Polymers

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Wengang Zhang

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Guest Editor

School of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo, China
Interests: polymer modified asphalt/bitumen; micromechanics for road materials; alternative and recycled materials for civil engineering; functional road materials; intelligent road materials

Dr. Kequan Yu

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Guest Editor

College of Civil Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Interests: polymer/steel-fiber-reinforced high-performance concrete; 3D printing; strain-hardening cementitious composites; sustainable concrete; reinforced concrete
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the rapid development of the organic chemical industry, the variety of polymers and polymer composites has increased greatly, their performance has been improving, and the application fields have become more extensive, with widespread use seen in construction engineering and road engineering. In road engineering, polymers and polymer composites can be used to prepare polymer-modified asphalt, improve the performance of cement concrete, serve as cementing and caulking sealing materials, and prepare polymer geogrid materials. In construction engineering, polymers and polymer composite materials are also widely used in building plastics, building coatings and building adhesives. In addition, there are also research publications on polymer cement mortar, polymer-modified concrete, high-performance concrete reinforced by randomly distributed polymer fibers, etc.

Despite the increasing amount of research on polymers and polymer composites, various challenges and research barriers remain unresolved, calling for further innovative exploration. The goal of this Special Issue is to provide a platform to demonstrate the state-of-the-art development of polymers and polymer composites for construction applications.

Dr. Wengang Zhang
Dr. Kequan Yu
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. Polymers 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 2700 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

polymer cement mortar
polymer-modified concrete
polymer-modified asphalt
polymers and polymer composites
functional materials
cement additive
polymer fibers
high-performance concrete

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 8870 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mesoscale Modeling of Polymer Concrete Dynamic Properties

by Paweł Dunaj

Polymers 2023, 15(21), 4311; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15214311 - 02 Nov 2023

Viewed by 687

Abstract

There is a constant need to predict the dynamic properties of composite materials already at the design stage. A particularly attractive tool for achieving this goal is mesoscale finite element modeling. This paper presents the mesoscale modeling of the dynamic properties of polymer concrete. The method is based on finite element modeling and substructural identification. Substructural identification is a model updating technique based on frequency response functions. It enables the identification of model dynamic properties considering damping. The presented method is used to model the dynamic properties of a polymer concrete beam. In the first step, the mesoscale finite element model is built and then it is decoupled into substructures: a polymer matrix, aggregates, and an interfacial transition zone (ITZ). Next, the dynamic properties of the polymer matrix substructure are updated, and the model is reassembled. Then, second-stage updating takes place, which consists of determining the parameters of the aggregates and the ITZ. The use of substructural identification made it possible to determine the parameters of substructures that do not exist in an independent, isolated form like the ITZ. Moreover, it allows for determining the amount of damping that ITZ brings to the structure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Polymers and Polymer Composites for Construction Applications)

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Review

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21 pages, 3677 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Modification Mechanism, Evaluation Method, and Construction Technology of Direct-to-Plant SBS Modifiers in Asphalt Mixture: A Review

by Xiang Yan, Di Wu, Kui Hu, Wengang Zhang, Jianbao Xing, Lilong Cui, Silin Shi, Jixu Yang and Chengxu Yang

Polymers 2023, 15(13), 2768; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15132768 - 21 Jun 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1856

Abstract

To further promote the development of research on direct-to-plant SBS-modified asphalt, this article analyzes the development of direct-to-plant SBS modifiers. Starting from the material composition and mechanism of action, common direct-to-plant SBS modifiers were analyzed and classified into four categories based on their mechanism of action, including the instant dissolution principle, intramolecular lubrication principle, non-granulation principle, and vulcanization principle. From the evaluation of the modification effect, the method of studying the performance of direct-to-plant SBS-modified asphalt is summarized, including fluorescence microscopy, AFM technology, and molecular dynamics simulation technology. From the perspective of practical application, the construction process of direct-to-plant SBS-modified asphalt was discussed, including the design stage, raw material preparation stage, mix design stage, and on-site construction stage. The results show that common direct-to-plant SBS modifiers are primarily SBS with a small particle size (less than 200 mesh) or specific model, supplemented by additives (EVA, naphthenic oil, sulfur, petroleum resin, etc.), which improve melting efficiency and lubricity or make it undergo vulcanization reaction, change the proportion of asphalt components, and improve stability. In the evaluation of the modification effect of direct-to-plant SBS-modified asphalt, the disparity of the direct-to-plant SBS modifier is determined by observing the particle residue after dry mixing. Macroscopic indexes of modified asphalt and modified asphalt mixture are used to determine the cross-linking effect of direct-to-plant SBS modifier and asphalt, and the modification mechanism and modification effect of wet SBS modifier are evaluated at the microscopic level. The development of direct-to-plant SBS-modified asphalt should combine the characteristics of direct-to-plant SBS modifiers and the attributes of field application, targeted research, and the development of high-performance direct-to-plant SBS modifiers and complete production technologies applicable to different regions, strengthen the improvement of modification effect evaluation, and form a complete theoretical system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Polymers and Polymer Composites for Construction Applications)

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