Submit to Special Issue Submit Abstract to Special Issue Review for Buildings Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Special Issue "Advances in Sustainable Building Materials"

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2023 | Viewed by 6902

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Isabel Torres
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Instituto de Investigação e Desenvolvimento Tecnológico para a Construção, Energia, Ambiente e Sustentabilidade, Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: structural analysis; building materials

Dr. Ana Luísa Velosa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Civil Engineering Department, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: materials; construction and demolition waste; building renovation; building materials; geopolymer; metakaolin

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Civil construction continues to be one of the sectors with the greatest negative impact on the environment due to the excessive use of natural resources, high energy consumption and the high production of waste. It is estimated that buildings built in developed countries will be responsible for more than 40% of global energy consumption throughout their lifetime. With ongoing climate change, the reduction of natural resources and the need to rely on renewable energy sources, the pressure on the construction sector to utilize more responsible techniques and methods has become a reality.

The current major focus is on sustainable construction, in particular on the various aspects of the design, construction, maintenance and dismantling of buildings. Environmental and ecological concerns have revealed that certain materials and construction technologies cause great asymmetries in the environment, since the amount of natural resources needed for these technologies is not compatible with their self-regeneration capacities.

The market for sustainable materials for civil construction is growing and one of the major challenges of current research is the development of more sustainable building materials. These materials, from the extraction phase to their return to the environment, must have a low environmental impact throughout their whole life cycle. This Special Issue, dedicated to the theme “Advances in Sustainable Building Materials”, seeks to bring together and present the latest advances in scientific research in the area of developing more sustainable building materials that can contribute to greater sustainability in the construction sector, thus ending the pattern of unsustainable buildings.

Dr. Isabel Torres
Dr. Ana Luísa Velosa
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

sustainable construction
sustainable buildings
sustainable materials

Published Papers (5 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

Open AccessArticle

Development and Investigation of Repair Self-Sensing Composites Using S-CNT

and

Buildings 2023, 13(4), 1015; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13041015 - 12 Apr 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 707

Abstract

This study analyzed the mechanical and electrical characteristics of repair self-sensing composites. In order to ensure homogeneous dispersion of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the repair mortar, porous powder was impregnated with the liquid MWCNT, dried, and then pulverized. This CNT powder was named S-CNT, and a repair self-sensing cement composite was fabricated using it with different dosages, by weight, of 3, 6, and 9%. Mechanical and electrical performances of the developed materials were investigated through flexural, compressive, and bonding strengths, dry shrinkage, porosity, and fractional change in resistance (FCR) tests. There was little difference in terms of strength, between the three different composites made with the different dosages of S-CNT. The strength of the composite with 9% of S-CNT was even higher than that of the plain specimen. As a result of measuring drying shrinkage, conducted to evaluate the effect of improving dispersion, the length change rate decreased as the amount of S-CNT increased. As a result of the porosity results of the specimens incorporating the same mass of CNT as S-CNT, it was confirmed that the dispersibility was clearly improved. In addition, as an electrical characteristic, when the S-CNT mixed specimen was repeatedly loaded with a bending load, FCR appeared, confirming the self-sensing performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Sustainable Building Materials)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Open AccessArticle

Alkali-Activated Hybrid Cement from Mineral Wool Fiber Waste and OPC

Diego A. Gutiérrez-Orrego

Maryory A. Gómez-Botero

and

Edwin F. García

Buildings 2023, 13(2), 354; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13020354 - 27 Jan 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1082

Abstract

Cements to replace ordinary portland cement (OPC) are currently being studied due to the high environmental costs of OPC production. One viable alternative is alkali-activated cements, which can be made from pozzolanic materials such as stone wool fiber waste (SW). At present, SW is the most used insulation material in the world, and the disposal and recycling of it is an environmental challenge due to its fibrous nature and low density. In the present work, an alkali-activated cement (AAC) and an alkali-activated hybrid cement (AAHC) were obtained from the alkaline activation of SW. The unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of the AAC and AAHC obtained was evaluated. After 28 days of curing at room temperature, the maximum UCS reached was 6.7 MPa for samples without the addition of OPC and 12.3 MPa for those with the addition of OPC. In addition, alkaline reaction products were identified in all the combinations through XRD and SEM-EDS. The results are promising as they show a hybrid material obtained from an industrial waste product and has a reduced carbon footprint. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Sustainable Building Materials)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Open AccessArticle

Compressive Behavior of Interlocking Plastic Blocks Structural Elements Having Slenderness

Muhammad Adnan

Faiza Khalid

and

Majid Ali

Buildings 2022, 12(12), 2257; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12122257 - 18 Dec 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2309

Abstract

Earthquakes are among of the most harmful and potentially fatal natural disasters. Masonry structures in seismic zones of urban and rural areas around the world pose a threat to human life. Housing that is both affordable and earthquake-resistant in earthquake-prone areas is currently in demand in developing countries. For affordable earthquake-resistant structures in earthquake-prone areas, numerous researchers have studied mortar-free interlocking structures. Plastic blocks are used in order to reduce the mass of the overall structure. To start with, structures under gravity are explored first because more than 95% of its design life, any structure has to withstand gravity. Prototypes of interlocking plastic-block columns, solid walls, and walls with an opening are considered for making the mortar-free structures. In this study, the effect of slenderness on the behavior of interlocking-plastic-block structural elements is investigated under compressive loading by a servo-hydraulic testing machine in the laboratory. The effect of slenderness on the behavior of one and two-block-wide structural elements was investigated in terms of the stress–strain curve, energy absorption, and toughness index under compressive loadings. Correlations between the compressive strength of interlocking-plastic-block structural elements with varying thicknesses were found. Scaled-down prototypes of interlocking-plastic-block structural elements having two-block wide depicted more resistance to compressive loads than one block wide structural elements. The correlations among the one and two block wide interlocking-plastic-block columns, single and double-block-wide solid walls, and single and double-block-width walls with an opening found in this analysis were Pdc = 2.2 Psc, Pdsw = 2.9 Pssw, and Pdwo = 3.5 Pswo. This study can be applied in the future to better understand the detailed behavior of interlocking plastic blocks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Sustainable Building Materials)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

Open AccessReview

Potential Use of Oyster Shell Waste in the Composition of Construction Composites: A Review

and

Buildings 2023, 13(6), 1546; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13061546 - 17 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1268

Abstract

The oyster shell is a residue rich in calcium carbonate, which can be reused as a raw material for creating building materials. For this reason, many researchers focused on the incorporation of oyster shell in the composition of composites, as it is a means of contributing to the economic sustainability by reducing the presence of pollution caused by aquaculture waste in the environment, thus increasing the value chain of the construction sector and reducing its carbon footprint. This paper intends to systematize the scientific production related to oyster shell-based composites in construction, carrying out a search using the Scopus tool and a systematic review based on the PRISMA statement. The results show that research on the incorporation of oyster shell into cementitious mortar mixtures, with a focus on its use in concrete, dominates existing scientific research. There is a lack of studies on the incorporation of the oyster shell that address its application as an aggregate or binder in the composition of coating and laying mortars. Most existing research is from Asia, and there is a lack of research in some parts of Europe. In the Americas, Africa and Oceania, no existing studies were found. Despite the growing understanding of the importance of sustainability and economic issues related to products used in the blue circular economy sector, there are still few studies that consider the incorporation of waste or by-products of aquaculture. Future investigations that cover these practical and contextual gaps can contribute to the better use of oyster shell waste and its insertion in the blue circular economy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Sustainable Building Materials)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Open AccessReview

The Reuse of Basic Oxygen Furnace Slag as Concrete Aggregate to Achieve Sustainable Development: Characteristics and Limitations

Sara Carvalho Zago

Fernando Vernilli

and

Oswaldo Cascudo

Buildings 2023, 13(5), 1193; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13051193 - 30 Apr 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1126

Abstract

Basic oxygen furnace slag is considered a potential material for the replacement of natural aggregate in Portland cement concrete due to its similar physical characteristics. Therefore, in the present work, the slag was analyzed by Nitrogen sorption porosimetry, elemental analysis, mineralogical analysis, and volume stability. On the other hand, concrete mixtures were manufactured with basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slag aggregates and characterized mechanically and morphologically. The results showed superior compressive strength due to interfacial improvements in the slag aggregate. Statistically, there was no differentiation between the reference concrete and the slag concrete mixtures for tensile strength. Additionally, due to the porosity and low stiffness presented by the slag, the concrete elastic modulus showed a slight decrease. The replacement of sand with BOF slag as fine aggregate in Portland cement concrete presents itself as a sustainable alternative for the elimination and valorization of this environmental liability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Sustainable Building Materials)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Special Issue "Advances in Sustainable Building Materials"

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Published Papers (5 papers)

Research

Review

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI