Nano-Engineered Concrete for Smart and Sustainable Structures

Dear Colleagues,

As the second-largest consumable material for the last 150 years globally, concrete is playing a significant role in changing the development landscape of the world. It has continuously evolved as new demands have arisen; in its first generation, it progressed by achieving higher compressive strength. During the last quarter of the previous century, many global infrastructures disappeared through heavy retrofitting and repair, and maintenance created a new direction toward enhancing the durability and performance of concrete, which resulted in the second generation of concrete. With the beginning of the current century, the two words “smart” and “sustainable”, in the context of structures, have been embedded in the concrete world and given rise to the third generation. The objectives of the third generation have shifted toward developing and optimizing the multifunctional behavior of concrete for coping with the demands of smart and sustainable structures. It would not be wrong to say that for about 150 years, concrete was changing the world, and nanotechnology can change the concrete world in the coming future. Therefore, the inclusion of nanotechnology to engineer concrete for supporting the demands of smart and sustainable structures is defined as nano-engineered concrete, which is the third generation of concrete. Nano-engineered concrete aims to be intelligent, strong, durable, easy to cast, recyclable, and eco-friendly. These attributes can improve the reliability and longevity of buildings and infrastructures, enhance functional performance, secure them against natural hazard vibrations, reduce lifecycle cost, and shorten the burdens on natural resources and the environment.

This Special Issue will help advance the research on nanomaterials in concrete for their potential application in designing and constructing smart and sustainable buildings and infrastructures. We seek high-quality research manuscripts that address the development and application of NECC, including on the following topics:

• measurement and control of the rheology and early-age behavior of NECC;
• novel material preparation, characterization, and mix proportioning philosophy;
• nanostructure and advanced characterization of NECC;
• eco-efficiency and sustainability aspects of nanomaterials in concrete;
• mechanical performance under extreme loading, impact, blast, and fire;
• durability in severe exposure environments;
• life cycle assessment;
• functional requirements for smarting the structures (buildings and bridges) and application of NECC;
• predictive models for the behavior of NECC and other novel research that pushes the envelope of innovation and application of NECC.

Prof. Dr. Nasir Shafiq
Dr. Montasir Osman
Dr. Mubarak B. A. Wahab
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. Sustainability 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 2400 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.

• nanomaterials
• ultrahigh-performance concrete
• early-age behavior
• nanostructure
• mixture proportioning
• mechanical characteristics
• durability
• severe exposure
• sustainability
• life cycle analysis
• design
• application