Long-Term Performance of Ultra High Performance Concrete: From Material Degradation to Structural Behavior
A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Civil Engineering".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 March 2026
Special Issue Editors
Interests: bridge girder systems—dynamic and static; steel–concrete shear connector systems; seismic energy dissipation systems; reliability-based structural design and design code development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: modeling and testing of structural concrete members; development of data repositories for multi-hazards, and building Big Data pipelines for monitoring the health of aging infrastructure
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) is renowned for its exceptional mechanical strength, superior durability, and dense microstructure. While decades of research have refined mix design, fiber reinforcement design, and early-age properties, less attention has been devoted to the long-term interaction between durability degradation and structural performance. This Special Issue aims to bridge that gap by showcasing research linking material deterioration mechanisms with their structural consequences in UHPC systems.
Topics of interest include the effects of environmental exposure, chemical attack, freeze–thaw cycles, alkali–silica reactions, sustained loading, and steel fiber corrosion on service life, cracking behavior, bond behavior, fatigue resistance, and load-carrying capacity. Contributions addressing structural performance changes, fire resistance after aging, and performance under extreme environments are also encouraged.
We welcome studies integrating experimental, analytical, and numerical approaches to quantify these durability–structural performance relationships, such as accelerated aging protocols, in situ monitoring with embedded sensors, non-destructive evaluation, and digital twin models for real-time prediction. Studies on durability-based design, life-cycle cost and environmental assessments, and maintenance or repair strategies tailored for UHPC will also be considered.
By emphasizing how degradation processes translate into structural impacts, this Special Issue seeks to advance predictive assessment, enable durability-informed design, and optimize UHPC applications for reliable, sustainable infrastructure.
Prof. Dr. Sang-Hyo Kim
Prof. Dr. Chungwook Sim
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC)
- durability degradation
- structural performance
- long-term behavior
- service life prediction
- fiber corrosion
- freeze–thaw resistance
- bond behavior
- life-cycle assessment
- advanced modeling
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