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Buildings
Special Issues
Sustainable Concrete Construction: Methods and Practices
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Sustainable Concrete Construction: Methods and Practices

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 December 2021) | Viewed by 16223

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Oliver Kinnane

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy, College of Engineering and Architecture, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Interests: concrete; sustainable architecture; low impact materials; environmental impact of buildings; climate change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Richard O’Hegarty

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy, College of Engineering and Architecture, University College Dublin, Ireland
Interests: concrete technology; sustainable materials; building engineering; renewable technologies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world. Global production will continue to rise over the coming years, particularly as some estimate a near doubling of built floor area between now and mid-century. Vast quantities of concrete will be consumed in this urban development, as concrete is used to construct these buildings, as well as the urban infrastructure that surrounds them. New and sustainable methods of concrete production and building construction using concrete are required.

This Special Issue will highlight research into sustainable concrete construction from material innovations to novel design solutions. It will present research into cement innovations and alternatives, aggregate replacements and state-of-the-art mix design. It will highlight the environmental impact of concrete and methods to reduce its associated embodied carbon.

We especially encourage papers that report on the following:

  • Concrete production
  • Concrete mix design
  • Biobased concretes
  • Novel concrete materials
  • Embodied carbon of concrete
  • Environmental impact of concrete
  • Design innovations using concrete
  • Sustainable concrete construction case studies

Dr. Oliver Kinnane
Dr. Richard O’Hegarty
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

  • Embodied carbon
  • Biobased concretes
  • Low-carbon cement
  • Concrete applications
  • Sustainable concrete alternatives
  • Concrete sequestration
  • Alternative cements

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

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 2927 KiB  
Article
Physical Properties and Environmental Impact of Sound Barrier Materials Based on Fly Ash Cenosphere
by Hui Xie, Yajing Li, Ercan Kahya, Bo Wang, Xiyun Ge and Guanda Li
Buildings 2022, 12(3), 322; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12030322 - 8 Mar 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4120
Abstract
Traffic noise and solid waste pollution are two major problems that restrict urban development and affect urban environments. In this study, a new kind of cement-based material for sound barriers was prepared using industrial waste fly ash cenosphere to explore the material ratio [...] Read more.
Traffic noise and solid waste pollution are two major problems that restrict urban development and affect urban environments. In this study, a new kind of cement-based material for sound barriers was prepared using industrial waste fly ash cenosphere to explore the material ratio of the sound absorption, sound insulation, and composite layers and to optimize the material’s properties. The research findings showed that the compressive strength had significant effects on the material properties of the sound absorption layer, with the optimal compressive strength range being 0.2–0.4 MPa. At 0.4 MPa, the material with an aggregate-to-binder ratio of 1.0 had the best comprehensive properties. The sound insulation layer had the best compressive strength of 29.00 MPa at a 45% fiber admixture. The composite had the best sound insulation when the thickness ratio of the sound absorption and insulation layers was 60:40, and the sound transmission loss was 38 dB. The embodied carbon (EC) and embodied energy (EE) of the new fly ash cenosphere across the whole life cycle were 57.57 kgCO2e and 477.08 MJ, respectively, which were 4.8−52.9% and 53.2−82.3% lower than other traditional sound barriers, respectively. Thus, they were environmentally friendly and had satisfactory energy-saving and environmental protection values. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Concrete Construction: Methods and Practices)
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22 pages, 5621 KiB  
Article
Solutions for Exposed Structural Concrete Bridged Elements for a More Sustainable Concrete Construction in Hot Climates
by Essam Alayed, Richard O’Hegarty and Oliver Kinnane
Buildings 2022, 12(2), 176; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12020176 - 4 Feb 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3131
Abstract
New energy-efficiency regulations have been established and applied in many Gulf countries to improve building energy performance. Thermal bridging reduces the building envelop performance, and this is not a focus of these regulations. This paper investigates the concrete construction of residential housing in [...] Read more.
New energy-efficiency regulations have been established and applied in many Gulf countries to improve building energy performance. Thermal bridging reduces the building envelop performance, and this is not a focus of these regulations. This paper investigates the concrete construction of residential housing in hot climates and identifies more sustainable concrete construction methods. Both experimental and numerical methods are used to identify the impact of thermal bridging. Using finite element analysis, the impact of solar radiation on a building’s thermal bridging was analyzed. It is identified as an essential element for accurate modelling of bridging across concrete in a hot climate. The FE model was evaluated against monitored data and assessed using common statistical indicators. The results show that the heat loss across uninsulated cast in situ structural elements is more than double the heat loss across portions of insulated walls. Moreover, neglecting solar radiation on the westerly façade can result in errors of >50%. Additionally, the impact of thermal bridging is increasingly evident when accounting for solar radiation. Modelling studies show that the impact of thermal bridging could be reduced by up to 73% by covering the structural elements with external insulation. Compliance with the various codes of the different Gulf states can be achieved through externally insulating with between 40 and 80 mm, and this is shown to have wide-ranging benefits in enhancing building energy efficiency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Concrete Construction: Methods and Practices)
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21 pages, 2074 KiB  
Article
Influence of Lightweight Aggregate Concrete Materials on Building Energy Performance
by Tara L. Cavalline, Jorge Gallegos, Reid W. Castrodale, Charles Freeman, Jerry Liner and Jody Wall
Buildings 2021, 11(3), 94; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11030094 - 3 Mar 2021
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 3900
Abstract
Due to their porous nature, lightweight aggregates have been shown to exhibit thermal properties that are advantageous when used in building materials such as lightweight concrete, grout, mortar, and concrete masonry units. Limited data exist on the thermal properties of materials that incorporate [...] Read more.
Due to their porous nature, lightweight aggregates have been shown to exhibit thermal properties that are advantageous when used in building materials such as lightweight concrete, grout, mortar, and concrete masonry units. Limited data exist on the thermal properties of materials that incorporate lightweight aggregate where the pore system has not been altered, and very few studies have been performed to quantify the building energy performance of structures constructed using lightweight building materials in commonly utilized structural and building envelope components. In this study, several lightweight concrete and masonry building materials were tested to determine the thermal properties of the bulk materials, providing more accurate inputs to building energy simulation than have previously been used. These properties were used in EnergyPlus building energy simulation models for several types of commercial structures for which materials containing lightweight aggregates are an alternative commonly considered for economic and aesthetic reasons. In a simple model, use of sand lightweight concrete resulted in prediction of 15–17% heating energy savings and 10% cooling energy savings, while use of all lightweight concrete resulted in prediction of approximately 35–40% heating energy savings and 30% cooling energy savings. In more complex EnergyPlus reference models, results indicated superior thermal performance of lightweight aggregate building materials in 48 of 50 building energy simulations. Predicted energy savings for the five models ranged from 0.2% to 6.4%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Concrete Construction: Methods and Practices)
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17 pages, 5576 KiB  
Article
A Comparative Study on the Influence of Nano and Micro Particles on the Workability and Mechanical Properties of Mortar Supplemented with Fly Ash
by Mostafa Seifan, Shaira Mendoza and Aydin Berenjian
Buildings 2021, 11(2), 60; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11020060 - 10 Feb 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3205
Abstract
In this study, the effects of micro-Al2O3 (MA) and nano-Al2O3 (NA) on the mechanical properties and durability performance of a mortar containing fly ash (FA) were investigated. In the first step, MA and NA were added to [...] Read more.
In this study, the effects of micro-Al2O3 (MA) and nano-Al2O3 (NA) on the mechanical properties and durability performance of a mortar containing fly ash (FA) were investigated. In the first step, MA and NA were added to the mortar (as a cement replacement) at dosages of 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% by weight. The flowability of the mixture containing NA and MA showed a dosage-dependent behavior, and the addition of MA resulted in a higher flow spread compared with NA. The flow spread increased at 5% (for both NA and MA), and a further increase in the particle content to 10% and 15% decreased the flow spread value. Although the presence of MA and NA contributed to increasing the compressive strength as the particle content increased, the addition of NA resulted in a greater increase in compressive strength (40% increase when adding 15% of NA). The highest splitting tensile strength was obtained when 10% NA was used, and a further increase in the particle content decreased the splitting tensile strength. In the optimization step, the effect of a binder replacement with FA (10, 20 and 30%) in the presence of 10% NA as the optimum level of additive was investigated. Generally, the addition of FA decreased the compressive strength. The highest drop in compressive strength was noticed at early ages, and there was no significant difference in strength development from 14 days to 28 days. A decreasing trend in the splitting tensile strength was observed with the addition of FA content. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Concrete Construction: Methods and Practices)
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