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Special Issue "Advanced Concrete and Construction Materials"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2023 | Viewed by 5064

Special Issue Editors

Department of Civil Engineering and Energy Technology, Oslo Metropolitan University, Pilestredet 35, 0166 Oslo, Norway
Interests: sustainable structures; smart concrete; smart materials; durability; corrosion; fiber reinforced concrete; reinforced concrete structures; remaining service life of structures; finite element analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Qatar University, 2713 Doha, Qatar
Interests: finite element method; sustainable structures; earthquake engineering; optimum design of structures; reliability and probabilistic analysis of structures; neural networks and their applications in engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Concrete is a continuously developing material, and even the definitions of durable and sustainable concrete have changed over time. The sustainability of cementitious construction materials has become one of the most important topics in concrete science today. The desirable characteristics of concrete structures imply several requirements for advanced concrete materials.

Recently, new types of “advanced concretes” have been developed by improving the microstructure using alternative binders to traditional Portland cement as well as advanced ad-hoc materials and activators in terms of durability, safety, and overall environmental impact. New sustainable cementitious materials, such as alkali-activated binders (AABs) and calcium sulphoaluminate cement, have been investigated and developed to mitigate the environmental impact during the service life of structures. However, further studies are still required related to the optimization and standardization of mix designs for advanced cementitious composites, based on their specifications.

Among the main aims of this Special Issue are the modification, characterization, modeling, and recycling of concrete to improve sustainability, mechanical properties, durability, as well as the development of new concretes and the study of their properties and features. It is our pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript to this Special Issue, gathering original research contributions and critical reviews that go beyond current knowledge in advanced concrete construction materials. Areas of interest include but are not limited to:

  • Advanced modeling and simulation of cementitious composites;
  • Sustainability and environmental impact of concrete materials;
  • Characterization of sustainable cementitious materials;
  • Sustainable concrete and alternative cementitious binders;
  • Durability of concrete;
  • High-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites;
  • Self-healing and self-sensing concrete;
  • Precast concrete.

Prof. Dr. Mahdi Kioumarsi
Prof. Dr. Vagelis Plevris
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 2200 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

  • advanced concrete
  • construction materials
  • alkali-activated binders
  • hybrid binders
  • green concrete
  • durability
  • high-strength concrete

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Article
The Relationship between Concrete Strength and Classes of Resistance against Corrosion Induced by Carbonation: A Proposal for the Design of Extremely Durable Structures in Accordance with Eurocode 2
Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 7976; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15107976 - 13 May 2023
Viewed by 434
Abstract
The new Eurocode 2 provides valuable information on the required concrete cover to protect reinforcement against corrosion induced by carbonation, for two design service life values of 50 and 100 years. However, to design structures with an even longer service life and assess [...] Read more.
The new Eurocode 2 provides valuable information on the required concrete cover to protect reinforcement against corrosion induced by carbonation, for two design service life values of 50 and 100 years. However, to design structures with an even longer service life and assess existing ones, additional tools are necessary. The ‘square root of time’ relationship is a well-established method for estimating the penetration of the carbonation front, making it useful for long-term design and assessment purposes. In this article, we propose a new function that adjusts the evolution of the carbonation front to the Eurocode 2 values. This function is a powerful tool for designing extremely durable structures and assessing existing ones. To demonstrate its effectiveness, we provide two examples of its application. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Concrete and Construction Materials)
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Article
Sustainable Proposal for Plant-Based Cementitious Composites, Evaluation of Their Mechanical, Durability and Comfort Properties
Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 14397; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114397 - 03 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 777
Abstract
This research evaluates four sustainable cementitious composites with sustainable plant fibers and bio-aggregates: (1) cementitious matrix composite with lechuguilla fibers (LFC) and (2) with flax fibers (FFC); and (3) cementitious matrix composite with wood shavings (WSC) and (4) with hemp shavings (HSC). The [...] Read more.
This research evaluates four sustainable cementitious composites with sustainable plant fibers and bio-aggregates: (1) cementitious matrix composite with lechuguilla fibers (LFC) and (2) with flax fibers (FFC); and (3) cementitious matrix composite with wood shavings (WSC) and (4) with hemp shavings (HSC). The fibers are for reinforcement and the shavings act as bio-aggregates as a total replacement for limestone aggregates. The lechuguilla (LF) and flax (FF) fibers were treated; wood (WS) and hemp (HS) bio-aggregates were also processed. Nineteen mixtures were manufactured, and five were used as controls, and the hygrothermal, mechanical, and durability properties were evaluated. The results for LFC and FFC showed that fiber treatment negatively affected flexural–compressive strength; untreated LFC with accelerated deterioration had better mechanical behavior, higher density, and lower porosity than FFC. Strength and density decreased, but porosity increased with increasing fiber volume (Vf). Regarding WSC and HSC, the microstructure of WS and HS had a significant effect on the physical and mechanical properties. The high porosity influenced the results obtained, since it decreased compressive strength and bulk density; however, thermal conductivity, hygroscopicity, and vapor resistance showed better behavior in most cases than the control specimens, i.e., without bio-aggregates. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Concrete and Construction Materials)
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Article
Mix Design Effects on the Durability of Alkali-Activated Slag Concrete in a Hydrochloric Acid Environment
Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 8096; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13148096 - 20 Jul 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2438
Abstract
Because of its high strength, energy reduction, and low environmental impact, researchers have encouraged considering alkali-activated slag concrete (AASC) as a potential alternative to conventional concrete. In this study, the impact of mix design parameters on the durability of AASC, made with ground [...] Read more.
Because of its high strength, energy reduction, and low environmental impact, researchers have encouraged considering alkali-activated slag concrete (AASC) as a potential alternative to conventional concrete. In this study, the impact of mix design parameters on the durability of AASC, made with ground granulated blast furnace slag and activated with different alkaline solutions (NaOH, KOH, and Na2SiO3) immersed up to six months in a hydrochloric acid bath with pH = 3, has been investigated. A total of 13 mix designs were made in a way that, in addition to the type of alkaline solution, considered three other parameters, namely the molarity of alkaline solutions, the weight ratio of alkaline solutions to slag, and the weight ratio of alkaline solutions to sodium silicate. Visual inspections displayed that the AASC samples almost remained intact after exposure to an HCl acid solution with pH = 3 for up to 6 months, while the OPC sample experienced deleterious deterioration. The results clearly show that AASC outperformed OPC concrete when it comes to durability in an HCl acid solution. The strength reduction and weight loss of AASC compared with OPC concrete were approximately one-tenth and one-fifth, respectively. The AASC samples containing potassium hydroxide showed a higher strength reduction and weight loss in the HCl acid solution than the samples made with sodium hydroxide. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Concrete and Construction Materials)
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