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Sustainable Concrete in the Marine Environment

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A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Ocean Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 December 2020) | Viewed by 23374

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Dr. Wahidul K. Biswas

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Guest Editor

Sustainable Engineering Group, School of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Curtin University, Bentley, WA 6102, Australia
Interests: sustainable engineering; life cycle assessment; waste management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Marine structures must be strong enough to withstand forces of the sea and marine vessels, as well as the aggressive environments. The concrete needs to be designed to protect the marine structure from excessive wave action and provide sufficient corrosion protection.

Concrete made of ordinary Portland cement is not considered as a durable material for the harsh environment. Being a heterogeneous porous material, concrete is nonresistant to degradation in the marine environment. In such conditions, concrete suffers early deterioration, which eventually decreases the durability of structures and increases the cost of repair and maintenance. Nonetheless, good resistance against harsh exposures can be obtained by selection of new materials and specifications without increasing the cost of concrete production and their maintenance during use. In addition, conventional concrete materials, including OPC, crushed rock/limestone aggregates, are carbon and energy intensive materials. There are other indirect environmental consequences, such as land use changes, loss of biodiversity, resource scarcity, ozone depletion potential, human toxicity, acidification, and eutrophication, associated with an increased demand for concrete materials.

Since the ingredients of conventional concrete do not work well in the marine/aggressive environment, the aim of this Special Issue is to cover following topics that are relevant for addressing sustainability challenges of the use of concrete in the marine environment, including:

Innovative concrete specification for the marine environment;
Material selection for durable concrete for the marine environment;
Cost-competitive green concrete for the marine environment;
Sustainability assessment of concrete selection for the marine environment.

Assoc. Prof. Wahidul Biswas
Guest Editor

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. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 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

Durability and service life
Construction management practices
Design and innovation
Environmental impacts
Life cycle assessment
Materials
Recycling, reuse and recovery

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 4098 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Long-Term Performance of Trestle Bridges: Case Study of an Indonesian Marine Port Structure

by Yusak Oktavianus, Massoud Sofi, Elisa Lumantarna, Gideon Kusuma and Colin Duffield

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2020, 8(5), 358; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse8050358 - 19 May 2020

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2822

Abstract

A precast reinforced concrete (RC) T-beam located in seaport Terminal Peti Kemas (TPS) Surabaya built in 1984 is used as a case study to test the accuracy of non-destructive test techniques against more traditional bridge evaluation tools. This bridge is mainly used to connect the berth in Lamong gulf and the port in Java Island for the logistic purposes. The bridge was retrofitted 26 years into its life by adding two strips of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) due to excessive cracks observed in the beams. Non-destructive field measurements were compared against a detailed finite element analysis of the structure to predict the performance of the girder in terms of deflection and moment capacity before and after the retrofitting work. The analysis was also used to predict the long-term deflections of the structure due to creep, crack distribution, and the ultimate moment capacity of the individual girder. Moreover, the finite element analysis was used to predict the deflection behavior of the overall bridge due to vehicle loading. Good agreement was obtained between the field measurement and the analytical study. A new service life of the structure considering the corrosion and new vehicle demand is carried out based on field measurement using non-destructive testing. Not only are the specific results beneficial for the Indonesian port authority as the stakeholder to manage this structure, but the approach detailed also paves the way for more efficient evaluation of bridges more generally over their service life. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Concrete in the Marine Environment)

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14 pages, 2426 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Calcined Clay Reactivity on the Mechanical Properties and Chloride Diffusion Resistance of Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3) Concrete

by Quang Dieu Nguyen, Sumaiya Afroz and Arnaud Castel

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2020, 8(5), 301; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse8050301 - 25 Apr 2020

Cited by 38 | Viewed by 6216

Abstract

Calcined clay plays an important role in the performance of limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) concrete. In this study, the performance of two different types of calcined clay produced from different calcination processes were investigated in chloride environment. The characteristics of the calcined clays, including mineral composition, chemical composition, particle size distribution, specific surface area and particle morphology, were evaluated. Based on the reactivity of the calcined clays, the compressive strength of concretes after up to 28 days of curing was adopted as the best measure to determine the appropriate replacement levels of Portland cement by LC3 to satisfy standards requirements for concrete in chloride environments. The chloride bulk diffusion test was conducted to investigate the performance of LC3 concretes in comparison with reference Portland cement concrete. Similar chloride diffusion resistance could be achieved by using the two different calcined clays in LC3 concrete. The performance of both LC3 concretes was much better than that of reference concrete. However, the Portland cement substitution rate for each calcined clay was governed by the compressive strength standard requirements. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Concrete in the Marine Environment)

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12 pages, 1395 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Long-Term Durability of Marine Reinforced Concrete Structures

by Robert E Melchers

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2020, 8(4), 290; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse8040290 - 18 Apr 2020

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 6939

Abstract

The sustainability of reinforced concrete is critical, particularly for structures exposed to marine environments. Chlorides are implicated in causing or accelerating reinforcement corrosion and potentially earlier expensive repairs, yet there are many older reinforced concrete structures in good condition for many decades despite very high chloride levels at the reinforcement. The reasons for this are reviewed briefly, together with recent experimental work that better defines the role of chlorides. One is initiation of reinforcement corrosion but only through localized pitting at air-voids in concrete at the interface with the steel reinforcement. These tend to be small or negligible for high quality well-compacted concretes. The other role for chlorides has been shown, in experimental work, to accelerate the long-term loss of concrete alkali material. On the other hand, a review of practical experience shows that what has been termed chloride-induced reinforcement corrosion often is not that at all, but is the end-product of factors that impair the protective nature of the concrete. As reviewed herein, these include poor compaction, physical damage to concrete cover, concrete shrinkage, and alkali-aggregate reactions. The various observations presented are important for the proper understanding, analysis, and design of durable reinforced concrete structures exposed to chloride-rich environments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Concrete in the Marine Environment)

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16 pages, 7946 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Long-Term Strength of Alkali-Activated Mortars with Steel Fibres Cured in Various Conditions

by Minhao Dong, Mohamed Elchalakani, Ali Karrech and Bo Yang

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2020, 8(4), 278; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse8040278 - 13 Apr 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2083

Abstract

The long-term effect of extreme conditions, such as high concentrations of CO₂, a combination of chloride and air, and sulfuric acid, on the performance of steel fibre reinforced alkali-activated fly ash and slag (AAFS) mortars was investigated. The selected conditions simulated the long-term exposure to the marine environment and had an influence on both the matrix and the fibres. Four AAFS mixes were analysed alongside a control ordinary Portland cement (OPC) mix. Mechanical properties such as the compressive strength, elastic moduli and ductility indices, as well as microscopic analyses were carried out. It was found that the AAFS was stable in most of the conditions. The primary way for its reduction in strength was through the neutralisation of pore fluids and the leaching of sodium cations. The addition of the short fibres could reduce the ingress of deleterious materials by limiting the development of cracks and allowing for the efficient use of higher activator ratios. The fibres were susceptible to corrosion by chloride and acid attacks. The relatively chemically stable environment of the AAFS provided protection to the embedded fibres. Based on this study, in a very aggressive environment, a combination of 1%–2% fibre by volume, with a high activator content in the AAFS mortar, could be the most suitable. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Concrete in the Marine Environment)

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15 pages, 7350 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Utilization of Industrial Waste in Cement in a Marine Environment with a Tropical Climate

by Thi Xuan Hoa Chu, Jinhai Zheng, Da Chen, Thi Thu Huong Nguyen, Elsafi Elbashiry and Van Tai Tang

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2019, 7(8), 245; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse7080245 - 27 Jul 2019

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3339

Abstract

This novel study on cement paste material was conducted with the aim of keeping up with the rapid development of urban construction and contributing to the continuous improvement of building materials to overcome environmental issues. In this study, several kinds of industrial waste were used to enhance the properties of cement paste for application in a marine environment with a tropical climate, such as in Vietnam. This study focuses on evaluating the properties of cement paste containing cement replacement combining 0–30% fly ash, 0–10% silica fume, and plasticizer accounting for 0.3% and 0.4% of the binder by mass. Water demand, chloride ion and sulfate ion permeability, and microstructural properties of the cement paste were determined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscope (SEM) and they were investigated after 28 and 56 days. The test results show that an optimum mixture could be obtained with the use of 20% fly ash, 10% silica fume (replacing Portland cement), and 0.4% plasticizer. The application of such materials to sea dikes affected by a tropical climate (characterized by heat, humidity, salty seawater, many big storms, large waves, and strong tides) was investigated for four years on the Vietnamese coast. The test results indicate that fly ash and silica fume can improve the corrosion and abrasion resistance of concrete in coastal areas with a tropical climate, such as in Vietnam. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Concrete in the Marine Environment)

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