han-Seung Lee

Sustainability 2021, 13(9), 4671; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13094671 - 22 Apr 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1600

Abstract

Industrial sludge byproducts contain CaO, SiO₂, Al₂O₃, etc. When industrial sludge is used in ready-mixed concrete, the performance of the concrete can be enhanced due to the hydration reaction. In the present study, activated sludge was used to prepare ready-mixed concrete, and its durability performance was evaluated. Once the activated sludge was used, the durability of the concrete improved. Therefore, it is suggested that activated sludge can be used in concrete mix as an admixture. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low CO₂ Concrete)

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17 pages, 3792 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Size Effect of Shear Strength of Recycled Concrete Beam without Web Reinforcement: Testing and Explicit Finite Element Simulation

by Wei Wang, Xin Zeng, Emery Niyonzima, Yue-Qing Gao, Qiu-Wei Yang and Shao-Qing Chen

Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4294; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084294 - 13 Apr 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1735

Abstract

Recycled concrete is a form of low-carbon concrete with great importance. The explicit finite element method is an economical and feasible method for analyzing static concrete structures, such as those made of recycled concrete. The shear strength of regular concrete beams has size effects. In this study, a group of physical tests on the size effect of the shear strength of recycled concrete beams without web reinforcement was carried out under the condition of a constant shear span ratio. The research results show that the shear strength of the test beam generally decreases with the increase in beam section height, and a regression formula of the shear strength was obtained, which can formulate this effect. The rationale and feasibility of the explicit finite element method solving the ultimate load of concrete structures (which can derive the shear strength) were briefly demonstrated, and an explicit finite element simulation of test beams was carried out. Results showed an obvious and phenomenologically regular size effect of the shear strength of recycled concrete beams without web reinforcement, which can be simulated by the explicit finite element method. This research aims to promote the study of low-carbon recycled concrete structures to a certain extent and encourage the application of economic explicit finite element methods for the static analysis of concrete structures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low CO₂ Concrete)

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16 pages, 3925 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Different Types of Internal Curing Liquid on the Properties of Alkali-Activated Slag (AAS) Mortar

by Guang-Zhu Zhang, Xiao-Yong Wang, Tae-Wan Kim, Jong-Yeon Lim and Yi Han

Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 2407; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13042407 - 23 Feb 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1801

Abstract

This study shows the effect of different types of internal curing liquid on the properties of alkali-activated slag (AAS) mortar. NaOH solution and deionized water were used as the liquid internal curing agents and zeolite sand was the internal curing agent that replaced the standard sand at 15% and 30%, respectively. Experiments on the mechanical properties, hydration kinetics, autogenous shrinkage (AS), internal temperature, internal relative humidity, surface electrical resistivity, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), and setting time were performed. The conclusions are as follows: (1) the setting times of AAS mortars with internal curing by water were longer than those of internal curing by NaOH solution. (2) NaOH solution more effectively reduces the AS of AAS mortars than water when used as an internal curing liquid. (3) The cumulative heat of the AAS mortar when using water for internal curing is substantially reduced compared to the control group. (4) For the AAS mortars with NaOH solution as an internal curing liquid, compared with the control specimen, the compressive strength results are increased. However, a decrease in compressive strength values occurs when water is used as an internal curing liquid in the AAS mortar. (5) The UPV decreases as the content of zeolite sand that replaces the standard sand increases. (6) When internal curing is carried out with water as the internal curing liquid, the surface resistivity values of the AAS mortar are higher than when the alkali solution is used as the internal curing liquid. To sum up, both NaOH and deionized water are effective as internal curing liquids, but the NaOH solution shows a better performance in terms of reducing shrinkage and improving mechanical properties than deionized water. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low CO₂ Concrete)

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19 pages, 3243 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Hydration, Mechanical, Autogenous Shrinkage, Durability, and Sustainability Properties of Cement–Limestone–Slag Ternary Composites

by Mei-Yu Xuan, Yi Han and Xiao-Yong Wang

Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 1881; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041881 - 9 Feb 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2632

Abstract

This study examines the hydration–mechanical–autogenous shrinkage–durability–sustainability properties of ternary composites with limestone filler (LF) and ground-granulated blast furnace slag (BFS). Four mixtures were prepared with a water/binder ratio of 0.3 and different replacement ratios varying from 0 to 45%. Multiple experimental studies were performed at various ages. The experimental results are summarized as follows: (1) As the replacement levels increased, compressive strength and autogenous shrinkage (AS) decreased, and this relationship was linear. (2) As the replacement levels increased, cumulative hydration heat decreased. At the age of 3 and 7 days, there was a linear relationship between compressive strength and cumulative hydration heat. (3) Out of all mixtures, the ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) and electrical resistivity exhibited a rapid increase in the early stages and tended to slow down in the latter stages. There was a crossover of UPV among various specimens. In the later stages, the electrical resistivity of ternary composite specimens was higher than plain specimens. (4) X-ray diffraction (XRD) results showed that LF and BFS have a synergistic effect. (5) With increasing replacement ratios, the CO₂ emissions per unit strength reduced, indicating the sustainability of ternary composites. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low CO₂ Concrete)

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16 pages, 4398 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of γ-C₂S on the Properties of Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag Mortar in Natural and Accelerated Carbonation Curing

by Duc Thanh Tran, Yunsu Lee, Han Seung Lee, Hyun-Min Yang and Jitendra Kumar Singh

Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 357; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010357 - 2 Jan 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3691

Abstract

γ-Dicalcium silicate (γ-C₂S) is known for its strong carbonation reactivity by which it can capture atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂), thus, it can be used in construction industries. This paper aims to study the effects of γ-C₂S on the properties of ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS) containing cement mortar and paste in natural and accelerated carbonation curing. The compressive strength of 5% γ-C₂S (G5) added to GGBFS cement mortar is higher compared with the control one in natural carbonation (NC) and accelerated carbonation (AC) up to 14 days of curing, but once the curing duration is increased, there is no significant improvement with the compressive strength observed. The compressive strength of AC-cured mortar samples is higher than that of NC. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images show that the AC samples exhibited compact, uniform, and regular morphology with less in porosity than the NC samples. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR) results confirmed the formation of calcium carbonate (calcite: CC) as carbonated products in paste samples, which make the surface dense and a defect-free matrix result in the highest compressive strength. The decomposition of AC samples around 650–750 °C revealed the well-documented and stable crystalline CC peaks, as observed by thermogravimetry analysis (TGA). This study suggests that γ-C₂S added to concrete can capture atmospheric CO₂ (mostly generated from cement and metallurgy industries), and make the concrete dense and compact, resulting in improved compressive strength. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low CO₂ Concrete)

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19 pages, 3899 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Autogenous Shrinkage, Strength, and Hydration Heat of Ultra-High-Strength Paste Incorporating Nano-Zirconium Dioxide

by Guang-Zhu Zhang, Han-Seung Lee and Xiao-Yong Wang

Sustainability 2020, 12(22), 9372; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229372 - 11 Nov 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2058

Abstract

Ultra-high-strength paste (UHSP) combined with nanomaterials has been extensively studied. However, the research on nano-ZrO₂ is limited. In this study, UHSP with various nano-ZrO₂ contents is analyzed. The motivation of this study is to clarify the effects of nano-ZrO₂ on the hydration products, strength, autogenous shrinkage, and hydration heat of UHSPs. The water-to-binder ratio (w/b) of the specimens is 0.2. The nano-ZrO₂ content is 0, 1.5, and 3 wt.%. The strength is measured at the age of 3, 7, and 28 days. The hydration heat is measured from the mixing stage to 3 days. The hydration products are analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TG). The autogenous shrinkage is measured from the mixing stage for 7 days using a new experimental device. The new experimental device can measure autogenous shrinkage, internal relative humidity, and internal temperature simultaneously. The following conclusions can be drawn based on the experimental studies: (1) Two stages were noticed in the autogenous shrinkage of UHSPs: a variable-temperature stage and a room-temperature stage. The cut-off point of these two stages occurred in roughly 1.5 days. Furthermore, in the room-temperature stage, there was a straight-line relationship between the autogenous shrinkage and internal relative humidity. (2) With the increase of the nano-ZrO₂ amount, the compressive strength at 3 days, 7 days, and 4 weeks increased. (3) With the nano-ZrO₂ increasing, the flow decreased. (4) With the nano-ZrO₂ increasing, the hydration heat increased due to the physical nucleation effect of the nano-ZrO₂. Furthermore, the nano-ZrO₂ used in this study was chemically inert and did not take part in the cement hydration reaction based on the XRD, differential thermal, and TG data. This paper is of great significance for the development of high-strength cementitious materials doped with nano-ZrO₂. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low CO₂ Concrete)

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