Special Issue "Advanced Cement and Concrete Composites"

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Construction and Building Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2022.

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Moncef L. Nehdi
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Western University, London, ON N6B 5L9, Canada
Interests: construction materials; sustainability; machine learning; deep learning
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The cement and concrete industry is the world’s primary consumer of natural resources and a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. To mitigate climate change and the threat to biodiversity, we need to produce eco-efficient and highly durable cement and concrete composites that meet the ever-increasing demand for enhanced mechanical performance and resiliency. This Special Issue seeks novel and impactful research on: eco-efficient and sustainable cement and concrete; geopolymers and alkali-activated binders; self-healing, bio-inspired, multi-functional, stimuli-responsive, and other advanced and emerging engineered cement and concrete composites; pertinent studies on rheology, mechanical performance, and durability; life-cycle analysis studies; and numerical, artificial intelligence, and other modeling of cement and concrete composites.

Prof. Dr. Moncef L. Nehdi
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 papers will be 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. Materials 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 2000 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;
  • concrete;
  • alkali-activated materials;
  • sustainability;
  • durability;
  • rheology;
  • mechanical properties;
  • modeling;
  • artificial intelligence;
  • life cycle analysis.

Published Papers (12 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

Article
Preparation and Mechanical-Fatigue Properties of Elastic Polyurethane Concrete Composites
Materials 2021, 14(14), 3839; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14143839 - 09 Jul 2021
Viewed by 438
Abstract
In order to solve issues related to bridge girders, expansion devices and road surfaces, as well as other structures that are prone to fatigue failure, a kind of fatigue-resistant elastic polyurethane concrete (EPUC) was obtained by adding waste rubber particles (40 mesh with [...] Read more.
In order to solve issues related to bridge girders, expansion devices and road surfaces, as well as other structures that are prone to fatigue failure, a kind of fatigue-resistant elastic polyurethane concrete (EPUC) was obtained by adding waste rubber particles (40 mesh with 10% fine aggregate volume replacement rate) to conventional engineering polyurethane concrete (PUC). Based on the preparation and properties of EPUC, its constitutive relation was proposed through compression and tensile tests; then, a scanning electron microscope (SEM), an atomic force microscope (AFM) and a 3D non-contact surface profilometer were used to study the failure morphology and micromechanisms of EPUC. On this basis, four-point bending fatigue tests of EPUC were carried out at different temperature levels (−20 °C, 0 °C, 20 °C) and different strain levels (400 με~1200 με). These were used to analyze the stiffness modulus, hysteresis angle and dissipated energy of EPUC, and our results outline the fatigue life prediction models of EPUC at different temperatures. The results show that the addition of rubber particles fills the interior of EPUC with tiny elastic structures and effectively optimizes the interface bonding between aggregate and polyurethane. In addition, EPUC has good mechanical properties and excellent fatigue resistance; the fatigue life of EPUC at a room temperature of 600 με can grow by more than two million times, and it also has a longer service life and reduced disease frequency, as well as fewer maintenance requirements. This paper will provide a theoretical and design basis for the fatigue resistance design and engineering application of building materials. Meanwhile, the new EPUC material has broad application potential in terms of roads, bridges and green buildings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Cement and Concrete Composites)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
Ventilation Prediction for an Industrial Cement Raw Ball Mill by BNN—A “Conscious Lab” Approach
Materials 2021, 14(12), 3220; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14123220 - 10 Jun 2021
Viewed by 555
Abstract
In cement mills, ventilation is a critical key for maintaining temperature and material transportation. However, relationships between operational variables and ventilation factors for an industrial cement ball mill were not addressed until today. This investigation is going to fill this gap based on [...] Read more.
In cement mills, ventilation is a critical key for maintaining temperature and material transportation. However, relationships between operational variables and ventilation factors for an industrial cement ball mill were not addressed until today. This investigation is going to fill this gap based on a newly developed concept named “conscious laboratory (CL)”. For constructing the CL, a boosted neural network (BNN), as a recently developed comprehensive artificial intelligence model, was applied through over 35 different variables, with more than 2000 records monitored for an industrial cement ball mill. BNN could assess multivariable nonlinear relationships among this vast dataset, and indicated mill outlet pressure and the ampere of the separator fan had the highest rank for the ventilation prediction. BNN could accurately model ventilation factors based on the operational variables with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.6. BNN showed a lower error than other traditional machine learning models (RMSE: random forest 0.71, support vector regression: 0.76). Since improving the milling efficiency has an essential role in machine development and energy utilization, these results can open a new window to the optimal designing of comminution units for the material technologies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Cement and Concrete Composites)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
Life-Cycle Assessment of Alkali-Activated Materials Incorporating Industrial Byproducts
Materials 2021, 14(9), 2401; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14092401 - 05 May 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 538
Abstract
Eco-friendly and sustainable materials that are cost-effective, while having a reduced carbon footprint and energy consumption, are in great demand by the construction industry worldwide. Accordingly, alkali-activated materials (AAM) composed primarily of industrial byproducts have emerged as more desirable alternatives to ordinary Portland [...] Read more.
Eco-friendly and sustainable materials that are cost-effective, while having a reduced carbon footprint and energy consumption, are in great demand by the construction industry worldwide. Accordingly, alkali-activated materials (AAM) composed primarily of industrial byproducts have emerged as more desirable alternatives to ordinary Portland cement (OPC)-based concrete. Hence, this study investigates the cradle-to-gate life-cycle assessment (LCA) of ternary blended alkali-activated mortars made with industrial byproducts. Moreover, the embodied energy (EE), which represents an important parameter in cradle-to-gate life-cycle analysis, was investigated for 42 AAM mixtures. The boundary of the cradle-to-gate system was extended to include the mechanical and durability properties of AAMs on the basis of performance criteria. Using the experimental test database thus developed, an optimized artificial neural network (ANN) combined with the cuckoo optimization algorithm (COA) was developed to estimate the CO2 emissions and EE of AAMs. Considering the lack of systematic research on the cradle-to-gate LCA of AAMs in the literature, the results of this research provide new insights into the assessment of the environmental impact of AAM made with industrial byproducts. The final weight and bias values of the AAN model can be used to design AAM mixtures with targeted mechanical properties and CO2 emission considering desired amounts of industrial byproduct utilization in the mixture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Cement and Concrete Composites)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
Use of Cement Suspension as an Alternative Matrix Material for Textile-Reinforced Concrete
Materials 2021, 14(9), 2127; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14092127 - 22 Apr 2021
Viewed by 728
Abstract
Textile-reinforced concrete (TRC) is a material consisting of high-performance concrete (HPC) and tensile reinforcement comprised of carbon roving with epoxy resin matrix. However, the problem of low epoxy resin resistance at higher temperatures persists. In this work, an alternative to the epoxy resin [...] Read more.
Textile-reinforced concrete (TRC) is a material consisting of high-performance concrete (HPC) and tensile reinforcement comprised of carbon roving with epoxy resin matrix. However, the problem of low epoxy resin resistance at higher temperatures persists. In this work, an alternative to the epoxy resin matrix, a non-combustible cement suspension (cement milk) which has proven stability at elevated temperatures, was evaluated. In the first part of the work, microscopic research was carried out to determine the distribution of particle sizes in the cement suspension. Subsequently, five series of plate samples differing in the type of cement and the method of textile reinforcement saturation were designed and prepared. Mechanical experiments (four-point bending tests) were carried out to verify the properties of each sample type. It was found that the highest efficiency of carbon roving saturation was achieved by using finer ground cement (CEM 52.5) and the pressure saturation method. Moreover, this solution also exhibited the best results in the four-point bending test. Finally, the use of CEM 52.5 in the cement matrix appears to be a feasible variant for TRC constructions that could overcome problems with its low temperature resistance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Cement and Concrete Composites)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
Utilizing Iron Ore Tailing as Cementitious Material for Eco-Friendly Design of Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC)
Materials 2021, 14(8), 1829; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14081829 - 07 Apr 2021
Viewed by 520
Abstract
In this research, iron ore tailing (IOT) is utilized as the cementitious material to develop an eco-friendly ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC). The UHPC mix is obtained according to the modified Andreasen and Andersen (MAA) packing model, and the applied dosage of IOT is [...] Read more.
In this research, iron ore tailing (IOT) is utilized as the cementitious material to develop an eco-friendly ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC). The UHPC mix is obtained according to the modified Andreasen and Andersen (MAA) packing model, and the applied dosage of IOT is 10%, 20%, and 30% (by weight), respectively. The calculated packing density of different mixtures is consistent with each other. Afterwards, the fresh and hardened performance of UHPC mixtures with IOT are evaluated. The results demonstrate that the workability of designed UHPC mixtures is increased with the incorporation of IOT. The heat flow at an early age of designed UHPC with IOT is attenuated, the compressive strength and auto shrinkage at an early age are consequently reduced. The addition of IOT promotes the development of long-term compressive strength and optimization of the pore structure, thus the durability of designed UHPC is still guaranteed. In addition, the ecological estimate results show that the utilization of IOT for the UHPC design can reduce the carbon emission significantly. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Cement and Concrete Composites)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
Towards Embedded Computation with Building Materials
Materials 2021, 14(7), 1724; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14071724 - 31 Mar 2021
Viewed by 593
Abstract
We present results showing the capability of concrete-based information processing substrate in the signal classification task in accordance with in materio computing paradigm. As the Reservoir Computing is a suitable model for describing embedded in materio computation, we propose that this type of [...] Read more.
We present results showing the capability of concrete-based information processing substrate in the signal classification task in accordance with in materio computing paradigm. As the Reservoir Computing is a suitable model for describing embedded in materio computation, we propose that this type of presented basic construction unit can be used as a source for “reservoir of states” necessary for simple tuning of the readout layer. We present an electrical characterization of the set of samples with different additive concentrations followed by a dynamical analysis of selected specimens showing fingerprints of memfractive properties. As part of dynamic analysis, several fractal dimensions and entropy parameters for the output signal were analyzed to explore the richness of the reservoir configuration space. In addition, to investigate the chaotic nature and self-affinity of the signal, Lyapunov exponents and Detrended Fluctuation Analysis exponents were calculated. Moreover, on the basis of obtained parameters, classification of the signal waveform shapes can be performed in scenarios explicitly tuned for a given device terminal. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Cement and Concrete Composites)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Article
Static and Dynamic Performances of Chopped Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Mortar and Concrete Incorporated with Disparate Lengths
Materials 2021, 14(4), 972; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14040972 - 18 Feb 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1247
Abstract
The impact load, such as seismic and shock wave, sometimes causes severe damage to the reinforced concrete structures. This study utilized different lengths of chopped carbon fibers to develop a carbon-fiber-reinforced mortar (CFRM) and carbon-fiber-reinforced concrete (CFRC) with high impact and anti-shockwave resistance. [...] Read more.
The impact load, such as seismic and shock wave, sometimes causes severe damage to the reinforced concrete structures. This study utilized different lengths of chopped carbon fibers to develop a carbon-fiber-reinforced mortar (CFRM) and carbon-fiber-reinforced concrete (CFRC) with high impact and anti-shockwave resistance. The different lengths (6, 12, and 24 mm) of chopped carbon fibers were pneumatically dispersed and uniformly mixed into the cement with a 1% weight proportion. Then the CFRM and CFRC specimens were made for static and dynamic tests. The compressive and flexural strengths of the specimens were determined by using the standard ASTM C39/C 39M and ASTM C 293-02, respectively. Meanwhile, a free-fall impact test was done according to ACI 544.2R-89, which was used to test the impact resistances of the specimens under different impact energies. The CFRM and CFRC with a length of 6 mm exhibit maximum compressive strength. Both flexural and free-fall impact test results show that the 24 mm CFRM and CFRC enhances their maximum flexural strength and impact numbers more than the other lengths of CFRM, CFRC, and the benchmark specimens. After impact tests, the failure specimens were observed in a high-resolution optical microscope, to identify whether the failure mode is slippage or rupture of the carbon fiber. Finally, a blast wave explosion test was conducted to verify that the blast wave resistance of the 24 mm CFRC specimen was better than the 12 mm CFRC and benchmark specimens. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Cement and Concrete Composites)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
Effect of Blast-Furnace Slag Replacement Ratio and Curing Method on Pore Structure Change after Carbonation on Cement Paste
Materials 2020, 13(21), 4787; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13214787 - 27 Oct 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 748
Abstract
The frost damage resistance of blast-furnace slag (BFS) cement is affected by carbonation. Hence, this study investigates the carbonation properties of pastes incorporating BFS with different replacement ratios, such as 15%, 45%, and 65% by weight, and different curing conditions, including air and [...] Read more.
The frost damage resistance of blast-furnace slag (BFS) cement is affected by carbonation. Hence, this study investigates the carbonation properties of pastes incorporating BFS with different replacement ratios, such as 15%, 45%, and 65% by weight, and different curing conditions, including air and carbonation. The BFS replacement ratio properties, determined by the Ca/Si ratio of calcium silicate hydrate in the cement paste sample, were experimentally investigated using mercury intrusion porosimetry, X-ray diffraction, and thermal analysis. The experimental investigation of the pore structure revealed that total porosity decreased after carbonation. In addition, the porosity decreased at a higher rate as the BFS replacement rate increased. Results obtained from this study show that the chemical change led to the higher replacement rate of BFS, which produced a higher amount of vaterite. In addition, the lower the Ca/Si ratio, the higher the amount of calcium carbonate originating from calcium silicate hydrate rather than from calcium hydroxide. As a result of the pore structure change, the number of ink-bottle pores was remarkably reduced by carbonation. Comparing the pore structure change in air-cured and carbonation test specimens, it was found that as the replacement rate of BFS increased, the number of pores with a diameter of 100 nm or more also increased. The higher the replacement rate of BFS, the higher the amount of calcium carbonate produced compared with the amount of calcium hydroxide produced during water curing. Due to the generation of calcium carbonate and the change in pores, the overall number of pores decreased as the amount of calcium carbonate increased. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Cement and Concrete Composites)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Article
Mitigating Portland Cement CO2 Emissions Using Alkali-Activated Materials: System Dynamics Model
Materials 2020, 13(20), 4685; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13204685 - 21 Oct 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 600
Abstract
While alkali-activated materials (AAMs) have been hailed as a very promising solution to mitigate colossal CO2 emissions from world portland cement production, there is lack of robust models that can demonstrate this claim. This paper pioneers a novel system dynamics model that [...] Read more.
While alkali-activated materials (AAMs) have been hailed as a very promising solution to mitigate colossal CO2 emissions from world portland cement production, there is lack of robust models that can demonstrate this claim. This paper pioneers a novel system dynamics model that captures the system complexity of this problem and addresses it in a holistic manner. This paper reports on this object-oriented modeling paradigm to develop a cogent prognostic model for predicting CO2 emissions from cement production. The model accounts for the type of AAM precursor and activator, the service life of concrete structures, carbonation of concrete, AAM market share, and policy implementation period. Using the new model developed in this study, strategies for reducing CO2 emissions from cement production have been identified, and future challenges facing wider AAM implementation have been outlined. The novelty of the model consists in its ability to consider the CO2 emission problem as a system of systems, treating it in a holistic manner, and allowing the user to test diverse policy scenarios, with inherent flexibility and modular architecture. The practical relevance of the model is that it facilitates the decision-making process and policy making regarding the use of AAMs to mitigate CO2 emissions from cement production at low computational cost. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Cement and Concrete Composites)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
Chasing the Bubble: Ultrasonic Dispersion and Attenuation from Cement with Superabsorbent Polymers to Shampoo
Materials 2020, 13(20), 4528; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13204528 - 13 Oct 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 426
Abstract
This study aims to experimentally investigate the ultrasonic behavior of fresh cement focusing on the contribution of the entrapped air bubbles. Frequency dispersion and attenuation carry delicate information that is not possible to gather by traditional ultrasonic pulse velocity. This is measured by [...] Read more.
This study aims to experimentally investigate the ultrasonic behavior of fresh cement focusing on the contribution of the entrapped air bubbles. Frequency dispersion and attenuation carry delicate information that is not possible to gather by traditional ultrasonic pulse velocity. This is measured by simple indicators that quantify the frequency dependence of propagation velocity of longitudinal waves through fresh cementitious media. It seems that dispersion shows much stronger sensitivity to the microstructural processes, since the presence of superabsorbent polymers in mortar induces a large difference in dispersion parameters when compared to reference cement mortar, while only marginal difference in threshold-based pulse velocity. To reach this aim, references are taken from, and comparisons are made to other liquids in order first in order to validate the reliability of the methodology and to better understand the contribution of the cavities in the obtained dispersion and attenuation curves. Ultrasonic dispersion assessment of cementitious media has the potential to bring a lot of information on the microstructure of materials, as well as the ongoing processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Cement and Concrete Composites)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
Mixture Optimization of Recycled Aggregate Concrete Using Hybrid Machine Learning Model
Materials 2020, 13(19), 4331; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13194331 - 29 Sep 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 649
Abstract
Recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) contributes to mitigating the depletion of natural aggregates, alleviating the carbon footprint of concrete construction, and averting the landfilling of colossal amounts of construction and demolition waste. However, complexities in the mixture optimization of RAC due to the variability [...] Read more.
Recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) contributes to mitigating the depletion of natural aggregates, alleviating the carbon footprint of concrete construction, and averting the landfilling of colossal amounts of construction and demolition waste. However, complexities in the mixture optimization of RAC due to the variability of recycled aggregates and lack of accuracy in estimating its compressive strength require novel and sophisticated techniques. This paper aims at developing state-of-the-art machine learning models to predict the RAC compressive strength and optimize its mixture design. Results show that the developed models including Gaussian processes, deep learning, and gradient boosting regression achieved robust predictive performance, with the gradient boosting regression trees yielding highest prediction accuracy. Furthermore, a particle swarm optimization coupled with gradient boosting regression trees model was developed to optimize the mixture design of RAC for various compressive strength classes. The hybrid model achieved cost-saving RAC mixture designs with lower environmental footprint for different target compressive strength classes. The model could be further harvested to achieve sustainable concrete with optimal recycled aggregate content, least cost, and least environmental footprint. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Cement and Concrete Composites)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

Review
Fly Ash-Based Eco-Efficient Concretes: A Comprehensive Review of the Short-Term Properties
Materials 2021, 14(15), 4264; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14154264 - 30 Jul 2021
Viewed by 433
Abstract
Development of sustainable concrete as an alternative to conventional concrete helps in reducing carbon dioxide footprint associated with the use of cement and disposal of waste materials in landfill. One way to achieve that is the use of fly ash (FA) as an [...] Read more.
Development of sustainable concrete as an alternative to conventional concrete helps in reducing carbon dioxide footprint associated with the use of cement and disposal of waste materials in landfill. One way to achieve that is the use of fly ash (FA) as an alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC) because FA is a pozzolanic material and has a high amount of alumina and silica content. Because of its excellent mechanical properties, several studies have been conducted to investigate the use of alkali-activated FA-based concrete as an alternative to conventional concrete. FA, as an industrial by-product, occupies land, thereby causing environmental pollution and health problems. FA-based concrete has numerous advantages, such as it has early strength gaining, it uses low natural resources, and it can be configurated into different structural elements. This study initially presents a review of the classifications, sources, chemical composition, curing regimes and clean production of FA. Then, physical, fresh, and mechanical properties of FA-based concretes are studied. This review helps in better understanding of the behavior of FA-based concrete as a sustainable and eco-friendly material used in construction and building industries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Cement and Concrete Composites)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop