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Advances in Environmentally-Friendly Building Materials in Construction
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Advances in Environmentally-Friendly Building Materials 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: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 1562

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ruby Mejía de Gutiérrez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Composites Materials Group (CENM), School of Materials Engineering, Universidad del Valle, Calle 13 #100-00, E44, Cali 760032, Colombia
Interests: alkali-activated materials; geopolymers; building materials; valorization of industrial wastes and construction and demolition wastes; corrosion, durability and sustainability of cementitious materials; eco-friendly construction materials; 3D printing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Rafael A. Robayo-Salazar

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Composites Materials Group (CENM), School of Materials Engineering, Universidad del Valle, Calle 13 #100-00, E44, Cali 760032, Colombia
Interests: alkali-activated materials; geopolymers; building materials; recovery of industrial wastes, and construction and demolition wastes; durability and sustainability of cementitious materials; eco-friendly construction materials; 3D printing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The search for emerging technologies that promote environmental sustainability is a priority for the construction sector. Rapid urbanization, promoted by exponential population growth, will cause a 60% increase in housing demand by 2030, making cities the generators of 75% of the world's global carbon emissions. Likewise, by 2050, an increase in natural resources equivalent to almost three planets worth is estimated to be necessary to sustain current lifestyles. A model called “sustainable cities” proposes sustainable consumption and production, seeking to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation to increase resource efficiency, to reduce the extraction of raw materials and the final disposal of the waste generated (“zero waste” approach), and to move towards green (circular) economies with low carbon emissions. To preserve these, non-renewable raw materials can be used as alternative materials to ordinary Portland cement (OPC)-based materials with a lower “carbon footprint” or global warming potential (GWP) and with superior mechanical performance and durability. In general, the use of industrial wastes, and especially construction and demolition wastes, is considered essential for the construction sector to be sustainable in a circular economy model. Technologies, such as additive manufacturing, can be widely employed by the construction sector for 3D printing housing sustainably and at a more affordable cost with numerous advantages.

This Special Issue aims to publish a wide range of articles that address topics including, among others, alternative construction materials, use of by-products and industrial wastes, eco-efficient and carbon-neutral construction materials, durability, life cycle analysis, geopolymers, and innovative technologies of construction.

Prof. Dr. Ruby Mejía de Gutiérrez
Prof. Dr. Rafael A. Robayo-Salazar
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

  • circular economy
  • sustainable and low-carbon building materials
  • eco-friendly materials and processes
  • utilization of by-products and waste materials in construction
  • construction and demolition wastes
  • recycled aggregates
  • alternative binders to Portland cement, geopolymers
  • 3D concrete printing
  • concrete durability
  • life cycle analysis

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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 (2 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 4667 KiB  
Article
Influence of Additives on the Strength and Deformation Behavior of Loam Blocks
by Florian Soßna and Jeanette Orlowsky
Buildings 2025, 15(6), 919; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15060919 - 14 Mar 2025
Viewed by 273
Abstract
After Germany’s planned withdrawal from coal-fired power generation by 2030, the by-product known as FGD gypsum will no longer be available. As an alternative, loam can be utilized as a building material for non-load-bearing interior walls. Recycling loam is advantageous as it is [...] Read more.
After Germany’s planned withdrawal from coal-fired power generation by 2030, the by-product known as FGD gypsum will no longer be available. As an alternative, loam can be utilized as a building material for non-load-bearing interior walls. Recycling loam is advantageous as it is readily available in large quantities. However, its unique properties, such as moisture retention and drying shrinkage, are crucial for its usability. Loam samples are modified with various additives and molded into prisms to investigate and optimize these aspects. These prisms are tested for drying shrinkage and strength behavior. The most effective mixtures undergo further evaluation of their long-term behavior when subjected to changes in moisture—the addition of 20 wt.-% brick dust results in a reduction of the drying shrinkage by 25%. In long-term tests, swelling deformation has been reduced by 35%. This article demonstrates the effectiveness of additives in minimizing moisture-inducted deformations while maintaining the same compressive strength. Additionally, it compares various measuring methods for recording length changes in loam blocks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Environmentally-Friendly Building Materials in Construction)
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21 pages, 9454 KiB  
Article
Effects of Incorporating Fine Aggregates and Polypropylene Microfibres on the Cracking Control of 3D Printed Cementitious Mixtures
by Armando Vargas, Rafael Robayo-Salazar and Ruby Mejía de Gutiérrez
Buildings 2025, 15(1), 55; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15010055 - 27 Dec 2024
Viewed by 894
Abstract
One of the most significant challenges for 3D printing of construction elements from cementitious materials is the control of cracking caused by various contraction–shrinkage mechanisms, such as drying, chemical, plastic and autogenous shrinkage. This study addresses the effects of incorporating fine aggregates (maximum [...] Read more.
One of the most significant challenges for 3D printing of construction elements from cementitious materials is the control of cracking caused by various contraction–shrinkage mechanisms, such as drying, chemical, plastic and autogenous shrinkage. This study addresses the effects of incorporating fine aggregates (maximum size ≤ 1.18 mm), both natural and recycled, as well as short (6 mm long) polypropylene (PP) fibres on the control of cracking in cementitious mixtures based on Portland cement. Admixtures and/or mineral additions (modifiers), such as metakaolin, micro-silica, calcium carbonate, and fine powders obtained from construction and demolition wastes were used in the mixtures. Mini-slump, flow rate and buildability tests were used to characterize the mixtures in their fresh state. Extrudability was evaluated using laboratory-scale 3D printing tests conducted with a plunger–piston extrusion system. It was demonstrated that the physical characteristics of the aggregates directly influence the extrusion capacity. Mixtures containing natural aggregates exhibited greater fluidity and lower water demand than those containing recycled aggregates. The results indicated that the maximum allowable volume of fibres was 0.75%. To evaluate the cracking susceptibility of the mixtures, both with and without reinforcement, hollow beams composed of seven layers were printed, and subsequently the elements were exposed to the outdoor natural environment and inspected for a period of 90 days. The inclusion of the PP fibres effectively prevented the occurrence of fissures and/or cracks associated with shrinkage phenomena throughout the inspection period, unlike in unreinforced mixtures, which cracked after 14 days of exposure to the environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Environmentally-Friendly Building Materials in Construction)
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