Novel Approaches in Concrete and Building Materials

Dear Colleagues,

Today, concrete and other cement-based materials are one of the most widely used construction materials. Despite characteristics such as high mechanical strength, low cost, availability, and durability of concrete and cement-based materials, there are some issues associated with these materials that are the subject of current and/or future research. Efforts are being made to improve the aforementioned characteristics of these materials. While increases in compressive strength and durability and decreases in permeability and costs are being considered, at the same time, there is growing concern over the environmental impacts of these materials. A review of the literature demonstrates that, topics such as physical, mechanical, durability, economic and environmental characteristics of concrete and other cement-based materials have been increasingly considered by researchers. The application of traditional approaches to modeling and predicting the behavior of these materials is not sufficient and novel computer-aided techniques should be employed. The present Special Issue pays particular attention to the utilization of AI-based hybrid approaches to achieve improved solutions. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Physical, rheological, mechanical, durability, and cost characteristics of concrete and cement-based materials;
• Prediction and optimization algorithms;
• Green concrete (waste materials, recycled aggregates and etc.);
• Lightweight, ultra-high performance, and ultra-high-strength concrete;
• Smart and self-healing concrete;
• Sustainable concrete;
• Future perspectives for novel AI-based hybrid approaches to improve the building materials.

Dr. Mahzad Esmaeili-Falak
Prof. Dr. Akbar Javadi
Guest Editors

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