Innovative Materials and Technologies for Sustainable Structural Engineering

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Structures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 617

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Laboratory of Reinforced Concrete and Seismic Design of Structures, Civil Engineering Department, School of Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, 67100 Xanthi, Greece
Interests: structural analysis; finite element analysis; structural engineering; building materials; structural dynamics; FRP; reinforced concrete; SFRC; NDT; rehabilitation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Reinforced Concrete and Seismic Design of Structures, Civil Engineering Department, School of Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, 67100 Xanthi, Greece
Interests: reinforced concrete; FRP; shear; torsion; strengthening; rehabilitation; anchors; externally bonded; NSM; NDT
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, Ilam Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ilam, Iran
Interests: FRC; composite materials; seismic behavior; dampers; SPSW

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue "Innovative Materials and Technologies for Sustainable Structural Engineering" aims to present the latest advancements in sustainable practices and material innovations that address new construction and the pressing need to preserve and upgrade existing infrastructure. Adopting advanced technologies and eco-conscious materials becomes essential as the construction industry transitions toward greener and more efficient systems.

This Issue welcomes contributions focused on developing and applying novel materials such as fiber-reinforced polymers, self-healing and ultra-high-performance concrete, bio-based composites, recycled aggregates, and low-carbon binders. Topics include innovative construction approaches such as 3D printing, modular systems, and digital fabrication. Emphasis is placed on AI-driven design and optimization methods that support material efficiency and long-term structural sustainability.

Particular attention is given to strategies for the sustainable rehabilitation, strengthening, and extension of service life in existing infrastructure, aiming to reduce resource consumption and environmental impact. Both original research articles and review papers spanning experimental studies, analytical models, life cycle assessments, and real-world applications are invited. The Special Issue provides a platform for interdisciplinary collaboration toward resilient and future-ready structural systems.

Dr. Violetta K. Kytinou
Dr. Adamantis Zapris
Dr. Ali Ghamari
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

  • innovative construction materials
  • fiber-reinforced polymers
  • AI-driven structural design
  • sustainable retrofit and strengthening
  • infrastructure rehabilitation
  • eco-friendly engineering solutions
  • structural durability

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

27 pages, 6842 KiB  
Article
Non-Conventional and Sustainable Retrofitting of Fire-Exposed Reinforced Concrete Columns Using Basalt Fiber–Engineered Geopolymer Composites
by Ruba Palanivelu, Bhuvaneshwari Panchanatham, Adamantis G. Zapris and Violetta K. Kytinou
Buildings 2025, 15(12), 1962; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15121962 - 6 Jun 2025
Viewed by 427
Abstract
The increasing demand for sustainable and resilient construction solutions calls for the integration of innovative, non-conventional materials in structural retrofitting. This study investigates the use of basalt fiber-based engineered geopolymer composites (BFEGC) as a retrofitting material for fire-damaged reinforced concrete (RC) short columns. [...] Read more.
The increasing demand for sustainable and resilient construction solutions calls for the integration of innovative, non-conventional materials in structural retrofitting. This study investigates the use of basalt fiber-based engineered geopolymer composites (BFEGC) as a retrofitting material for fire-damaged reinforced concrete (RC) short columns. A total of 14 columns (150 mm × 150 mm × 650 mm) were cast. Two columns were used as control specimens. The remaining 12 columns were exposed to various fire conditions: 300 °C for 30 min, 600 °C for 20 min, and 900 °C for 15 min, followed by gradual (GC) or rapid cooling (RC). Among the columns, six were left unwrapped (GC-NW, RC-NW), while six others were retrofitted with BFEGC (GC-W, RC-W) and subjected to axial loading until failure. The results showed that BFEGC wrapping improved the mechanical performance of fire-damaged columns, especially at 600 °C. The 600RC-W columns exhibited 1.85 times higher ultimate load, 1.56 times greater displacement ductility, and 2.99 times higher energy ductility compared to unwrapped columns. The strength index and confinement coefficient of the 600RC-W columns increased by 2.31 times and 40.2%, respectively. Microstructural analysis confirmed the formation of salient hydration products under elevated temperatures. BFEGC shows significant reduction in carbon emissions and embodied energy, compared to conventional cement-based binders for fiber-reinforced polymer systems. Full article
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