Enhancing Concrete Sustainability: Innovative Materials and Technologies for Greener Concrete
A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Science and Engineering".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2026 | Viewed by 3410
Special Issue Editor
Interests: biogeotechnics; ground improvement; unsaturated soils; innovative cements; waste materials in civil engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Concrete is the most widely used building material worldwide and it has become integral to modern life because it is generally a durable and cost-effective; however, a major challenge is that its production is linked to adverse environmental impacts, including the use of non-renewable natural materials, when it comes to Portland cement, the high CO2 emissions and energy usage of the cement production process.
As concrete demand is projected to increase, it is important to investigate ways of building with concrete more sustainably, including utilising innovative approaches and technology. In this context, intensive international research has focused on innovations that address the environmental impact and overall sustainability of concrete. Extensive studies have forcused on investigating opportunities and initiatives to reach carbon neutrality, to design innovative eco-friendly materials, to promote reuse and recycling, and to incorporate circular economy concepts, starting at the cement production plant and extending through the entire life cycle of the concrete structure.
This Special Issue invites papers focusing on such concrete innovations, towards improved sustainability and indicative themes include, but are not limited to, the following topics:
- Innovative cements for concrete production;
- Self-healing concrete innovations;
- Innovative supplementary cementitious materials;
- Innovative additives/admixtures;
- Innovative aggregates for concrete;
- Innovative reinforcement materials;
- The optimisation of materials and/or structures;
- Recyclability and waste management;
- Bio-based, renewable, and recyclable concrete constituents;
- Waste carbon dioxide recycling;
- CO2-cured and mixed concrete;
- Waste materials and by-products in cement and concrete;
- Innovative concrete repair/rehabilitation and strengthening materials and techniques;
- Innovative surface protection methods and materials;
- Mechanical behaviour and durability;
- Sustainability assessment;
- Material characterisation and modelling;
- Thermodynamic analysis.
Prof. Dr. Maria Mavroulidou
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- concrete
- sustainability
- innovative cements and supplementary cementitious materials for concrete
- innovative concrete aggregates
- self-healing concrete
- circular economy
- waste materials and by-products
- sustainability assessment
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