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Sustainability and Performance of Cement-Based Materials

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 December 2025 | Viewed by 697

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Architecture, Technology and Engineering, University of Brighton, Brighton BN2 4GJ, UK
Interests: low-carbon concrete; CO2 utilisation; alternative cementitious binders; recycling of waste materials; alkali-activated materials; fibre-reinforced cement composites; strengthening mechanisms; concrete behaviour at elevated temperatures

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Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, International University of Business Agriculture and Technology, Dhaka 1230, Bangladesh
Interests: natural fibre-reinfirced concrete; durability of RC structures; FRP retrofitting and other alternate strengthening mechanism techniques; composite structures

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The building and construction sector is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, particularly CO2, primarily due to the production of materials such as cement and steel and the fuel used in ma-chinery and building operations. Cement alone is responsible for approximately 8% of the world's CO2 emissions. Reducing CO2 emissions is crucial in minimising the industry's environmental impact, and many countries have committed to reaching carbon neutrality before or by 2050. To achieve this goal, the construction industry needs to move towards sustainability to reduce CO2 emissions from concrete production. This can be accomplished by introducing innovative low-carbon materials, advanced cement-based composites, carbon utilisation in concrete produc-tion, and innovative construction techniques, such as 3D concrete printing and prefabrication. These advancements are necessary for promoting circularity and developing sustainable and durable structures and infrastructure.

For this Special Issue, we invite researchers, academics, and industry experts to share their inno-vative findings on advancements in low-carbon concrete structures and infrastructure to achieve a zero-carbon construction industry. We welcome original research articles and reviews considering a multidisciplinary approach and promoting sustainability. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Novel low-carbon binders;
  • Supplementary cementitious materials;
  • Low-carbon concrete and structures;
  • The utilisation of waste and recycled materials;
  • Carbon utilisation techniques in cement-based materials;
  • Sustainability in construction;
  • The characterisation of cement-based materials;
  • Self-healing materials and novel repair materials;
  • Strengthening techniques and mechanisms;
  • The strength and durability of sustainable construction materials;
  • Low-carbon and intelligent construction technologies (e.g., 3D concrete printing);
  • Eco-friendly fibre-reinforced cement composites;
  • Properties of cement-based materials after exposure to elevated temperatures;
  • Non-destructive techniques for cement-based materials;
  • Life cycle analysis.

Dr. Md Jihad Miah
Prof. Dr. Noor Md. Sadiqul Hasan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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 2600 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

  • sustainability
  • low-carbon building materials
  • recycled materials
  • supplementary cementitious material
  • carbon utilisation
  • durability and sustainability of construction materials
  • strengthening techniques and mechanisms
  • characterisation of cement-based materials
  • life cycle assessment

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

30 pages, 5800 KiB  
Article
Mitigating Environmental Impact Through the Use of Rice Husk Ash in Sustainable Concrete: Experimental Study, Numerical Modelling, and Optimisation
by Md Jihad Miah, Mohammad Shamim Miah, Humera Mughal and Noor Md. Sadiqul Hasan
Materials 2025, 18(14), 3298; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18143298 - 13 Jul 2025
Viewed by 467
Abstract
Cement production significantly contributes to CO2 emissions (8% of worldwide CO2 emissions) and global warming, accelerating climate change and increasing air pollution, which harms ecosystems and human health. To this end, this research investigates the fresh and hardened properties of sustainable [...] Read more.
Cement production significantly contributes to CO2 emissions (8% of worldwide CO2 emissions) and global warming, accelerating climate change and increasing air pollution, which harms ecosystems and human health. To this end, this research investigates the fresh and hardened properties of sustainable concrete fabricated with three different replacement percentages (0%, 5%, and 10% by weight) of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) using rice husk ash (RHA). The hardened properties were evaluated at 14, 28, 60, 90, and 120 days of water curing. In addition, data-based models were developed, validated, and optimised, and the models were compared with experimental results and validated with the literature findings. The outcomes reveal that the slump values increased (17% higher) with the increased content of RHA, which aligns with the lower temperatures (12% lower) of freshly mixed concrete with RHA than the control mix (100% OPC). The slopes of the stress–strain profiles decreased at early ages and improved at longer curing ages (more than 28 days), especially for mixes with 5% RHA. The compressive strength decreased slightly (18% at 28 days) with increased percentages of RHA, which was minimised with increased curing ages (8% at 90 days). The data-based model accurately predicted the stress–strain profiles (coefficient of determination, R2 ≈ 0.9950–0.9993) and compressive strength at each curing age, including crack progression (i.e., highly nonlinear region) and validates its effectiveness. In contrast, the optimisation model shows excellent results, mirroring the experimental data throughout the profile. These outcomes indicate that the 10% RHA could potentially replace OPC due to its lower reduction in strength (8% at 90 days), which in turn lowers CO2 emissions and promotes sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Performance of Cement-Based Materials)
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