Cracking Risks in Blended Cement-Based Concrete: Mechanisms, Evaluation and Control
A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Construction and Building Materials".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2025 | Viewed by 155
Special Issue Editors
Interests: blended cement-based concrete; SCMs; prediction model; concrete crack
Interests: UHPC; ECC; fiber; concrete-filled steel tubes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Cracking remains a major challenge in the durable design and construction of modern infrastructure. In particular, cement-based systems incorporating supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), fibers, or other functional components—commonly used in structural concrete, tunnel linings, repair mortars, and high-performance composites—often exhibit complex hydration behavior, volumetric instability, and stress development, which contribute to various forms of cracking. These issues are further complicated by the demands of sustainability, performance, and service life in diverse environmental and loading conditions. This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive platform for cutting-edge research on the mechanisms, evaluation techniques, predictive modeling, and control strategies related to cracking in cement-based and composite materials used across infrastructure applications. Topics of interest include but are not limited to hydration heat control, autogenous and drying shrinkage, thermal stress evolution, restrained cracking behavior, creep effects, fiber reinforcement, numerical and analytical modeling approaches, and the role of innovative admixtures and internal curing techniques. Studies addressing both fundamental scientific understanding and practical engineering applications—spanning buildings, bridges, tunnels, pavements, and other critical structures—are encouraged. By bringing together multidisciplinary insights, this Special Issue seeks to advance the knowledge base on crack formation and mitigation, supporting the development of more resilient, sustainable, and long-lasting construction materials and systems.
Dr. Yingda Zhang
Dr. Ye Liu
Guest Editors
Dr. Zihao Liu
Guest Editor Assistant
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Keywords
- hydration heat control and temperature stress evolution in mass concrete and composite sections
- autogenous shrinkage, drying shrinkage, and their coupling with mechanical constraints
- creep–shrinkage interaction and its influence on long-term crack risk
- cracking behavior in uhpc, ecc, geopolymer concrete, recycled aggregate concrete (rac), and other sustainable materials
- crack control techniques using internal curing agents, shrinkage-reducing admixtures (sras), expansive agents, and advanced chemical admixtures
- effect of fiber reinforcement (steel, synthetic, basalt, etc.) on cracking resistance
- numerical and analytical modeling of crack initiation, propagation, and stress development
- testing methods for restrained cracking, fracture toughness, and durability under multi-physical loading
- case studies and field applications in structural, tunnel, and underground engineering
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