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Buildings
Special Issues
Functional Improvement, Characterization and Simulation of Cement-Based Materials
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Functional Improvement, Characterization and Simulation of Cement-Based Materials

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Materials, and Repair & Renovation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 August 2025 | Viewed by 581

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Dongyi Lei

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Civil Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266000, China
Interests: high-ductility cementitious materials; high-performance engineered cementitious composite; sea water and sea–sand concrete; mechanical property; durability; service life analysis and prediction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ying Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Civil Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266520, China
Interests: functional cementitious composites; fiber-reinforced concrete; sea water and sea–sand concrete
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yang Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi'an 710048, China
Interests: structural engineering; hydraulic structures materials; mechanics and durability of hydraulic concrete
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Penggang Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Civil Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266000, China
Interests: durability of concrete structure; high-ductility cementitious materials; ultra-high performance concrete; durability monitoring of concrete structure; protection and repair of concrete structure
Dr. Yupeng Tian

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Civil Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266520, China
Interests: marine concrete; durability; service-life analysis and prediction; concrete dynamic performance

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cement-based materials are the most widely used building materials; their performance, such as mechanical properties and durability, highly determines the service life of concrete buildings. Modern engineering construction, such as dams, undersea tunnels, military bases, etc., put forward higher requirements for complex and harsh service conditions from plateau, ocean, etc.; this necessitates higher requirements for the functional performance of cement-based materials. Therefore, the main aim of this special issue is to explore the recent challenges and developments in the properties of cement-based materials. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Study on the properties of high-ductility cement-based composites;
  • Functional optimization for conductivity, thermal conductivity, and anti-icing of cement-based materials
  • Mix proportion design, formulation of curing regime, and improvement of preparation;
  • Performance improvement for mechanical properties, durability, and volume stability;
  • Finite element simulations of mechanical properties, durability, and hydration process;
  • Interface characteristics between cement-based materials and fiber, steel bars, or FRP;
  • Service-life prediction and repair of cement-based materials;
  • Working performance of cement-based materials;
  • Application of industrial solid waste in cementitious materials and development of low-carbon cementitious systems;
  • Damage rule and model under extreme environments such as plateaus and oceans;
  • Microstructure design of electromagnetic protection cement-based composites.

Dr. Dongyi Lei
Dr. Ying Li
Dr. Yang Li
Dr. Penggang Wang
Dr. Yupeng Tian
Guest Editors

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. Buildings 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 2600 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

  • cement-based materials
  • severe service environment
  • microstructure design
  • mechanical properties
  • durability
  • electromagnetic protection
  • finite element simulation
  • fiber modification
  • service life prediction
  • manufactured aggregate
  • environmentally friendly binder

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  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 4480 KiB  
Article
Understanding the Role of Quartz Powder Content and Fineness on the Micro-Structure and Mechanical Performance of UHPC
by Jianguang Xu, Yongsheng Li, Yue Huang, Guojian Yuan, Zhonglu Cao, Wei Zhang, Heping Zheng, Yun Zang, Xingtai Mao and Mengmeng Li
Buildings 2025, 15(9), 1513; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15091513 (registering DOI) - 30 Apr 2025
Abstract
To enhance the microstructure and mechanical properties and to optimize the formulations of high-strength and high-flow ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC), the effects of different quartz powder contents, fineness, and curing temperatures of UHPC were systematically studied. It was hypothesized that using the appropriate content [...] Read more.
To enhance the microstructure and mechanical properties and to optimize the formulations of high-strength and high-flow ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC), the effects of different quartz powder contents, fineness, and curing temperatures of UHPC were systematically studied. It was hypothesized that using the appropriate content and fineness of quartz powder can improve the microstructure of UHPC and, thus, improve its mechanical properties, especially at higher curing temperatures. To test this hypothesis, the flowability, compressive strength, flexural strength, and tensile strength of UHPC mixtures with different quartz powder dosages (0%, 15%, 30%) and fineness (4 µm, 8 µm), cured at 20 °C, 45 °C, and 90 °C, were investigated. The results indicate that as the dosage of quartz powder increases and the particle size decreases, the flowability of UHPC decreases. The compressive strength of UHPC first increases and then decreases with an increase in quartz powder dosage. Finer quartz powder usage considerably enhances packing density and pore structure. When the content of quartz powder is 15%, UHPC achieves optimal mechanical properties and pore structure, showing an improvement of 3.6% to 14.4% compared to UHPC with a coarse particle size. Additionally, an increase in curing temperature leads to the consistent growth of the compressive strength of UHPC. Under 90 °C steam curing, UHPC incorporating 15% fine quartz powder (4 μm) achieved a peak compressive strength of 182.1 MPa, increased by 19.8% compared to that under 20 °C, which is attributed to the enhanced pozzolanic activity of fine quartz powder. These findings provide valuable guidance for the mix design of UHPC in precast concrete components, long-span bridges, and marine structures, where high early strength and durability are critical. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Improvement, Characterization and Simulation of Cement-Based Materials)
22 pages, 13249 KiB  
Article
Sulphoaluminate-Aluminate Cement-Based Composites: Mechanical Behaviors and Negative Poisson’s Ratio Mechanism Under Static Loads
by Qin Chang, Peng Wang, Yanxuan Ma, Zhipeng Zhang, Stroev Dmitry Alexandrovich, Jin Liu, Fei Zhao and Pengfei Zhu
Buildings 2025, 15(8), 1251; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15081251 - 10 Apr 2025
Viewed by 206
Abstract
Because of their excellent properties, calcium aluminate cement (CAC) and sulphoaluminate cement (SAC), as building materials, have been used in infrastructure construction. However, due to the defects in microstructure, their application and development have been limited. In this study, we explored the negative [...] Read more.
Because of their excellent properties, calcium aluminate cement (CAC) and sulphoaluminate cement (SAC), as building materials, have been used in infrastructure construction. However, due to the defects in microstructure, their application and development have been limited. In this study, we explored the negative Poisson’s ratio modification design of cement-based composites by changing the ratio of composite cement’s raw materials and adjusting the stacking method of crystals. On this basis, three types of crystal modifiers were added into cement-based composites. Then, compression and tensile tests were performed to explore the effect of crystal modifiers on the structure of negative Poisson’s ratio. The deformation behavior of the specimens under static load was performed by the digital speckle correlation method (DSCM). The results show that Formula 4 (the mass ratio of CAC is 30% and SAC is 70%) was the most effective in optimizing mechanical properties. In addition, the morphology of crystallization products confirmed that the addition of the crystal modifiers would affect the formation of negative Poisson’s ratio structure. According to the mechanical properties and microstructure, adipic acid is the best crystal modifier. With the mechanism of the negative Poisson’s ratio effect of cement-based composites being analyzed, two crystal stacking modes were predicted, and an ideal calculation model was obtained. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Improvement, Characterization and Simulation of Cement-Based Materials)
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