Innovations in Cementitious Materials: Degradation, Mitigation, and Sustainability
A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Materials, and Repair & Renovation".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 1104
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Cement and concrete technologies are evolving to address environmental challenges through the use of low-carbon systems that depart from traditional clinker-based production. These include alkali-activated binders, calcium sulfoaluminate cements, blended systems with high volumes of supplementary cementitious materials, novel pozzolanic formulations, and electrochemically synthesized binders that avoid conventional calcination. In parallel, many regions, including parts of the United States, are phasing out ASTM C150 Portland cement in favor of blended formulations, such as ASTM C595 Portland–limestone cements.
Although these emerging systems offer environmental benefits, a deeper understanding of their performance in chloride-rich environments is still needed. This Special Issue invites original research focused on the mechanisms of chloride transport, binding, and corrosion risk in these systems. Topics of interest include ion diffusion, capillary absorption, pore connectivity, moisture interactions, chloride thresholds, and reinforcement corrosion behavior.
We welcome both experimental and numerical studies, including laboratory testing, material characterization, the modeling of transport and corrosion processes, and multiscale simulations. Studies that propose mitigation strategies—such as improved mix design, protective treatments, or performance-enhancing admixtures—are also encouraged. This collection aims to advance our understanding of chloride-induced degradation in modern cementitious systems and support their reliable use in aggressive environments such as coastal infrastructure and regions exposed to deicing salts.
Dr. Mahmoud Shakouri
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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
- salt attack
- chloride transport
- alternative cements
- law-carbon binders
- alkali-activated systems
- chloride binding
- durability
- service life prediction
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