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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2021) | Viewed by 13860

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Petr Hájek

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Guest Editor

Department of Building Structures, Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague, 166 29, Czech Republic
Interests: sustainable concrete structures; sustainable construction of buildings; LCA; optimization; high-performance and recycled materials

Prof. Dr. Harald S. Müller

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Guest Editor

Institute of Building Materials and Concrete Structures, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), D-76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
Interests: sustainability of concrete; new types of cementitious materials; constitutive modeling; service life design

Prof. Dr. Domenico Asprone

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Guest Editor

Department of Structures for Engineering and Architecture, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy
Interests: sustainable concrete structures; LCA; digital technologies for structural engineering; BIM; 3D printing of concrete structures

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In comparison with other building materials, the harmful impact of concrete is relatively small. However, with respect to the huge volume of concrete production, the final negative environmental impact associated with the construction of concrete structures is very significant on a global scale. The main goal of this Special Issue is to show the potential of concrete, as the second most used material after water, to contribute to sustainable development and thus to meet targets defined in the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Concrete mixes, concrete products, and concrete structures should thus be designed in order to support sustainability development, which means to reduce negative impacts and to increase the positive effects on society, environment, and economy. This could be achieved through the enhancement of the performance of concrete elements and structures within their entire life by: (i) the enhancement of design methods; (ii) developments in concrete mix, composite materials, and reinforcement strategies; (iii) upgrading the technology for concrete elements production; (iv) the development of integrated design procedures for the different systems and technologies (including structural systems) in buildings and infrastructures; (v) innovations in construction techniques; (vi) the assessment and re-design of existing structures and associated life-cycle management processes; and (vii) by innovations in maintenance, repair, demolition, and recycling processes.

The Special Issue titled “Sustainable Concrete Structures” will be focused on developments, applications, methods, and case studies related to the sustainable use of concrete in buildings and civil structures or in the manufacturing of concrete elements. The scope includes the analysis of scientific progress in methods and technologies supporting the sustainable design of concrete structures and/or the sustainable manufacturing of concrete mixes and concrete elements. In particular, the scope of this Special Issue will encompass the use of innovative methods to orientate the design towards sustainability requirements, including optimization procedures, LCA analysis, and digital tools and platforms to integrate sustainable design. Furthermore, the Special Issue aims to illustrate the technologies for innovating the manufacturing of concrete elements and structural works (recycling procedures and materials, additive manufacturing, etc.).

We expect that this Special Issue will represent an important and fruitful contribution in the field of concrete construction and the associated concrete industry focusing on sustainability.

Prof. Dr. Petr Hájek
Prof. Dr. Harald S. Müller
Prof. Dr. Domenico Asprone
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.

Keywords

sustainability
concrete structures
high-performance concrete
recycled concrete
green concrete
environmental impact
LCA

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 2010 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainability-Oriented Model to Decide on Concrete Pipeline Reinforcement

by Irene Josa, Albert de la Fuente, Maria del Mar Casanovas-Rubio, Jaume Armengou and Antonio Aguado

Sustainability 2021, 13(6), 3026; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063026 - 10 Mar 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2525

Abstract

The design of sustainable sewerage infrastructure is fundamental for achieving long-term sustainability goals. Piping systems are essential components in the water supply chain and in waste disposal systems worldwide. Among possible designs for concrete pipes, steel cages consisting of curved rebars have been predominantly used as reinforcement. However, structural fibres have emerged as an attractive technical and economical alternative for substituting steel cages. Due to increasing urbanisation, thousands of kilometres of pipes will be constructed in the near future. At present, decisions regarding reinforcement of concrete pipes are primarily cost-driven. To consider other aspects, it is fundamental to identify and quantify potential sustainability issues properly. Hence, this paper focuses on the sustainability analysis of reinforced concrete pipes using a multi-criteria decision-making method. A model based on criteria, indicators, weights and value functions is developed and calibrated by assessing various concrete reinforcement strategies (steel bars or steel/synthetic fibres). The main contributions of the article are the proposal and application of a model for the case of concrete pipes which can be adapted for other case studies; determining how different typologies of pipes contribute to the overall sustainability of infrastructure systems; and the use and application of a robust and interesting multi-criteria decision-making methodology. The results show that fibre reinforced concrete pipes are promising alternatives in social, economic and environmental terms. Both the model and results are expected to be useful to stakeholders in decision-making processes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Concrete Structures)

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20 pages, 4811 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Performance Evaluation of Soft Computing for Modeling the Strength Properties of Waste Substitute Green Concrete

by Muhammad Izhar Shah, Muhammad Nasir Amin, Kaffayatullah Khan, Muhammad Sohaib Khan Niazi, Fahid Aslam, Rayed Alyousef, Muhammad Faisal Javed and Amir Mosavi

Sustainability 2021, 13(5), 2867; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052867 - 06 Mar 2021

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 2814

Abstract

The waste disposal crisis and development of various types of concrete simulated by the construction industry has encouraged further research to safely utilize the wastes and develop accurate predictive models for estimation of concrete properties. In the present study, sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA), a by-product from the agricultural industry, was processed and used in the production of green concrete. An advanced variant of machine learning, i.e., multi expression programming (MEP), was then used to develop predictive models for modeling the mechanical properties of SCBA substitute concrete. The most significant parameters, i.e., water-to-cement ratio, SCBA replacement percentage, amount of cement, and quantity of coarse and fine aggregate, were used as modeling inputs. The MEP models were developed and trained by the data acquired from the literature; furthermore, the modeling outcome was validated through laboratory obtained results. The accuracy of the models was then assessed by statistical criteria. The results revealed a good approximation capacity of the trained MEP models with correlation coefficient above 0.9 and root means squared error (RMSE) value below 3.5 MPa. The results of cross-validation confirmed a generalized outcome and the resolved modeling overfitting. The parametric study has reflected the effect of inputs in the modeling process. Hence, the MEP-based modeling followed by validation with laboratory results, cross-validation, and parametric study could be an effective approach for accurate modeling of the concrete properties. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Concrete Structures)

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14 pages, 1406 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reliability Approaches Affecting the Sustainability of Concrete Structures

by Milan Holický and Miroslav Sýkora

Sustainability 2021, 13(5), 2627; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052627 - 01 Mar 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2221

Abstract

The most important reliability approaches affecting sustainability in construction consist of the target reliability levels, verification methods, and construction or intervention procedures. The optimum target reliability levels can be specified based on probabilistic optimisation considering sustainability aspects including building costs, expected economic, social, and environmental consequences of construction, and possible failures. It appears that the derived reliability levels are strongly dependent on sustainability aspects and may be lower for the assessment of existing structures than for the design of new structures. The most efficient verification methods are based on advanced probabilistic approaches, including risk assessment methods considering actual properties of the structure and related failure consequences. It has been shown that sustainability in construction may be significantly affected by the design and assessment methods. The case study demonstrates that advanced reliability approaches commonly save 10–20% of the consumption of structural materials and natural resources. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Concrete Structures)

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22 pages, 3244 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Improved Serviceability and Environmental Performance of One-Way Slabs through the Use of Layered Natural and Recycled Aggregate Concrete

by Nikola Tošić, Snežana Marinković and Yahya Kurama

Sustainability 2020, 12(24), 10278; https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410278 - 09 Dec 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2211

Abstract

Recycled aggregate concrete (RAC), i.e., concrete produced with recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) has been heavily investigated recently, and the structural design of RAC is entering into design codes. Nonetheless, the service load deflection behavior of RAC remains a challenge due to its larger shrinkage and creep, and lower modulus of elasticity. A novel solution to this challenge is the use of layered concrete, i.e., casting of horizontal layers of different concretes. To investigate the potential benefits and limits of layered concrete, this study contains a numerical parametric assessment of the time-dependent sustained service load deflections and environmental impacts of homogeneous and layered NAC and RAC one-way slabs. Four types of reinforced concrete slabs were considered: homogeneous slabs with 0%, 50% and 100% of coarse RCA (NAC, RAC50 and RAC100, respectively) and layered L-RAC100 slabs with the bottom and top halves consisting of RAC100 and NAC, respectively. In the deflection study, different statical systems, concrete strength classes and relative humidity conditions were investigated. The results showed that the layered L-RAC100 slabs performed as well as, or even better than, the NAC slabs due to the differential shrinkage between the layers. In terms of environmental performance, evaluated using a “cradle-to-gate” Life Cycle Assessment approach, the L-RAC100 slabs also performed as well as, or slightly better than, the NAC slabs. Therefore, layered NAC and RAC slabs can be a potentially advantageous solution from both structural and environmental perspectives. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Concrete Structures)

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25 pages, 6087 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimization of RC Structures in Terms of Cost and Environmental Impact—Case Study

by Michal Ženíšek, Jan Pešta, Martin Tipka, Vladimír Kočí and Petr Hájek

Sustainability 2020, 12(20), 8532; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208532 - 15 Oct 2020

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2648

Abstract

Reinforced concrete (RC) structures represent one of the most widespread building systems around the world. This paper deals with the optimization of load-bearing RC structures in terms of cost and environmental impact. The results of the optimization are the dimensions and reinforcement of structural elements for which the total construction costs and environmental impacts are the lowest. Six variants of RC building structures were designed and analyzed in a case study. The construction cost was evaluated on the basis of the national pricing system. The life cycle assessment (LCA) characterization model according to the ReCiPe methodology version 1.08 was used to assess environmental impacts. The main motivation of this article was to show the possibilities of the multi-criteria optimization of a load-bearing structure, not only from a structural point of view but also from economic and environmental points of view. The presented conclusions correspond to this specific construction of the RC structure used in the case study and may not be generalized. Nevertheless, they point to certain trends and patterns that can also be used in the design of other reinforced concrete structures. The method used in this case study could be applied to the analysis of other structures using specific datasets for cost and environmental impact evaluation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Concrete Structures)

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