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Low-Carbon Material Engineering in Construction
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Low-Carbon Material Engineering in Construction

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 November 2025 | Viewed by 5874

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Zhihai He

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing, China
Interests: resource utilization of solid waste; low-carbon concrete; microstructure evolution in concrete
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Xiqi Liu

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Pearl River Water Resources Research Institute, Guangzhou, China
Interests: supplementary cementitious materials; green concrete; geological disaster prevention and control
Dr. Gang Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing, China
Interests: UHPC; sustainable development technologies for underground engineering; deep rock mass dynamic disasters
Dr. Manqing Lin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Xingfa School of Mining Engineering, School of Resources & Safety Engineering, Wuhan Engineering University, Wuhan, China
Interests: life cycle assessment of composite materials; mine safety; building safety

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The extensive use of cement in building construction activities consumes a large amount of natural resources, and the resulting high carbon footprint has always been a concern. Due to continuous advancements in construction technology, the requirements for construction materials have gradually increased, and concrete materials need to meet not only basic mechanical properties but also higher requirements in terms of durability and time-varying properties. Considering the higher mechanical properties required for concrete materials and the importance of future sustainability in the construction industry, in this Special Issue, we aim to gather innovative research on new green and low-carbon concrete and provide guidance for sustainable development in society.

The topics covered in this Special Issue include (but are not limited to) the following：

  • new green building materials;
  • the carbon footprints of materials;
  • the mechanical properties of concrete materials;
  • the exploration of microscopic mechanisms;
  • engineering applications for green building materials;
  • the failure characteristics of building materials.

Dr. Zhihai He
Dr. Xiqi Liu
Dr. Gang Wang
Dr. Manqing Lin
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

  • resource utilization of solid waste
  • low-carbon concrete
  • mechanical properties of concrete
  • microstructure evolution of concrete
  • green building materials
  • failure characteristics of concrete

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 3748 KiB  
Article
Economic and Carbon Emission Analyses of C50 Manufactured Sand Concrete Considering Workability and Compressive Strength
by Ning Li, Zewei Zhang, Dongxia Hu, Guangwei Pang, Qian Wang and Wei Si
Buildings 2025, 15(1), 77; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15010077 - 29 Dec 2024
Viewed by 713
Abstract
C50 manufactured sand concrete requires good workability and strength, and economic efficiency and carbon emissions also need to be considered. This study incorporates sensitivity and significance analyses to recommend the optimal economic mix composition for C50 manufactured sand concrete. The relationship between cost, [...] Read more.
C50 manufactured sand concrete requires good workability and strength, and economic efficiency and carbon emissions also need to be considered. This study incorporates sensitivity and significance analyses to recommend the optimal economic mix composition for C50 manufactured sand concrete. The relationship between cost, workability, and mechanical properties was analyzed by considering the water/binder ratio, sand ratio, fly ash content, and superplasticizer dosage. An optimal composition of C50 manufactured sand concrete was recommended. The cost and carbon emissions were quantified at the optimal composition. The results showed that the water/binder ratio had the most significant impact on the cost and carbon emission, while the sand ratio and superplasticizer dosage had the least. All factors significantly affected its cost and carbon emission. Compared to natural sand concrete, manufactured sand concrete achieved a lower cost but higher carbon emissions. Considering the workability, strength, and cost per cubic meter of concrete, the most economical mix proportion for C50 concrete was recommended with a water/binder ratio of 0.36, a fly ash content of 25%, a sand ratio of 0.42, and a superplasticizer dosage of 1.2%. This composition cost 356 yuan, and carbon emission was 352.6 kg CO2 per cubic meter of concrete. Compared to a composition with a water/binder ratio of 0.34 and fly ash content of 15%, the unit cost can be reduced by 18.4 yuan, and carbon emission can be minimized by 56.6 kg CO2 e/m3. The appropriate water/binder ratio and fly ash content can reduce cost and carbon emissions without compromising the workability, compressive strength, or elastic modulus of C50 concrete. This achieves triple benefits in terms of performance, economy, and the environment when applying C50 manufactured sand concrete. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Carbon Material Engineering in Construction)
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28 pages, 7910 KiB  
Article
Study on the Bonding Properties of Reinforced Reef Limestone Concrete and Its Influencing Factors
by Jinxin Huang, Kun Xu, Wenjun Xiao, Wei Nie, Jun Zhou, Jiang Luo, Mengchen Zhang and Xiqi Liu
Buildings 2024, 14(7), 2133; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14072133 - 11 Jul 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 781
Abstract
Reinforced concrete structures play a pivotal role in island and reef engineering projects. Given the resource constraints typical of island regions, substituting traditional manufactured sand aggregate with reef limestone not only reduces reliance on river sand but also addresses the issue of disposing [...] Read more.
Reinforced concrete structures play a pivotal role in island and reef engineering projects. Given the resource constraints typical of island regions, substituting traditional manufactured sand aggregate with reef limestone not only reduces reliance on river sand but also addresses the issue of disposing of waste reef limestone slag generated during excavation. However, the performance characteristics of reef limestone concrete, particularly its bond strength with reinforcing steel, warrant further investigation. This is particularly true for the bond–slip behavior of the reinforcement. This study aims to elucidate the effects of various parameters on the bond performance between steel and reef limestone concrete through central pullout tests. These parameters include the type and diameter of the reinforcement, bond length, and loading rate. The investigation encompasses the analysis of load–slip curves, bond failure modes, and variations in bond stress. Additionally, using the Abaqus software, a numerical simulation was conducted to analyze the mesoscopic stress characteristics, thereby revealing the mechanisms of bond formation and failure modes between steel reinforcement and reef limestone concrete. The results indicate that the bond–slip curve for reef limestone concrete reinforced with ribbed rebars and Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) rebars can be broadly categorized into four phases: minor slip, slip, decline, and residual, with the residual phase exhibiting a wave-like pattern. The predominant failure modes in reef limestone concrete are either pulling out or splitting. The bond stress in reef limestone concrete decreases with an increase in rebar diameter and bond length; conversely, it increases with the loading rate, although the ultimate slip decreases. The mesoscopic failure characteristics of reinforced reef limestone concrete, as simulated in Abaqus, are consistent with the experimental outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Carbon Material Engineering in Construction)
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12 pages, 6739 KiB  
Article
Microstructure and Nanomechanical Characteristics of Hardened Cement Paste Containing High-Volume Desert Sand Powder
by Hongxin Liu, Jian Wang, Zhihui Yao, Zijun Li and Zhihai He
Buildings 2024, 14(6), 1873; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14061873 - 20 Jun 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 992
Abstract
Desert areas contain abundant desert sand (DS) resources, and high-volume recycling of DS resources as components of cement-based materials can achieve high-value applications. In this paper, DS was processed into desert sand powder (DSP) and replaced with cement in high volumes (20 wt.%–60 [...] Read more.
Desert areas contain abundant desert sand (DS) resources, and high-volume recycling of DS resources as components of cement-based materials can achieve high-value applications. In this paper, DS was processed into desert sand powder (DSP) and replaced with cement in high volumes (20 wt.%–60 wt.%) to produce cement pastes. The mechanical properties, heat evolution, nanomechanical characteristics, microstructure, and economic and environmental impact of cement pastes were studied. The results show that adding 20 wt.% DSP increases the compressive strength of pastes and accelerates cement hydration, compared with the control group (0 wt.% DSP). Meanwhile, incorporating an appropriate amount of DSP (20 wt.%) effectively reduces porosity, increases the proportion of harmless and less harmful pores, and reduces the proportion of more harmful pores. From the perspective of nanoscopic properties, the addition of 20 wt.% DSP increases the C-S-H volume fraction, especially enhancing the transformation of low-density C-S-H to high-density C-S-H. Notably, the sample incorporating 60 wt.% DSP exhibits the lowest values for CI coefficients (13.02 kg/MPa·m3) and Cp coefficients (2.29 USD/MPa·m3), thereby validating the application of high-volume DSP feasibility in cement-based materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Carbon Material Engineering in Construction)
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15 pages, 6651 KiB  
Article
Experimental Study on the Strength and Damage Characteristics of Cement–Fly Ash–Slag–Gangue Cemented Backfill
by Baofeng Song, Heyu Li, Ran An, Xianwei Zhang and Zefeng Zhou
Buildings 2024, 14(5), 1411; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14051411 - 14 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1505
Abstract
In order to achieve the goal of effectively utilizing solid waste resources and improving mining stability, it is necessary to incorporate various types of solid wastes in the production of cemented backfill. For investigating the compressive strength and damage characteristics of Cement–Fly Ash–Slag–Gangue [...] Read more.
In order to achieve the goal of effectively utilizing solid waste resources and improving mining stability, it is necessary to incorporate various types of solid wastes in the production of cemented backfill. For investigating the compressive strength and damage characteristics of Cement–Fly Ash–Slag–Gangue (CFSG) cemented backfill under loading, real-time X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) scanning was employed to capture two-dimensional (2D) grayscale slices and three-dimensional (3D) fracture models during uniaxial compression testing. The study quantitatively assessed the evolution of cracks and microstructural damage in CFSG cemented backfill. The results indicate that the specimens underwent four stages of transformation, including compaction, linear elasticity, yielding, and residual deformation, during the uniaxial compression process. The specimens exhibited a measured compressive strength of 3.44 MPa and a failure strain of 0.95%. As the axial strain increased, there was an increase in 2D porosity observed in the CT images and a greater dispersion of crack distribution. A 3D model constructed from CT slices illustrated the feature of cracking expansion, with the fracture volume gradually increasing during the elastic deformation phase and experiencing rapid growth during the yielding and residual deformation phases. The damage variable, obtained from the volume of 3D cracks, exhibited a slow-growth pattern, characterized by a rapid increase followed by a more gradual rise with the increase in axial strain. This study serves as a significant reference for comprehending the micro-mechanisms involved in the damage process and cracking characteristics of cemented backfill mixed with solid wastes under external loading conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Carbon Material Engineering in Construction)
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15 pages, 6574 KiB  
Study Protocol
Research on the Mechanical Properties of Composite Grouting Materials Based on Ordinary Portland–Sulphoaluminate Cement
by Zhenhua Wang, Wei Lan, Zhiwen Jia, Manqing Lin and Dongwei Li
Buildings 2024, 14(11), 3492; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14113492 - 31 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 853
Abstract
This study aimed to enhance the mechanical properties of calcium sulfoaluminate cement grouting materials (HCSA) by investigating the effects of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) content, the ratio of quicklime to gypsum, and the dosage of sodium aluminate on the compressive strength of the [...] Read more.
This study aimed to enhance the mechanical properties of calcium sulfoaluminate cement grouting materials (HCSA) by investigating the effects of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) content, the ratio of quicklime to gypsum, and the dosage of sodium aluminate on the compressive strength of the OPC-CSA composite system. The results indicate that as the OPC content increases, the compressive strength of the blended cement initially increases and then decreases, reaching a maximum at a 60% OPC replacement ratio within the experimental group. The addition of an appropriate amount of OPC to the CSA composite system effectively prevents the regression of compressive strength. With an increase in quicklime content, the compressive strength of the samples at various ages first increases and then decreases, with the optimal ratio of quicklime to gypsum found to be 2:8. Furthermore, sodium aluminate, used as an activator, when increased in dosage, leads to an initial increase followed by a decrease in the compressive strength of OPC-CSA samples, with an optimal incorporation rate of 0.75%, significantly enhancing the strength of the blended cement. In the orthogonal experiments, the dosage of sodium aluminate was identified as the most influential factor affecting the compressive strength of the composite grouting materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Carbon Material Engineering in Construction)
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