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Feature Papers on Construction Materials for a Sustainable Future 2020/21
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Feature Papers on Construction Materials for a Sustainable Future 2020/21

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 October 2021) | Viewed by 7983

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Andraž Legat

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute, Dimičeva 12, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: durability of materials and structures; corrosion processes; electrochemical methods; sensors and monitoring techniques; sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Sabina Jordan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute, Dimičeva ulica 12, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: energy efficiency; sustainable design; indoor air quality; indoor comfort; evaluation of sustainable buildings
Dr. Aljoša Šajna

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute, Dimičeva 12, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: concrete; concrete technology; durability of concrete; sustainable concrete; concrete printing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The 2nd International Conference Construction Materials for a Sustainable Future, CoMS 2020/21, will take place online from 20 to 21 April 2021. The main purpose of the conference is to disseminate research results, exchange experiences and identify key issues and challenges in the thematic areas of the conference. The conference will provide a platform for an active dialogue of conference participants, scientists and experts, to establish and strengthen relationships between institutes, universities and industrial partners in the field of materials and technologies in the construction sector.

The CoMS conference will focus on the following themes and topics: innovations in materials and technologies, environmental interaction of materials, sustainable design, energy efficiency, recycling, and remediation, construction and maintenance, inspection, monitoring, assessment and repair, modeling from nano to structure, innovative components for a healthy, comfortable and sustainable environment, social and economic aspects of the building environment and digitalization and automation. The conference aims to address the particular concepts that support circular economy and sustainable development, using promising tools such as digitalization and artificial intelligence, and highlight new opportunities for the future of the construction sector.

This Special Issue will feature excellent articles from the 2nd International Conference CoMS 2020/21. Original research and review articles are welcomed and may include the following topics:

  • Innovations in materials and technologies;
  • Environmental interaction of materials;
  • Sustainable design;
  • Energy efficiency;
  • Recycling and remediation;
  • Construction and maintenance,
  • Inspection, monitoring, assessment and repair;
  • Modeling from nanoscale to structure;
  • Innovative components for a healthy, comfortable and sustainable environment;
  • Social and economic aspects of the building environment;
  • Digitalization and automation.

Prof. Dr. Andraž Legat
Dr. Sabina Jordan
Dr. Aljoša Šajna
Guest Editors

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 submissions that pass pre-check are 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 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

  • buildings and civil engineering
  • circle economy
  • energy efficiency
  • durability of construction materials
  • sustainability
  • healthy environment
  • sustainable design
  • digitalization and automation

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  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 7163 KiB  
Article
Characterizing Steel Corrosion in Different Alkali-Activated Mortars
by Nina Gartner, Miha Hren, Tadeja Kosec and Andraž Legat
Materials 2021, 14(23), 7366; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14237366 - 30 Nov 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2238
Abstract
Alkali-activated materials (AAMs) present a promising potential alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The service life of reinforced concrete structures depends greatly on the corrosion resistance of the steel used for reinforcement. Due to the wide range and diverse properties of AAMs, the [...] Read more.
Alkali-activated materials (AAMs) present a promising potential alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The service life of reinforced concrete structures depends greatly on the corrosion resistance of the steel used for reinforcement. Due to the wide range and diverse properties of AAMs, the corrosion processes of steel in these materials is still relatively unknown. Three different alkali-activated mortar mixes, based on fly ash, slag, or metakaolin, were prepared for this research. An ordinary carbon-steel reinforcing bar was installed in each of the mortar mixes. In order to study the corrosion properties of steel in the selected mortars, the specimens were exposed to a saline solution in wet/dry cycles for 17 weeks, and periodic electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements were performed. The propagation of corrosion damage on the embedded steel bars was followed using X-ray computed microtomography (μXCT). Periodic EIS measurements of the AAMs showed different impedance response in individual AAMs. Moreover, these impedance responses also changed over the time of exposure. Interpretation of the results was based on visual and numerical analysis of the corrosion damages obtained by μXCT, which confirmed corrosion damage of varying type and extent on steel bars embedded in the tested AAMs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers on Construction Materials for a Sustainable Future 2020/21)
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23 pages, 5346 KiB  
Article
Pilot Scale Production of Precast Concrete Elements with Wood Biomass Ash
by Jelena Šantek Bajto, Nina Štirmer, Sonja Cerković, Ivana Carević and Karmen Kostanić Jurić
Materials 2021, 14(21), 6578; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14216578 - 2 Nov 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2737
Abstract
Downsizing fossil fuel dependence and greenhouse gas emissions is at the forefront of a sustainable future. The expansion of renewable energy while striving to minimize dependence on fossil fuels has led to biomass taking the lead among renewable energy sources, with wood having [...] Read more.
Downsizing fossil fuel dependence and greenhouse gas emissions is at the forefront of a sustainable future. The expansion of renewable energy while striving to minimize dependence on fossil fuels has led to biomass taking the lead among renewable energy sources, with wood having the broadest application. Along with the growing trend of using biomass as a renewable energy source, the combustion of wood biomass results in wood biomass ash (WBA), leading to compelling amounts of waste. In this study, the technical feasibility of fly WBA from different Croatian power plants was analyzed to evaluate its potential use in precast concrete drainage elements and curb units. By implementing a performance-based design, the influence of various factors in thermal processing of wood biomass was investigated, together with a detailed characterization of WBA in order to assess the feasibility of using WBA as a secondary raw material in a large-scale industrial batching plant. The compressive strength and durability properties (water absorption, permeability, and freeze–thaw resistance) of concrete mixtures with WBA as a replacement for 15 wt% cement were evaluated and compared with the precast concrete manufacturer’s technical requirements. The main concerns identified were compositional inconsistency of WBA, workability downturn, delay in initial reactivity rate, and increased water absorption. Concrete with WBA based on a circular design has been found to be a viable solution to cement depletion, stepping up from recycling to reuse of industrial waste. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers on Construction Materials for a Sustainable Future 2020/21)
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17 pages, 4948 KiB  
Article
Experimental Carbonation Study for a Durability Assessment of Novel Cementitious Materials
by Lucija Hanžič, Sebastijan Robič, Alisa Machner, Marie Helene Bjørndal, Klaartje De Weerdt, Yushan Gu, Benoît Bary, Rosa Maria Lample Carreras and Aljoša Šajna
Materials 2021, 14(21), 6253; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14216253 - 21 Oct 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2372
Abstract
Durability predictions of concrete structures are derived from experience-based requirements and descriptive exposure classes. To support durability predictions, a numerical model related to the carbonation resistance of concrete was developed. The model couples the rate of carbonation with the drying rate. This paper [...] Read more.
Durability predictions of concrete structures are derived from experience-based requirements and descriptive exposure classes. To support durability predictions, a numerical model related to the carbonation resistance of concrete was developed. The model couples the rate of carbonation with the drying rate. This paper presents the accelerated carbonation and moisture transport experiments performed to calibrate and verify the numerical model. They were conducted on mortars with a water-cement ratio of either 0.6 or 0.5, incorporating either a novel cement CEM II/C (S-LL) (EnM group) or commercially available CEM II/A-S cement (RefM group). The carbonation rate was determined by visual assessment and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Moisture transport experiments, consisting of drying and resaturation, utilized the gravimetric method. Higher carbonation rates expressed in mm/day−0.5 were found in the EnM group than in the RefM group. However, the TGA showed that the initial portlandite (CH) content was lower in the EnM than in the RefM, which could explain the difference in carbonation rates. The resaturation experiments indicate an increase in the suction porosity in the carbonated specimens compared to the non-carbonated specimens. The study concludes that low clinker content causes lower resistance to carbonation, since less CH is available in the surface layers; thus, the carbonation front progresses more rapidly towards the core. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers on Construction Materials for a Sustainable Future 2020/21)
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