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Special Issue "New Building Materials in Structural Engineering Applications"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 January 2024 | Viewed by 2754

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Osama Youssf

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Structural Engineering Department, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt
Interests: crumb rubber concrete; geopolymer concrete; FRP confinement; sustainable structures
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Tom Benn
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

UniSA-STEM, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia
Interests: concrete technology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Portland cement concrete is the most used construction material on earth to date due to the rapid increase in the world population and the development of high-rise buildings with the required infrastructure. Concrete is a construction material that is well known for its high carbon dioxide footprint and high consumption rate of natural resources such as limestone and fossil fuel. Carbon dioxide is an undesirable gas that is responsible for global warming and air pollution. Finding new building materials that can be good alternatives to Portland cement concrete traditional components has been of great interest in recent years. This includes new cementitious materials, new aggregates, as well as different sources of mixing water. This can eliminate the Portland cement demand and, hence, the corresponding carbon footprint. It can also save natural resources, especially with the current climate change environmental problem that has changed the availability and quality of concrete materials around the world.

This Special Issue deals with research and studies of new concrete materials and their structural applications. This includes but is not limited to the utilization of waste materials, the recycling of industry byproducts, the new techniques in manufacturing concrete, the new methods of concrete mixing, and the new structural systems in reinforced concrete.

Original research, case studies, and comprehensive review papers are invited for possible publication in this Special Issue. Relevant topics to this Special Issue include but are not limited to the following subjects:

New concrete technologies;
Advances in reinforced concrete structures;
New reinforcing materials;
Concrete sustainability;
Waste materials recycling;
New water resources in concrete;
Cost-effective methods;
New concrete confining materials;
Application of polymers in concrete.

Dr. Osama Youssf
Dr. Tom Benn
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

recycling
geopolymers
ECC
concrete structures
concrete technology
foam concrete
sandwich structures
double-skin columns
residential construction
magnetized water

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle

Economical Assessment of Recycled Asphalt Pavement (RAP) Aggregate for Structural Concrete Production in Italy

and

Buildings 2023, 13(9), 2191; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13092191 - 28 Aug 2023

Viewed by 322

Abstract

Structural concrete aggregate can be substituted with sustainable alternatives from construction and demolition waste, such as reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP). This contribution assesses the RAP aggregate production chain and aims to investigate the economic aspect of RAP aggregate, evaluating the costs associated with its production and comparing them with the ones necessary to produce NA and recycled concrete aggregate (RCA). This analysis aims to provide additional information on the possible advantages of RAP aggregate use in order to promote sustainable construction. The evaluation was developed using a four-step methodology consisting of (i) determining the RAP aggregate production procedure; (ii) selecting a case study; (iii) defining the mix design; and (iv) performing a cost evaluation and comparing it to the cost of NA and RCA production. The results of the cost analysis of three concretes containing different RAP percentages (0%, 30%, and 45%) demonstrated that RAP’s presence led to more expensive admixtures, with the RAP unit cost being higher than NA (+155.39%). Some strategies were proposed to diminish RAP’s cost, resulting in a reduction of −39.64% with respect to NA’s cost and ranging from 45.13% to 67.30% when compared to RCA’s cost. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Building Materials in Structural Engineering Applications)

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Open AccessArticle

Effects of Jute Fiber on Fresh and Hardened Characteristics of Concrete with Environmental Assessment

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Buildings 2023, 13(7), 1691; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13071691 - 30 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 411

Abstract

Concrete is a widely utilized construction material globally; however, it is characterized by a fundamental deficiency in its tensile strength when it is not reinforced. The incorporation of diverse novel materials into concrete is being pursued with the aim of mitigating its limitations while concurrently enhancing its reliability and sustainability. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that concrete embodies a significant quantity of carbon. The primary cause of this phenomenon can be attributed to the utilization of cement as the principal binding component in concrete. Recent advancements in research have indicated that jute fiber, commonly referred to as JF, exhibits considerable potential as a novel material for enhancing the mechanical robustness of concrete. Although there is a significant body of literature on the application of jute fiber in concrete, there has been a dearth of research on the capacity of jute fiber (JF) to improve the mechanical strength of concrete and mitigate its carbon emissions. This study aims to cover a gap in the existing literature by analyzing and enhancing the application of JF in relation to its mechanical properties and environmental impact. The study involved conducting experiments wherein JF was added at varying weight percentages, specifically at 0%, 0.10%, 0.25%, 0.50%, and 0.75%. The investigation encompassed a number of examinations of both the fresh and hardened states of concrete, in addition to assessments of its durability. The fresh concrete tests included the slump test, while the hardened concrete tests involved measuring compressive strength (CS), split tensile strength (STS), and flexural strength (FS). Additionally, the durability tests focused on water absorption (WA). The study involved the computation of embodied carbon (EC) ratios for various mix combinations. The findings suggest that incorporating JF into concrete results in a decrease in environmental impact relative to alternative fiber types, as demonstrated by a rise in eco-strength efficiency (ESE). Based on the findings of the conducted tests, an optimal proportion of 0.10% JF has been determined to be conducive to enhancing the CS, STS, and FS by 6.77%, 6.91%, and 9.63%, respectively. The aforementioned deduction can be inferred from the results of the examinations. Using data obtained from extensive experimentation, the RSM (Response Surface Methodology) was used to construct a model. The model was optimized, resulting in the establishment of definitive equations that can be used to evaluate the effects of incorporating JF into concrete. Potential benefits have been identified for the advancement of concrete in the future through the utilization of JF. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Building Materials in Structural Engineering Applications)

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Open AccessArticle

Characteristics of Sustainable Concrete Containing Metakaolin and Magnetized Water

Ahmed M. Elkerany

Mostafa M. Keshta

Mohamed M. Yousry Elshikh

Ahmed A. Elshami

and

Osama Youssf

Buildings 2023, 13(6), 1430; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13061430 - 31 May 2023

Viewed by 633

Abstract

In this study, fourteen sustainable concrete mixes containing metakaolin (MK) as supplementary cement material (SCM) and magnetized water (MW) as concrete mixing water were designed, prepared, tested, analyzed, and compared. The MK was used as a partial replacement of cement weight by 5%, 10%, and 20%, and as an additive to cement by 5%, 10%, and 20% of cement weight. The MW was used to fully replace tap water (TW) in concrete mixes and was prepared using two different magnetic fields of 1.4 tesla (T) and 1.6 T. This experimental research aimed to assess the characteristics of concrete manufactured with MK and MW. The mechanical and durability characteristics of fresh and hardened concrete were measured for the assessment. Microstructural and chemical analyses were carried out on selected materials and concrete mixes. The workability and compressive strength of the materials at 7, 28, and 365 days were measured, in addition to the splitting tensile strength at 28 days and the flexural strength at 28 days. The compressive strength at 365 days was conducted at 18 °C and 100 °C to study the effect of the applied variables on the concrete durability at different elevated temperatures. The microstructural and chemical analyses were conducted using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The results showed that using 10% MK as a cement additive was the best ratio in this study, which enhanced all the measured mechanical characteristics when the TW or MW was used. Using MW instead of TW in MK concrete increased all the mechanical properties measured at 28 days by about 32–35%. The results of the microstructural and chemical analyses supported the compressive strength increase by showing indications of more C-S-H gel production and less CH when using MW in MK concrete. In addition, fewer micro-cracks and pores, and relatively denser concrete, were detected when using MW with 10% MK as a cement additive. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Building Materials in Structural Engineering Applications)

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Open AccessArticle

Influence of Supports on the Low-Velocity Impact Response of Square RC Slab of Standard Concrete and Ultra-High Performance Concrete: FEM-Based Computational Analysis

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Buildings 2023, 13(5), 1220; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13051220 - 05 May 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 853

Abstract

Structural members with low-flexural stiffness, such as slabs, are more susceptible to impulsive loadings induced by falling machines/tools during construction and installation, and also from rolling boulders/rocks triggered by wind/earthquake, especially in mountainous areas. The impact resistance of reinforced concrete (RC) slabs supported on two opposite edges (often called the one-way slab) and on all four edges (i.e., two-way slab) has been adequately studied experimentally as well as computationally, and is available in the literature. However, the slabs supported on three edges have not been studied under low-velocity impact for their impact response. For this purpose, a computational study is performed through finite elements by implementing ABAQUS software on the validated model, resulting in the slab, which is supported on (i) three edges and (ii) two opposite edges, to be subjected to low-velocity impact, induced by dropping a 105 kg non-deformable steel mass from a height of 2500 mm onto the slab centroid. Furthermore, the role of the material strength of the concrete of the slab is investigated via replacing the ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) for standard or normal-strength concrete (NSC). The impact load is modeled by considering the explicit module of the software. Failure mechanism, stress/strain contour, displacement distribution, and crack pattern of the slabs are compared and discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Building Materials in Structural Engineering Applications)

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