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Cement and Concrete Composites in Construction: Applications and Potential
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Cement and Concrete Composites in Construction: Applications and Potential

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 May 2026 | Viewed by 1613

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Guangqi Xiong

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Guest Editor
1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong 999077, China
2. Research Centre for Resources Engineering Toward Carbon Neutrality, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong 999077, China
Interests: cement hydration; concrete; power ultrasound; carbonation
Dr. Yong Zheng

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Guest Editor
1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong 999077, China
2. Research Centre for Resources Engineering Toward Carbon Neutrality, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong 999077, China
Interests: cement; low-carbon cementitious materials; concrete
Dr. Zheng Fang

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Guest Editor
Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Komaba 4-6-1, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8505, Japan
Interests: low-carbon cementitious materials; concrete durability
Dr. Shuping Wang

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Guest Editor
Department of Building and Ecological Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
Interests: calcium silicate hydrate; alkali-activated materials; utilization of industrial wastes; carbonation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the Special Issue titled “Cement and Concrete Composites in Construction: Applications and Potential”, which aims to showcase cutting-edge research and practical advancements in the design, performance and deployment of cement- and concrete-based composite materials across diverse construction applications.

Cement and concrete composites continue to evolve with innovations in materials design, reinforcement strategies, durability enhancement, sustainability and digital integration. This Special Issue will provide a platform for researchers and practitioners to share insights that advance structural performance, service life, resilience and environmental responsibility in modern construction.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Design, formulation and characterization of cement and concrete composites
  • Fiber-reinforced and particle-reinforced composites (steel, polymer, basalt, glass, natural fibers)
  • Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC), lightweight composites and 3D printable mixes
  • Durability, long-term performance and degradation mechanisms (corrosion, freeze–thaw, sulfate/ASR, carbonation)
  • Functional and smart composites (self-sensing, self-healing and multifunctional materials)
  • Sustainable and low-carbon solutions (supplementary cementitious materials, alternative binders, recycled aggregates, LCA/LCCA)
  • Rheology, workability and processing for casting, pumping and additive manufacturing
  • Microstructure–property relationships and multiscale modeling
  • Structural applications: beams, slabs, shells, bridges, pavements and prefabricated systems
  • Repair, strengthening and retrofitting using composite materials
  • Performance under mechanical, thermal and environmental loading
  • Testing methodologies, standards and validation (experimental, numerical, hybrid)
  • Digital and data-driven approaches: AI/ML in mix design, performance prediction and optimization
  • Case studies and field implementations demonstrating real-world performance

We also welcome original research that explores novel or interdisciplinary directions beyond the topics listed above.

Submission deadline: 10 May 2026

We encourage participation from a broad community of materials scientists, structural engineers, practitioners and industry partners to foster productive exchange and accelerate innovation in composite-enabled construction.

Thank you for your interest and contributions.

Dr. Guangqi Xiong
Dr. Yong Zheng
Dr. Zheng Fang
Dr. Shuping Wang
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 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

  • cement and concrete composites
  • CO2 mineralization
  • waste valorization
  • recycled aggregates and fines
  • alternative low-clinker binders
  • durability and long-term performance
  • microstructure–property relationships
  • life-cycle assessment (LCA)
  • additive manufacturing (3D printing)
  • machine learning for mix design and optimization

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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 (3 papers)

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Research

29 pages, 4856 KB  
Article
Multi-Objective Mix Design Framework for Solid-Waste-Based Self-Compacting Concrete
by Xiaolong Jia, Feng Jin, Guangqi Xiong, Tao Ma, Xiwen Zou, Guangxiang Ji, Xudong Ma and Pengjun Li
Buildings 2026, 16(8), 1516; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16081516 - 13 Apr 2026
Viewed by 154
Abstract
The growing demand for sustainable construction has highlighted the need to effectively utilize solid waste materials in concrete production, yet achieving satisfactory workability, strength, and durability simultaneously remains challenging. A multi-parameter mix-design methodology is proposed for solid-waste-based self-compacting concrete (SCC). This method couples [...] Read more.
The growing demand for sustainable construction has highlighted the need to effectively utilize solid waste materials in concrete production, yet achieving satisfactory workability, strength, and durability simultaneously remains challenging. A multi-parameter mix-design methodology is proposed for solid-waste-based self-compacting concrete (SCC). This method couples minimum water demand, control of paste film thickness, and multi-performance balancing. The ternary solid-waste powder system (silica fume, fly ash, and supersulfated solid-waste-based cement) was first optimized through minimizing water demand to achieve maximum packing density. The resulting composition was then blended with varying dosages of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) to form the final cementitious binder. Aggregate gradation was proportioned to minimize voids, and paste volume was determined using an equivalent-paste-film-thickness model. Under comparable mixture conditions, SCC with OPC contents of 70–40 wt.% and paste film thicknesses of 2.0–2.6 mm was evaluated for fresh performance, compressive strength, freeze–thaw resistance, and material cost. Mixtures with a paste film thickness of 2.4 or 2.6 mm satisfied the self-compactability criterion—the mix with 50 wt.% OPC and a paste film thickness of 2.4 mm showed the best overall performance balance, achieving higher 28 d strength than higher-OPC mixtures while improving freeze–thaw resistance and reducing cost. Results from TGA, XRD, ATR–FTIR, and SEM–EDS analyses indicated enhanced calcium hydroxide (CH) consumption, increased formation of C-(A)-S-H and ettringite, and a denser interfacial transition zone (ITZ), supporting the proposed multi-objective design approach. While the framework was validated for a specific ternary binder system, it provides a reproducible proportioning strategy applicable to a broader range of solid-waste-based concrete systems, with potential for extension to other waste streams and exposure conditions, thus supporting the development of more resource-efficient and environmentally sustainable concrete. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cement and Concrete Composites in Construction: Applications and Potential)
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20 pages, 2041 KB  
Article
Quantifying the Conditional Contribution of Cement Content to Concrete Strength Using Interpretable Causal Machine Learning
by Ayse Nur Adiguzel Tuylu, Serkan Tuylu, Deniz Adiguzel and Ismail Demir
Buildings 2026, 16(5), 1059; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16051059 - 7 Mar 2026
Viewed by 368
Abstract
Concrete compressive strength is traditionally modeled as a function of mixture composition, with cement dosage often assumed to produce proportional strength gains. However, such interpretations are typically correlational and do not quantify the causal effectiveness of cement additions under varying mixture conditions. This [...] Read more.
Concrete compressive strength is traditionally modeled as a function of mixture composition, with cement dosage often assumed to produce proportional strength gains. However, such interpretations are typically correlational and do not quantify the causal effectiveness of cement additions under varying mixture conditions. This study introduces an interpretable causal machine learning (ICML) framework to estimate the marginal causal effect of cement dosage on compressive strength using an R-learner-based approach. Cement content is treated as a continuous intervention variable, and heterogeneous treatment effects are estimated conditionally on mixture composition and curing age. The estimated average marginal effect of cement dosage is 0.136 MPa per kg/m3 (95% bootstrap confidence interval: [0.1055, 0.1433]). However, substantial heterogeneity is observed, with individual marginal effects ranging from −0.027 to 0.370 MPa (5th–95th percentile). Near-zero and, in limited regimes, negative marginal effects emerge under high water content and unfavorable mixture conditions, indicating inefficient cement utilization. Robustness checks across alternative cross-fitting schemes and trimming procedures confirm the stability of the estimated causal effects. Unlike conventional machine learning models that explain predicted strength values, the proposed framework applies explainability directly to the estimated causal effect function. Local SHAP-based explanations reveal the mixture configurations under which cement additions are effective or inefficient. By explicitly identifying mixture conditions under which cement additions are effective or inefficient, the proposed framework supports more rational cement use, reducing unnecessary material consumption, lowering construction costs, and easing the decision-making burden on designers in practical concrete mix design. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cement and Concrete Composites in Construction: Applications and Potential)
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19 pages, 14482 KB  
Article
Experimental Investigation on Mechanical Bearing Characteristics and Crack Evolution Mechanism of Coal Pillar “Excavation-Backfill” Composites
by Haiqing Shuang, Jingmin Zhang, Xuhui Ma and Jin Zhang
Buildings 2026, 16(5), 1049; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16051049 - 6 Mar 2026
Viewed by 307
Abstract
To investigate the mechanical bearing characteristics of the “excavation-backfill” composite after the excavation of coal pillars and backfill replacement with gangue-based cemented paste backfill, mechanical bearing characteristic experiments are conducted on a series of coal samples with rectangular “excavation-backfill” roadways under uniaxial loading, [...] Read more.
To investigate the mechanical bearing characteristics of the “excavation-backfill” composite after the excavation of coal pillars and backfill replacement with gangue-based cemented paste backfill, mechanical bearing characteristic experiments are conducted on a series of coal samples with rectangular “excavation-backfill” roadways under uniaxial loading, covering the full deformation and failure process. The MTS universal testing machine and DS5-type acoustic emission signal acquisition system are employed, and a high-speed camera is adopted to monitor and record the full failure process. The mechanical bearing characteristics and crack evolution mechanisms of unfilled coal pillar (U-C) and backfill coal pillar (B-C) samples are explored. The results show that with the increase in “excavation-backfill” width, the uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus of U-C samples decrease significantly, and the samples exhibit brittle–ductile failure. When the “excavation-backfill” width is 60 mm, the backfill can distinctly improve the strength and elastic modulus of B-C samples, showing a strong strength recovery effect. The temporal characteristics of AE signals indicate that both U-C and B-C samples experience four stages subjected to uniaxial compression: quiet period, rising period, active period, and post-peak rising period. In the quiet period and rising period, the b-value fluctuates upward with energy release; in the active period, the b-value decreases significantly with large energy release; in the post-peak rising period, crack propagation and frictional slip increase, leading to an enlarged fluctuation amplitude of the b-value. Based on the location of AE sources, the three-dimensional crack chain evolution is inverted. The crack chain evolution of the U-C is mainly distributed along the dip direction (75°~90°, 255°~270°) and vertical direction (165°~180°) of the coal bedding plane, while the B-C is more uniform, indicating that the backfill evidently affects the crack distribution. This study provides new insights for predicting the crack evolution and failure mode of coal–rock composites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cement and Concrete Composites in Construction: Applications and Potential)
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