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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 February 2025) | Viewed by 12149

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Prof. Dr. Leonids Pakrastins

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Civil Engineering, Riga Technical University, Kipsalas 6A, LV-1048 Riga, Latvia
Interests: long-term properties of cementitious materials; structural health monitoring; reinforced concrete structure design; Eurocode adaption in country building regulations
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Dr. Andina Sprince

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Co-Guest Editor

Faculty of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Civil Engineering, Riga Technical University, Kipsalas 6A, LV-1048 Riga, Latvia
Interests: innovative concrete and cement composite materials; geopolymer concrete; foamed composite; long-term properties of concrete composites in various stress-strain conditions; physicomechanical properties
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Dr. Rihards Gailitis

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Co-Guest Editor

Faculty of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Institute of High-Performance Materials and Structures, Riga Technical University, Kipsalas 6A, LV-1048 Riga, Latvia
Interests: long-term properties of cementitious materials; long-term properties of fiber reinforced cementitious materials; 3D printed cementitious material long-term properties; foamed cementitious composite mechanical and long-term properties
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recently, CO₂ emission reduction, as well as building waste reduction and recycling, have been key topics for legislative bodies around the globe. In addition to these issues, new restrictions have been imposed. As the construction industry is one of the most polluting industries, the restrictions, which mostly refer to CO₂ reduction of the construction material manufacturing and building processes, have given rise to the need for optimized construction materials and optimized building processes in order to achieve or come close to achieving this goal. As concrete and other cementitious composites are the backbone of modern civil and industrial infrastructures, there is no way to reduce CO₂ by abandoning cementitious material usage altogether. Nevertheless, one proposed way is to optimize cementitious material design and to incorporate construction and building waste into the construction materials and their compositions.

Therefore, the goal for this Special Issue of Materials is to attract original contributions, with topics related to the latest developments in sustainable and innovative cementitious materials, as well as their design and property assessments.

Prof. Dr. Leonids Pakrastins
Dr. Andina Sprince
Dr. Rihards Gailitis
Guest Editors

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Keywords

modern cementitious materials
sustainable development
innovative construction materials

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Related Special Issue

Sustainable and Advanced Cementitious Materials (Second Edition) in Materials

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Research

15 pages, 3663 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Accelerated Carbonation Conditions on the Physical Properties Improvement of Recycled Coarse Aggregate

by Nasir Mehmood, Pinghua Zhu, Hui Liu, Haichao Li and Xudong Zhu

Materials 2025, 18(4), 901; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18040901 - 19 Feb 2025

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 438

Abstract

The preparation of new-generation concrete from recycled coarse aggregate (RA) is an effective way to realize the resource utilization of construction waste. However, loose and porous attached mortar leads to RA showing low-density, high-water absorption, and high crushing value. However, carbonation modification treatment can effectively improve the performance of RA. This paper studied the effects of carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration, gas pressure, and moisture content on the RA physical properties (apparent density, water absorption, crushing value, and soundness) of waste concrete. The results showed that, when the (CO₂) concentration increased from 20% to 60%, the apparent density of RA after carbonation increased by 0.23–0.31%, the water absorption decreased by 0.57–0.93%, the crushing value decreased by 0.36–0.61%, and the soundness decreased by 0.47–0.85%. When the (CO₂) concentration was further increased from 60% to 80%, the apparent density of RA after carbonation was increased by 0.04–0.05%, the water absorption was improved by 0.15–0.31%, the crushing value was reduced by 0.06–0.07%, and the soundness was reduced by 0.09–0.11%. During the carbonation modification process, the performance of RA was significantly enhanced when the moisture content was 3.4% and the dissolution of hydration products was accelerated. The diffusion rate of CO₂ and the carbonation reaction rate decreased with the high moisture content of RA. As gas pressure increases to 0.01 MPa, the physical properties of RA change significantly, because gas pressure promotes the carbonation reaction between hydration products and CO₂ in attached mortar. As the gas pressure increased to 0.5 MPa, RA’s apparent density gradually increased, while its water absorption, crushing value, and stability gradually decreased. The result improved RA’s performance. SEM images show that carbonation modification of RA under different gas pressures increases CaCO₃ in attached mortar, filling the Interfacial Transition Zone (ITZ), and decreasing crack width and number. Gas pressure accelerates CO₂ diffusion and reaction with hydration products, resulting in narrower ITZ and dense mortar. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable and Advanced Cementitious Materials)

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15 pages, 5922 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparative Study on the Calcium Leaching Resistance of Low-Heat Cement, Moderate-Heat Cement, and Ordinary Portland Cement Pastes

by Chunmeng Jiang, Shihao An, Shuangxi Li, Yingjie Chen and Jian Liu

Materials 2025, 18(1), 212; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18010212 - 6 Jan 2025

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 824

Abstract

Hydraulic structures are frequently subjected to soft-water or acidic environments, necessitating serious consideration of the long-term effects of calcium leaching on the durability of concrete structures. Three types of common Portland cement (ordinary Portland cement, moderate-heat cement, and low-heat cement) paste samples widely applied to hydraulic concrete were immersed in a 6 mol/L NH₄Cl solution to simulate accelerated calcium leaching behavior. The mass loss, porosity, leaching depth, compressive strength, and Ca/Si ratio of the three types of pastes were measured at different immersion stages (0, 14, 28, 56, 91, 140, and 180 days). The Vickers hardness index was employed to compare cement samples subjected to erosion for 30 and 180 days. The microstructure and composition of the mineralogical phases of the leached samples were also determined by X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electronic microscopy. Accordingly, the time-varying behavior and deterioration mechanism of the different cements subjected to leaching were contrastively revealed. The results showed that the calcium leaching resistance of the low-heat cement was the best, followed by the moderate-heat cement and ordinary Portland cement, proving that the content and structure of Ca(OH)₂ and C-S-H gels were closely related to the leaching performance of the cement. The less Ca(OH)₂ and more aggregated C-H-S gels produced by C₂S led to better calcium leaching resistance in the cement. Therefore, the leaching performance of Portland cement could be effectively improved by reducing the content of C₃S and increasing the content of C₂S, and the dissolution rate of calcium ions under leaching could be reduced by controlling the low initial calcium content in cementitious materials. This paper offers theoretical guidance for mitigating the long-term effects of calcium leaching on hydraulic concrete structures by conducting a comprehensive comparative analysis of the damage behavior and deterioration mechanisms of various types of Portland cement under identical erosion conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable and Advanced Cementitious Materials)

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23 pages, 21221 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of the Protective Effect of a Nanoscale Deep Penetration Sealer in Improving Chloride Erosion Resistance of Concrete

by Yan Liu, Xiaoli Peng, Jia Hui, Peng Zhang and Zhiqian Zhang

Materials 2024, 17(23), 5755; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17235755 - 25 Nov 2024

Viewed by 761

Abstract

In this study, the protective effect of a Nanoscale Deep Penetration Sealer (NDPS) in improving the chloride erosion resistance of concrete was evaluated and the influence of water–cement ratio (w/c) and the NDPS spray volume on the protective effect was explored, in order to gain a deeper insight into the effect of NDPS on the durability of concrete in chloride environments. The thickness of the protective layer formed by NDPS within the concrete was determined and the effectiveness of this protective layer was verified. Based on the determination of the ability of NDPS to form a protective layer in concrete, the diffusion laws of chloride in concrete at different w/c and NDPS spray volumes were investigated, and a prediction model was established. The results show that NDPS forms a 2–3 cm protective layer in concrete to resist chloride penetration, which is nearly as thick as the concrete cover. The protective layer weakens the capillary absorption of concrete and prevents the penetration of aggressive substances into the concrete. NDPS significantly improves the chloride erosion resistance of concrete. The chloride diffusion coefficient of concrete with a w/c ratio of 0.6 was reduced by approximately 35% after being sprayed with 1000 mL/m² of NDPS, and the protective effect strengthens with increasing spray volume at a fixed w/c and weakens with decreasing w/c at a fixed NDPS spray volume. The proposed predictive model is the basis for predicting the diffusion of chloride in concrete with NDPS protection in practical engineering applications and provides a guide for the application of NDPS in practical engineering. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable and Advanced Cementitious Materials)

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11 pages, 3914 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on the Factors Influencing the Adsorption Mechanism of CSH Gel for Chloride Ions

by Shijie Liu, Suping Cui, Hongxia Guo, Yali Wang and Yan Zheng

Materials 2024, 17(22), 5464; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17225464 - 8 Nov 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 765

Abstract

Calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) gel is an important hydration product of cement, significantly influencing the coagulation and hardening processes, as well as the mechanical properties, volume stability, and durability of cement. Moreover, it plays a crucial role in the adsorption of harmful ions. In this study, CSH gel was synthesized through the precipitation of calcium acetate and sodium silicate and was subsequently used to adsorb chloride ions. The results indicated that when the calcium-to-silicon ratio was 1.2, the CSH gel exhibited excellent adsorption performance for chloride ions introduced via CaCl₂ and NaCl, with adsorption capacities of 17.45 mg·g⁻¹ and 8.06 mg·g⁻¹, respectively. The adsorption of chloride ions in CSH gel primarily occurs due to the physical adsorption of chloride ions on the surface and within the internal pores of the CSH gel, accompanied by a displacement reaction between hydroxide ion and chloride ions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable and Advanced Cementitious Materials)

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16 pages, 4643 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigating the Mechanical Characteristics and Fracture Morphologies of Basalt Fiber Concrete: Insights from Uniaxial Compression Tests and Meshless Numerical Simulations

by Chuan Zhao, Guoxin Jiang, Junli Guo, Shuyang Yu, Zelong Ma, Chunyi Zhuang, Youbin Lei and Zilin Liang

Materials 2024, 17(21), 5258; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17215258 - 29 Oct 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 857

Abstract

To explore the mechanical properties and fracture modes of basalt fiber-reinforced concrete, single-doped and hybrid-doped basalt fiber-reinforced concrete was prepared, and uniaxial failure tests under different basalt fiber-reinforced concrete contents were carried out. At the same time, the smooth kernel function in the traditional SPH method was improved, and the basalt fiber random generation algorithm was embedded in the SPH program to realize the simulation of the progressive failure of basalt fiber-reinforced concrete. The results show that under the circumstance with no basalt fiber, the specimen final failure mode is damage on the upper and lower surface, as well as the side edge, while the interior of the specimen center is basically intact, indicating that there is an obvious stress concentration phenomenon on the upper and lower surface when the specimen is compressed. Under the circumstance with basalt fiber, longitudinal cracks begin to appear inside the specimen. With the increase in the content, the crack location gradually develops from the edge to the middle, and the crack number gradually increases. This indicates that appropriately increasing the fiber content in concrete may improve the stress state of concrete, change the eccentric compression to axial compression, and indirectly increase the compressive strength of concrete. The numerical simulation results are consistent with the test results, verifying the rationality of the numerical simulation algorithm. For the concrete model without the basalt fiber, shear cracks are generated around the model. For the concrete model with basalt fiber, in addition to shear cracks, the tensile cracks generated at the basalt fiber inside the model eventually lead to the splitting failure of the model. The strength of concrete samples with basalt content of 0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.3% is increased by 1.69%, 5.10%, and 4.31%, respectively, compared to the concrete sample without basalt fiber. It can be seen that with the increase in the content of single-doped basalt fiber, the concrete strength is improved to a certain extent, but the improvement degree is not high; For hybrid-doped basalt fiber-reinforced concrete, the strength of concrete samples with basalt content of 0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.3% is increased by 14.51%, 15.02%, and 30.31%, respectively, compared to the concrete sample without basalt fiber. Therefore, compared with the single-doped basalt fiber process, hybrid doping is easier to improve the strength of concrete. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable and Advanced Cementitious Materials)

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20 pages, 2331 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental Study on the Temperature-Dependent Static, Dynamic, and Post-Dynamic Mechanical Characteristics of Municipal Solid Waste

by Zejin Wang, Shuyu Hu, Jiaxin Zhou, Peng Cui and Ying Jiang

Materials 2024, 17(16), 4012; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17164012 - 12 Aug 2024

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1563

Abstract

Municipal solid waste (MSW) has huge potential to be recycled as construction material, which would have significant benefits for environmental conservation. However, the cornerstone of this undertaking is a solid comprehension of the mechanical response of MSW in real-world engineering locations, taking into account the effects of stress levels and temperature. In this paper, well-mixed MSW samples were sieved and crushed to produce standardized specimens in cylindrical molds. A series of static, dynamic, and post-cyclic shear tests were conducted on the MSW at temperatures ranging from 5 °C to 80 °C with normal stresses of 50 kPa, 100 kPa, and 150 kPa. The experimental findings demonstrate that the static, dynamic, and post-cyclic mechanical response of MSW presents temperature range-dependency; temperature variation between 5 °C and 20 °C affects MSW’s mechanical reaction more than variation in temperature between 40 °C and 80 °C under various stress settings; at 5 °C~80 °C, the static peak shear strength of MSW is the highest, being followed by the post-cyclic peak shear strength, while the dynamic peak shear strength is the lowest; the sensitivity of the dynamic shear strength of MSW to temperature variation is the largest, being followed by the post-cyclic peak shear strength, and the static peak shear strength is the lowest. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable and Advanced Cementitious Materials)

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19 pages, 6379 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mechanical Properties and Mechanism of Geopolymer Cementitious Materials Synergistically Prepared Using Red Mud and Yellow River Sand

by Weizhun Jin, Yiming Chen, Yajun Lv, Linhua Jiang, Weifeng Bai, Kangjie Zhang, Caihong Song and Xianlei Zhang

Materials 2024, 17(15), 3810; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17153810 - 2 Aug 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1196

Abstract

In order to reduce the negative impact on the environment caused by the massive accumulation of red mud (RM) and Yellow River sand (YRS), new alkali-excited granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS)/RM/YRS (AGRY) geopolymer cementitious materials were prepared by combining RM and YRS with GGBS in different ratios and using sodium silicate as the alkali exciter. The effects of YRS dosage and different curing conditions on the mechanical properties, hydration products, and pore structure of cementitious materials were investigated and analyzed in terms of cost and carbon emissions. The results showed that when the dosage of YRS was 40%, the compressive strength of the prepared AGRY cementitious material could reach 48.8 MPa at 28 d under standard curing, which showed mechanical properties comparable to those of the cementitious material without YRS. The cementitious material has a more compact internal structure, and the combination of RM and YRS promotes the chemical reaction of Al and Si elements and generates the (N, C)-A-S-H gel products, which are the key to the strength enhancement of the cementitious material. In addition, the prepared cementitious material is only 90% of the cement cost for the same strength and has low carbon emission accounting for only 43% of the cement carbon emission. This study not only provides a new way for the resource utilization of RM and YRS, but also contributes an excellent new environmentally friendly material for the construction industry to achieve the goal of low carbon development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable and Advanced Cementitious Materials)

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11 pages, 13107 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on Macroscopic Mechanical Behavior of Recycled Aggregate Concrete Based on Mesoscale

by Anyu Yang, Qizhi Shang, Yanan Zhang and Junlong Zhu

Materials 2024, 17(11), 2532; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17112532 - 24 May 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 928

Abstract

Recycled concrete is a heterogeneous composite material, and the composition and volume fraction of each phase affect its macroscopic properties. In this paper, ANSYS APDL was used to construct a two-dimensional numerical model of recycled aggregate concrete with different replacement rates of recycled aggregate (0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%), and a uniaxial compression test was carried out to explore the relationship between recycled aggregate content and its macroscopic mechanical behavior. On this basis, the numerical simulation of different strain rates (0.1 s⁻¹, 0.05 s⁻¹, 0.01 s⁻¹, 0.005 s⁻¹ and 0.001 s⁻¹) was carried out. It was found that with the increase in the recycled aggregate replacement rate, the peak stress decreases first and then increases, and the peak strain increases continuously. When the replacement rate of recycled aggregate exceeds 50%, the overall damage area of the material increases rapidly. The strain rate will change the path of the micro-crack initiation and expansion of recycled concrete, as well as the process of damage accumulation and evolution. As a result, the unit area and shape of recycled concrete are different at different strain rates, and the damage degree of each phase material is also different. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable and Advanced Cementitious Materials)

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21 pages, 11057 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on Slurry Flowability and Mechanical Properties of Cemented Paste Backfill: Effects of Cement-to-Tailings Mass Ratio and Mass Concentration

by Yan Li, Jianxin Fu, Jiguang Yang and Jie Wang

Materials 2024, 17(10), 2222; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17102222 - 8 May 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1237

Abstract

The flowability and mechanical properties are increasingly crucial in the filling process of deep metal mines with mining depths exceeding 1000 m. The rheological properties of filling slurry in the pipeline were analyzed through rheological tests, L-tube self-flow tests, and semi-industrial loop tests. The results revealed that with an increase in the cement-to-tailings mass ratio (c/t ratio) and mass concentration, the slurry exhibited a higher flow resistance and decreased stowing gradient. During slurry transportation, the pressure loss in the straight pipe was positively correlated with the slurry flow rate, c/t ratio, and mass concentration. A uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) test was conducted to analyze the mechanical properties of the cemented paste backfill containing BMC (CCPB) in both standard and deep-underground curing environments. The UCS of the CCPB showed an increasing trend with the rise in curing age, mass concentration, and the c/t ratio. The comprehensive analysis concluded that when the c/t ratio is 1:4, and the mass concentration is approximately 74%, and parameters such as the slump, bleeding rate, and flowability of the filling slurry meet the criteria for conveying and goaf filling, resulting in a high-strength filling body. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable and Advanced Cementitious Materials)

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15 pages, 3701 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Enhancing the Mechanical and Durability Properties of Fully Recycled Aggregate Concrete Using Carbonated Recycled Fine Aggregates

by Birori Jean, Hui Liu, Xudong Zhu, Xinjie Wang, Xiancui Yan and Tianyu Ma

Materials 2024, 17(8), 1715; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17081715 - 9 Apr 2024

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2544

Abstract

The global construction industry is increasingly utilizing concrete prepared from recycled aggregate as a substitute for natural aggregate. However, the subpar performance of recycled fine aggregate (RFA) has resulted in its underutilization, particularly in the structural concrete exposed to challenging environments, including those involving chlorine salts and freeze–thaw climates. This study aimed to enhance the performance of RFA as a substitute for river sand in concrete as well as fulfill the present demand for fine aggregates in the construction sector by utilizing accelerated carbonation treatment to create fully recycled aggregate concrete (FRAC) composed of 100% recycled coarse and fine aggregates. The impacts of incorporating carbonated recycled fine aggregate (C-RFA) at various replacement rates (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) on the mechanical and durability properties of FRAC were investigated. The results showed that the physical properties of C-RFA, including apparent density, water absorption, and crushing value, were enhanced compared to that of RFA. The compressive strength of C-RFC100 was 19.8% higher than that of C-RFC0, while the water absorption decreased by 14.6%. In a comparison of C-RFC0 and C-RFC100, the chloride permeability coefficients showed a 50% decrease, and the frost resistance increased by 27.6%. According to the findings, the mechanical and durability properties, the interfacial transition zones (ITZs), and micro-cracks of the C-RFC were considerably enhanced with an increased C-RFA content. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable and Advanced Cementitious Materials)

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