Mechanical, Thermal, and Hygric Properties of Lightweight Composites for Construction Use

Dear Colleagues,

Undoubtedly, the thermal performance of construction products has become increasingly important, since it significantly influences the energy associated with buildings’ heating and cooling. Although the buildings share of the world total energy consumption is expected to decrease due to the long-time enhanced demands on quality thermal insulation of building structures, buildings will still account for at least 20% of the total energy demand in coming years, especially due to the increasing demands on the quality of indoor environments. To improve the energy efficiency of buildings, it is necessary to focus on advanced technical and material solutions of building systems, resulting in buildings possessing high thermal resistance and sufficient thermal stability. In this sense, the building envelope, most often constructed as multilayered systems comprising different types of materials, is one of the critical parameters affecting buildings energy performance. Functional properties of these inbuilt materials affect the hygrothermal performance of the building envelope as a whole. Moreover, as the building envelope is in direct contact with the exterior climate, it suffers from different chemical, mechanical, and physical loads, contributing, if inappropriately designed, to the loss of its functional properties.

Several methods for improving the thermal resistance of building materials have been adopted; most of them are based on the use of lightweight fillers, foaming agents, low-density plastics, organic and inorganic-based fibers, etc. Although many of the construction composites possessing high thermal resistance have been already developed, there is still an open field for the design and development of new advanced types of materials that are more effective, both from economic and environmental points of view. In this respect, the application of secondary raw materials looks like a promising solution.

Besides the effective thermal performance of construction materials, they must meet other functional requirements (service life, hygric performance, durability, mechanical resistance, aesthetic appearance, etc.), which makes their design and testing complex. This Special Issue of Materials welcomes papers from all areas of materials research aimed at the design, development, and assessment of new lightweight composites for construction use, in which papers of high quality and originality with regard to the studied topic will be accepted.

Prof. Dr. Zbyšek Pavlík
Guest Editor

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