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Advances in Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) and UHPC Structures
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Advances in Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) and UHPC Structures

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 August 2026 | Viewed by 6201

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. George Morcous

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Durham School of Architecture Engineering and Construction, College of Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1110 South 67th St., Omaha, NE 68182, USA
Interests: design and construction of reinforced and prestressed concrete; bridge engineering; infrastructure management; self-consolidating concrete (SCC); ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC)

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Aging buildings and infrastructure need immediate actions to repair, strengthen, or replace due to either structural defeciency or functional obsolescence. Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) is a fiber-reinforced, cementitious composite material with mechanical and durability properties that far exceed those of conventional concrete materials. UHPC has shown an immense potential as a repair/strengthening material due to its high workability, excellent compressive, tensile, and bond strength, and remarkable resistance to ingress of water and chemicals. This Special Issue highlights the latest advances in developing UHPC mixtures for the repair and strengthening of buildings and structures made of structural steel and/or reinforced/prestressed concrete. UHPC can outperform conventional materials in the repair/strengthening of beams, columns, slabs, and joints. The Special Issue considers articles on material properties, construction procedures, analysis methods, experimental investigations, and case studies.

Prof. Dr. George Morcous
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

  • infrastructure deterioration
  • repair and rehabilitation
  • composite sections
  • early age properties
  • concrete jacketing
  • girder end repair
  • overlay protection
  • UHPC overlay
  • structural repair
  • architectural UHPC
  • material properties and testing
  • case studies of UHPC

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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, 6581 KB  
Article
Study on the Three-Edge Bearing Capacity of Ultra-High-Performance Concrete Jacked Pipes
by Shanqing Ma, Ruiming Tong, Lei He, Yuan Lu, Shukang Ying, Sheng Ke and Peng Zhang
Buildings 2026, 16(7), 1279; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16071279 - 24 Mar 2026
Viewed by 305
Abstract
This study systematically investigated the bearing capacity and failure mechanisms of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) pipe jacking structures using three-edge bearing tests and numerical simulations. Full-scale double-layer reinforced pipes had an inner diameter of 2.5 m and wall thicknesses of 180 mm (P1) and [...] Read more.
This study systematically investigated the bearing capacity and failure mechanisms of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) pipe jacking structures using three-edge bearing tests and numerical simulations. Full-scale double-layer reinforced pipes had an inner diameter of 2.5 m and wall thicknesses of 180 mm (P1) and 200 mm (P2). The tests showed that the failure process can be divided into four stages: elastic deformation, crack propagation, reinforcement yielding, and ultimate failure. Increasing the wall thickness significantly improved performance: P2 had a cracking load 52.73% higher and an ultimate bearing capacity 5.7% higher than P1, with better deformation resistance and crack control. A theoretical model considering the plastic hinge mechanism at the pipe crown was developed, treating the three-edge load as an equivalent distributed plate load. The calculated results agreed well with experimental measurements. An ABAQUS finite element model successfully reproduced the full mechanical response from initial loading to failure. Parametric analysis indicated optimal performance at a hoop reinforcement ratio of approximately 1.4%. Even at 0.6%, the ultimate bearing capacity reached 367 kN/m, meeting current design code requirements. This study is novel in conducting full-scale UHPC pipe jacking tests, proposing a theoretical model accounting for crown plastic hinges, and establishing a finite element method that reproduces the entire failure process. Optimizing wall thickness and hoop reinforcement can enhance structural safety and durability, providing guidance for the design and engineering of pipe jacking structures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) and UHPC Structures)
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24 pages, 3162 KB  
Article
Development and Evaluation of Thixotropic UHPC Overlay Mixtures for Bridge Deck and Low-Slope Roof Slab Repair
by Akbota Aitbayeva, Mina Gerges, George Morcous and Jiong Hu
Buildings 2026, 16(3), 500; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16030500 - 26 Jan 2026
Viewed by 661
Abstract
Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) is a sophisticated construction material known for its exceptional strength and durability. Conventional UHPC generally self-consolidates, which makes it unsuitable for roof and bridge deck rehabilitation applications due to its thin layers and inclined surfaces. UHPC overlay construction generally requires [...] Read more.
Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) is a sophisticated construction material known for its exceptional strength and durability. Conventional UHPC generally self-consolidates, which makes it unsuitable for roof and bridge deck rehabilitation applications due to its thin layers and inclined surfaces. UHPC overlay construction generally requires a highly thixotropic material that responds well to vibration and remains stable on slopes. Despite the complex rheological properties of thixotropic UHPC, there are limited testing methods for effectively assessing the workability of overlay mixes. Therefore, this paper provides a comprehensive evaluation of the workability of overlay UHPC using existing and newly developed tests. Besides the commonly used static and dynamic flow tests, this study introduces Patting Response (PR) and Vibration-Slope Stability (VSS) tests, designed to evaluate different qualities of UHPC overlay mixtures. Seven groups of mixtures with varying binder content, water-to-binder ratio (w/b), fiber reinforcement, and admixture dosages were prepared and tested. A lab-scale sloped slab was constructed to validate the buildability of the most promising mixtures. These tests and mixtures support effective overlay solutions for roof slab and bridge deck repairs, providing protection against infrastructure deterioration and improving overall performance by introducing a dense, durable UHPC overlay. Results indicate that mixtures with static flow below 6 in. and dynamic flow between 7 and 8 in. consistently passed both PR and VSS tests, demonstrating stable vibration response and slope retention. The constructability evaluation confirmed the effectiveness of the new testing methods. Additionally, the correlation between different tests, particularly flow and VSS, was examined. Recommendations for appropriate ranges for various workability tests were established based on the performance of the developed mixtures. The proposed static and dynamic flow ranges are performance-based and are expected to be broadly applicable to thixotropic UHPC overlay systems exhibiting comparable workability and rheological behavior under vibration and sloped placement conditions. Overall, these tests and thixotropic UHPC mixtures facilitate effective repair of roof slabs and bridge decks, providing overlay protection against deterioration and potentially enhancing structural capacity through composite behavior. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) and UHPC Structures)
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19 pages, 13476 KB  
Article
Experimental and Numerical Analyses on the Flexural Tensile Strength of Ultra-High-Performance Concrete Prisms with and Without Rice Husk Ash
by Victor Hugo Couto Xavier, Andressa Marqueze da Silva Lancaster de Moraes Salles, Ezequiel Menegaz Meneghetti, Gabriel Hideki Honda Maeda, Alex Micael Dantas de Sousa, Emerson Felipe Félix and Lisiane Pereira Prado
Buildings 2025, 15(10), 1635; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15101635 - 13 May 2025
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2643
Abstract
Ultra-high-performance concrete with steel fibers (UHPC) stands out for its exceptional mechanical properties and high ductility. The addition of steel fibers improves the tensile strength, allowing for its use in the design of structural elements subject to bending. The use of rice husk [...] Read more.
Ultra-high-performance concrete with steel fibers (UHPC) stands out for its exceptional mechanical properties and high ductility. The addition of steel fibers improves the tensile strength, allowing for its use in the design of structural elements subject to bending. The use of rice husk ash (RHA) as a natural mineral addition in the UHPC mixture offers significant advantages in terms of environmental impact and mechanical properties. Therefore, this work experimentally investigates the effect of RHA as a partial replacement for active silica fume on the flexural tensile strength and compressive behavior of UHPC. Additionally, a parametric study was conducted to examine the impact of varying prism geometries on the flexural tensile strength of UHPC with and without CCR in ABAQUS version 6.14. The experimental results made it possible to calibrate the UHPC parameters using RHA for numerical simulations of UHPC behavior based on the concrete damaged plasticity (CDP) model. The results indicated an increase of 4% in the compressive strength and 20% in the flexural tensile strength of UHPC with the addition of RHA. Furthermore, the numerical extrapolations of the flexural tensile strength test show that increasing the dimensions of the prisms reduces the strength by up to 30% of UHPC with RHA, evidencing the influence of geometry on the results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) and UHPC Structures)
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24 pages, 5291 KB  
Article
Statistical Evaluation and Reliability Analysis of Interface Shear Capacity in Ultra-High-Performance Concrete Members
by Bipul Poudel, Philippe Kalmogo and Sriram Aaleti
Buildings 2024, 14(10), 3064; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14103064 - 25 Sep 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1538
Abstract
The use of UHPC as an overlay and repair material in the bridge industry has been increasing recently. Ensuring sufficient interface shear strength between the substrate and UHPC is necessary for adequate performance and the structural integrity of the composite section. Due to [...] Read more.
The use of UHPC as an overlay and repair material in the bridge industry has been increasing recently. Ensuring sufficient interface shear strength between the substrate and UHPC is necessary for adequate performance and the structural integrity of the composite section. Due to the lack of structural design code for UHPC members, designers often rely on experimental data developed by researchers or on existing conventional concrete design code to predict the interface shear capacity of sections containing UHPC. The various test methods currently used to quantify the interface shear strength oftentimes produce different results. The objectives of this paper are to create a database of the studies on the interface shear strength of UHPC members available in the literature and carry out a statistical assessment. Moreover, a reliability analysis is conducted on the collected experimental database, and the probability of failure is determined for UHPC–concrete, UHPC–UHPC, and monolithic UHPC interfaces. The paper also investigates the dependence of the reliability index on two different test methods used for interface shear capacity prediction. Additionally, a simpler interface shear capacity model with readily determined parameters is proposed for the monolithic UHPC interface, with a better reliability index compared to current design specification. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) and UHPC Structures)
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