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Buildings
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Are “Green” Construction Materials Truly Feasible?
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Are “Green” Construction Materials Truly Feasible?

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Materials, and Repair & Renovation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2024) | Viewed by 1402

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Riccardo Maddalena

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Engineering, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK
Interests: calcium silicate hydrate; nano-silica; Portland cement; cement chemistry; life-cycle assessment; carbon footprint; sustainable infrastructure
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Antonios Kanellopoulos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Physics, Engineering and Computer Science, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9AB, UK
Interests: mineral waste upcycling; durability; performance-based design; sustainable infrastructure
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ana Bras

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
Interests: self-healing; bio-based materials; durability; performance-based design
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the increasing awareness of climate change and its impact on the economy and society, we want to highlight the efforts that have been made in developing sustainable construction materials. The built environment is responsible for considerable contributions to the global CO2 emissions, predominantly through the manufacture of cement and steel. In addition, the construction sector generates vast volumes of waste construction materials. In this Special Issue, we want to share the latest developments for meeting the sustainable targets in the construction industry. We invite colleagues to present their work on novel sustainable materials for the construction industry, and the challenges associated with their durability. How do we define “sustainable” construction materials? To what extent can we ensure that novel “low-carbon” materials comply with current standards? Can these materials lower the embodied carbon or contribute to the carbon sequestration of construction materials? Can a circular economy provide a way forward to develop recyclable materials? Can we put a stop to the tons of waste and instead reuse it to make new construction materials? Those are some of the questions this Special Issue will try to answer.

We welcome research articles and reviews on sustainable Portland-based solutions, clinker-free materials, building and infrastructure materials (including, but not limited to, asphalt, bituminous, masonry, glass, ceramics, and steel), studies on durability, life-cycle analyses, and the incorporation of waste and recycled materials as alternatives to natural resources. 

Dr. Riccardo Maddalena
Dr. Antonios Kanellopoulos
Dr. Ana Bras
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. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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

  • construction materials
  • low-carbon concrete
  • infrastructure materials
  • durability
  • life-cycle assessment
  • waste
  • recycling
  • recycled materials
  • strength

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 7451 KiB  
Article
Durability of Ternary Blended Concrete Incorporating Rice Husk Ash and Calcined Clay
by Joseph Mwiti Marangu, Meenakshi Sharma, Lenka Scheinherrová, Innocent Kafodya, Victor Kiptoo Mutai, Eshrar Latif, Viviana Iris Novelli, Deepankar Kumar Ashish and Riccardo Maddalena
Buildings 2024, 14(5), 1201; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14051201 - 24 Apr 2024
Abstract
Research on the combined substitution of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) has already demonstrated that it might be one of the few viable options to produce low-carbon concrete at scale. This paper presents an experimental investigation on the performance and durability of rice husk [...] Read more.
Research on the combined substitution of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) has already demonstrated that it might be one of the few viable options to produce low-carbon concrete at scale. This paper presents an experimental investigation on the performance and durability of rice husk ash (RHA) and calcined clay (CC) in ternary blended concrete exposed to chloride attacks under wet/dry cycles. Portland cement (PC) was replaced by RHA and CC up to 50% by weight to produce low-carbon concrete. Samples were subjected to wet/dry cycles in 3.5% NaCl water, with mineralogical composition and microstructure development before and after exposure analysed by TGA-DSC, MIP, XRD, and SEM. The durability of the concrete against wet/dry cycles was investigated in terms of compressive strength, water absorption, open porosity, density, thermal conductivity, and electrical resistivity. The results showed that concrete mixes with CC and RHA up to 60% exhibited an increase of 33% in compressive strength, followed by minimal changes in water absorption. While a decrease in electrical resistivity was measured in all samples with RHA and CC, increasing the CC content to 50% resulted in improved resistance to chloride penetration. Increasing the CC content resulted in a more refined microstructure, with an overall decrease in porosity of up to 32% compared to the control series. While RHA alone did not contribute to significant improvements after wet/dry cycles, the combined substitution of RHA and CC at SCM replacement levels of 60% showed an overall improvement in hardened properties and durability. This investigation provides valuable insights into the long-term performance and strength of innovative low-carbon concrete. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Are “Green” Construction Materials Truly Feasible?)
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20 pages, 5842 KiB  
Article
Is the Concept of Zero Waste Possible to Implement in Construction?
by Bogumiła Kapica, Wojciech Targowski and Andrzej Kulowski
Buildings 2024, 14(2), 428; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14020428 - 04 Feb 2024
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Abstract
The scientifically treated problem of reusing building materials appeared in the literature more than 50 years ago. This paper includes an analysis of the characteristics of recycled building materials, which is a prerequisite for rational recycling. The analysis and simulation of building stocks [...] Read more.
The scientifically treated problem of reusing building materials appeared in the literature more than 50 years ago. This paper includes an analysis of the characteristics of recycled building materials, which is a prerequisite for rational recycling. The analysis and simulation of building stocks at different scales has led to the conclusion that the most important link in the transformation of the construction industry towards the widespread use of reused materials is the unification of the demolition, storage, and redistribution systems. System solutions based on policy studies for each of the first three phases of a building’s life cycle assessment (LCA), i.e., design, legislation, and construction, were proposed. It was also recognised that the socially widespread habit of reusing building materials requires a properly conducted educational process and legalisation at the state level. This article presents proposals for educational activities along with the definition of the individual stages of the process of recycling building materials. The expected results are the decarbonisation of the building industry and communities, the growth of sustainable systems, and lowering the environmental impacts of buildings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Are “Green” Construction Materials Truly Feasible?)
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