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Novel Civil Engineering Materials Integrated with Structures

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Construction and Building Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 January 2024) | Viewed by 11331

Special Issue Editors

School of Civil Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410075, China
Interests: fiber-reinforced concrete; ultrahigh-performance concrete; tunnel engineering; deep learning; computer vision
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
School of Civil Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410075, China
Interests: structure repair materials; polymer; concrete; concrete admixture; composite materials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The formation and control mechanism of the microstructure of civil engineering materials is used to establish a composition–structure–performance relationship in civil engineering materials, while multiscale theoretical modeling and simulation analysis of civil engineering materials is used to realize the regulation and optimization of the composition and structure of civil engineering materials. The mesomechanics and strength theory of civil engineering materials, meanwhile, can help to explore the damage and fracture of civil engineering materials and the mechanism of strengthening and toughening, while the evolution law of the whole life cycle performance of civil engineering materials and their mechanical behavior under extreme conditions helps to develop ultra-high-performance and high-durability civil engineering materials.

In this field, key research areas include:

  • Formation, regulation, and control mechanism and method of microstructure of civil engineering materials;
  • Composition, structural regulation, optimization theory, and method of civil engineering materials;
  • Design and preparation of fiber-reinforced toughening materials;
  • Mechanical behavior and performance evolution of civil engineering materials under extreme condition;
  • Research, development, and preparation of ultra-high-performance and high-durability civil engineering materials;
  • Protection, repair, and strengthening of concrete structures.

Dr. Chenjie Gong
Dr. Hao Yao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • civil engineering materials
  • fiber-reinforced concrete
  • ultra-high-performance concrete
  • repair materials
  • materials–structure integration

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 8770 KiB  
Article
Macro–Meso Damage Analysis of Tunnel Lining Concrete under Thermal–Mechanical Coupling Based on CT Images
by Xudong Zheng, Wei Wang, Yanfei Zhang, Jinhui Qi and Xuedan Yao
Materials 2024, 17(1), 253; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17010253 - 03 Jan 2024
Viewed by 707
Abstract
The mechanical properties and failure modes of concrete are controlled by its mesoscopic material composition and structure; therefore, it is necessary to study the deterioration characteristics of tunnel lining concrete under fire from a mesoscopic perspective. However, previous studies mostly analyzed the damage [...] Read more.
The mechanical properties and failure modes of concrete are controlled by its mesoscopic material composition and structure; therefore, it is necessary to study the deterioration characteristics of tunnel lining concrete under fire from a mesoscopic perspective. However, previous studies mostly analyzed the damage and failure process from a macro-homogeneous perspective, which has certain limitations. In this paper, a thermal–mechanical coupling test device was modified to simulate the state of concrete under tunnel fire conditions. Combined with CT technology, the macroscopic properties and mesoscopic characteristics of concrete were observed. Features were obtained, such as the change in compressive strength under fire, as well as mesoscopic deterioration characteristics. The damage variable D was defined to quantify mesoscopic damage, and the link between mesoscopic deterioration characteristics and macroscopic performance was established, which can be used to predict compressive strength loss through mesoscopic characteristics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Civil Engineering Materials Integrated with Structures)
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21 pages, 7568 KiB  
Article
A Theoretical Study on the Spatiotemporal Variation in the Temperature Field in Linings of High-Water-Temperature Tunnels
by Mingli Huang, Meng Huang, Jiacheng Li and Yuan Qian
Materials 2023, 16(22), 7139; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16227139 - 13 Nov 2023
Viewed by 526
Abstract
On the basis of the theory of unsteady heat conduction, discrete equations for the unsteady temperature field in the secondary linings of high-water-temperature tunnels when considering the hydration heat of lining concrete were derived and established. Spatiotemporal variation in the temperature field of [...] Read more.
On the basis of the theory of unsteady heat conduction, discrete equations for the unsteady temperature field in the secondary linings of high-water-temperature tunnels when considering the hydration heat of lining concrete were derived and established. Spatiotemporal variation in the temperature field of tunnel linings was revealed through the analysis of numerical examples. Research demonstrates that the temperature of the secondary lining within a thickness range of approximately 15 cm near the tunnel clearance decreases sharply under the condition that the lining thickness is 35 cm. The higher the temperature on the lining’s outer surface, the more drastically the lining temperature decreases. When considering the hydration heat of lining concrete, the lining temperature increases to a certain extent after a sudden drop, reaching stability after approximately 20 h, and the lining temperature is approximately 1–2 °C higher than that without taking concrete hydration heat into account. The temperature difference between the tunnel lining’s core and its inner and outer surfaces is positively and negatively correlated with the temperature of the secondary lining’s outer surface, respectively. When the temperature of the secondary lining’s outer surface is not higher than 65 °C, the temperature difference between the tunnel lining’s core and its inner and outer surfaces is less than 20 °C. Conversely, it partially or completely exceeds 20 °C, in which case an insulation method is recommended to utilize to prevent thermal cracks in secondary linings triggered via a high temperature difference. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Civil Engineering Materials Integrated with Structures)
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21 pages, 9312 KiB  
Article
Effect of Mud Powder on the Performance of Bridge Deck Leveling Concrete in a Seasonally Frozen Region
by Chenglin Shi, Ruize Zhao and Wensheng Wang
Materials 2023, 16(20), 6793; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16206793 - 20 Oct 2023
Viewed by 711
Abstract
Mud powders in aggregates are often found to cause deterioration of concrete properties. Based on a study of the mechanical properties of bridge deck leveling concrete (BDLC) containing different mud powders at various ages, the effects of mud powders on concrete durability were [...] Read more.
Mud powders in aggregates are often found to cause deterioration of concrete properties. Based on a study of the mechanical properties of bridge deck leveling concrete (BDLC) containing different mud powders at various ages, the effects of mud powders on concrete durability were evaluated through rapid chloride permeability testing, freeze–thaw testing, and the coupling of salt solution and a freeze–thaw test. The properties of the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) were also investigated via microhardness testing. The test results showed that mud powder reduced the compressive strength, static compressive elastic modulus, and bond strength at early stages of curing. Moreover, mud powder was found to reduce the tensile properties and durability of concrete, with clay powder causing a greater reduction than mud powder in river sands and coarse aggregate. In addition, the width of the ITZ of concrete containing mud powder was found to increase by 23.1–48.3%. A significant correlation between the ITZ and the tensile properties, as well as the durability of concrete, was also observed. Therefore, in order to improve the tensile properties and durability of BDLC in seasonally frozen regions, the content of mud powder in the aggregates should be minimized according to the different compositions of mud powders. The coupling effect of salt solution and a freeze–thaw cycle should also be taken into consideration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Civil Engineering Materials Integrated with Structures)
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13 pages, 2896 KiB  
Article
Constitutive Damage Model of Foamed Lightweight Concrete Using Statistical Damage Theory
by Zhong Zhou, Yidi Zheng, Guiqiu Xie, Fan Li, Zigang Ji and Chenjie Gong
Materials 2023, 16(17), 5946; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16175946 - 30 Aug 2023
Viewed by 558
Abstract
Foamed lightweight concrete has been applied in different fields of civil engineering because of its superior properties, but the related research considering internal pore damage is limited. Based on statistical damage theory and considering the uneven distribution of fracture damage and strength between [...] Read more.
Foamed lightweight concrete has been applied in different fields of civil engineering because of its superior properties, but the related research considering internal pore damage is limited. Based on statistical damage theory and considering the uneven distribution of fracture damage and strength between the pores of light concrete, a damage constitutive model of foamed lightweight concrete was established based on the Weibull function. The parameters of the damage model were determined through a triaxial compression test, and the rationality was verified by combining the existing test data. Comparative tests show that the theoretical calculation results of the proposed statistical damage model of foamed light soil are consistent with the general trend of the experimental results, reflecting the value of the peak stress and strain and describing the overall development law of the stress and strain. The best fit was obtained when the confining pressure was 0.3 MPa and the density was 700 kg·m−3. The suggested damage constitutive method is highly applicable, which is of great significance to the microscopic mechanical analysis of foamed light concrete and the structural design in civil engineering. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Civil Engineering Materials Integrated with Structures)
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25 pages, 10042 KiB  
Article
Deformation Behaviour and Damage Evolution of Carbonaceous Phyllite under Cyclic Triaxial Loading
by Helin Fu, Kaixun Hu, Yue Shi, Jie Li and Yimin Wu
Materials 2023, 16(13), 4612; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16134612 - 26 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 678
Abstract
Rocks present complex deformation behaviours and damage processes under triaxial cyclic loading—a subject not yet sufficiently researched. This paper performed triaxial multistage constant-amplitude cyclic loading experiments under different confining stresses on carbonaceous phyllite. The degradation process is analysed by investigating the variation of [...] Read more.
Rocks present complex deformation behaviours and damage processes under triaxial cyclic loading—a subject not yet sufficiently researched. This paper performed triaxial multistage constant-amplitude cyclic loading experiments under different confining stresses on carbonaceous phyllite. The degradation process is analysed by investigating the variation of elastic modulus ES, Poisson’s ratio υ, irreversible strain εirr and energy. Moreover, the rock’s failure mode is explored from both macro and micro perspectives. The results showed that the increase in stress level caused the decrease of ES in a step-like form, and the constant-amplitude cyclic loading in each stress level caused a slow decrease of ES, while the υ increased with stress level and constant-amplitude cycles in a similar form. εirr accumulated rapidly at first and then slowly at each stress level; the stress level and irreversible axial strain are related by an exponential function. In terms of energy evolution analysis, the damage to rock can be represented by the cumulative damage energy, there were deceleration accumulations and stability accumulation stages of damage at all stress levels, and an acceleration accumulation stage occurred when the rock was close to failure. The failures of rock under cyclic loading are mainly shear failures, accompanied by grain crushing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Civil Engineering Materials Integrated with Structures)
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17 pages, 13409 KiB  
Article
Numerical Investigation of Longitudinal through Voids in Tunnel Secondary Lining Vaults and Steel Plate Strengthening
by Shuai Shao, Yimin Wu, Helin Fu, Sheng Feng and Jiawei Zhang
Materials 2023, 16(12), 4248; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16124248 - 08 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 714
Abstract
This study investigates the influence of longitudinal through voids on vault lining. Firstly, a loading test was carried out on a local void model, and the CDP model was used for numerical verification. It was found that the damage to the lining caused [...] Read more.
This study investigates the influence of longitudinal through voids on vault lining. Firstly, a loading test was carried out on a local void model, and the CDP model was used for numerical verification. It was found that the damage to the lining caused by a longitudinal through void was primarily located at the void boundary. On the basis of these findings, an overall model of the vault’s through void was established using the CDP model. The effects of the void on the circumferential stress, vertical deformation, axial force, and bending moment of the lining surface were analyzed, and the damage characteristics of the vault’s through void lining were studied. The results indicated that the through void of the vault caused circumferential tensile stress on the lining surface of the void boundary, while the compressive stress of the vault increased significantly, resulting in a relatively uplifted vault. Furthermore, the axial force within the void range decreased, and the local positive bending moment at the void boundary increased significantly. The impact of the void increased gradually with the height of the void. If the height of the longitudinal through void is large, the inner surface of the lining at the void boundary will crack longitudinally, and the vault will be at risk of falling blocks or even being crushed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Civil Engineering Materials Integrated with Structures)
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19 pages, 9754 KiB  
Article
Novel Reinforcing Techniques and Bearing Capacity Analysis for Tunnel Lining Structures with Extensive Corrosion
by Xicao Zha, Mingfeng Lei, Ningxin Sun, Yongheng Li, Linghui Liu, Lian Duan and Lichuan Wang
Materials 2023, 16(7), 2871; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16072871 - 04 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 984
Abstract
Affected by the erosive environment, tunnel lining concrete in the long-term service zprocess often exhibits engineering diseases such as concrete corrosion degradation and loss of strength, decreasing the stability of the tunnel lining structure and the traffic safety. Based on HTG tunnel project, [...] Read more.
Affected by the erosive environment, tunnel lining concrete in the long-term service zprocess often exhibits engineering diseases such as concrete corrosion degradation and loss of strength, decreasing the stability of the tunnel lining structure and the traffic safety. Based on HTG tunnel project, the basic distribution rule of tunnel lining corrosion and macro mechanical properties of corroded concrete were explored in this paper through engineering disease site investigation. Then, on this basis, aiming at large-scale corrosion of tunnel lining structure, two reinforcement and repair schemes are proposed, corrugated steel plate reinforcement method and channel steel reinforcement method. Indoor component tests are carried out on the two reinforcement schemes. The failure characteristics and stress and deformation law of tunnel lining members after reinforcement and repair were verified. The analysis showed that the failure process of the reinforced specimens on the tensile side could be divided into the non-cracking stage and the working stage with cracks, and the cracking load and failure load of the specimens were significantly increased. The bearing capacity of the reinforced specimens was divided into the ultimate bearing capacity against cracking and the ultimate bearing capacity during failure. Finally, the calculation methods of the bearing capacity of the channel steel reinforcement method and the corrugated steel plate reinforcement method were derived. Comparative analysis shows that the results of numerical simulation, experimental testing and theoretical simplification methods are close to each other, and the maximum deviation is less than 8%. The established method for calculating the bearing capacity of corroded components after reinforcement is reliable and can be used for the design calculation of corroded lining reinforcement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Civil Engineering Materials Integrated with Structures)
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15 pages, 4634 KiB  
Article
Tensile Performance Test Research of Hybrid Steel Fiber—Reinforced Self-Compacting Concrete
by Chenjie Gong, Lei Kang, Wenhan Zhou, Linghui Liu and Mingfeng Lei
Materials 2023, 16(3), 1114; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16031114 - 27 Jan 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1837
Abstract
Notched beam specimens were loaded by the three-point bending test device, and the effects of different volume contents and combinations of steel fibers on the tensile properties of hybrid steel fiber–reinforced self-compacting concrete (HSFRSCC) were studied. The failure law and strain field distribution [...] Read more.
Notched beam specimens were loaded by the three-point bending test device, and the effects of different volume contents and combinations of steel fibers on the tensile properties of hybrid steel fiber–reinforced self-compacting concrete (HSFRSCC) were studied. The failure law and strain field distribution of the specimens were studied by digital image correlation (DIC) technology. Moreover, the curves between the load and crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) of 18 groups of hybrid steel fiber–reinforced concrete specimens were obtained, and the stress–strain curves of 18 groups of specimens were derived from the load–CMOD curves. The results show that both single and hybrid steel fibers can improve the crack deformation resistance and tensile properties of concrete, but hybrid steel fibers have a more significant improvement effect. Only when the content of steel fiber is more than 0.6% can it have a more obvious postpeak descending section, and hybrid steel fiber has higher postpeak deformation capacity and flexural toughness. The fundamental reason why concrete with hybrid steel fibers has better tensile properties is that micro and macro steel fibers cooperate with each other to resist cracks, improving the toughness of concrete after cracking. Finally, the mechanism of different size and volume content of steel fiber was analyzed from the micro level, which can be used as a reference for the engineering design of HSFRSCC in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Civil Engineering Materials Integrated with Structures)
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23 pages, 11604 KiB  
Article
Numerical Investigation on the Mechanical Properties of Vault Void Lining and Steel Plate Strengthening
by Shuai Shao, Yimin Wu, Helin Fu, Sheng Feng and Jiawei Zhang
Materials 2023, 16(2), 789; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16020789 - 13 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1084
Abstract
To study the mechanism of vault lining under different void heights and verify the strengthening effect of the attached steel plate, a CDP (concrete-damaged plasticity) model and the XFEM (extended finite element method) were used to construct the local numerical model of the [...] Read more.
To study the mechanism of vault lining under different void heights and verify the strengthening effect of the attached steel plate, a CDP (concrete-damaged plasticity) model and the XFEM (extended finite element method) were used to construct the local numerical model of the vault void, and an experiment was carried out for verification. The strengthened structure of the steel plate was assembled with a combination of a two-component epoxy adhesive and chemical anchor bolts. Five lining models with various void thicknesses, together with their strengthened models, were evaluated. The results of the established numerical model were compared with the experimental results in terms of failure mode, vertical displacement, and load-deformation results. The results of the two numerical models were in good agreement with the experimental results, revealing the failure mechanism of the vault lining. The rigidity of the specimen after steel plate strengthening was significantly improved. When the void height was one-fourth of the secondary lining thickness, the lining cracks were reduced from 14 to 4, and the distribution width of the cracks was also reduced from 1.047 to 0.091 m after steel plate strengthening. The level of damage caused by cracking was significantly reduced, which proves the effectiveness of the surface-sticking method for steel plate strengthening. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Civil Engineering Materials Integrated with Structures)
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19 pages, 7374 KiB  
Article
Large-Scale Model Test on Water Pressure Resistance of Lining Structure of Water-Rich Tunnel
by Mingli Huang, Meng Huang and Ze Yang
Materials 2023, 16(1), 440; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16010440 - 03 Jan 2023
Viewed by 1616
Abstract
In order to solve the problem of testing the water pressure resistance of lining structures of water-rich tunnels and the difficulty of implementing the existing model tests, a large-scale model test method was proposed relying on the New Yuanliangshan Tunnel threatened by high [...] Read more.
In order to solve the problem of testing the water pressure resistance of lining structures of water-rich tunnels and the difficulty of implementing the existing model tests, a large-scale model test method was proposed relying on the New Yuanliangshan Tunnel threatened by high pressure and rich water. This method creatively transformed the external water pressure of the lining structure into internal water pressure, and the conversion coefficient of water resistance of lining under different sizes and loading modes was obtained by numerical calculation. Results showed that the ultimate water pressure resistance of the lining structure under an external uniformly distributed water pressure and local water pressure was 1.44 and 0.67 times of that obtained from the large-scale model tests, respectively. By conducting the large-scale model tests and combining with the conversion coefficient, the water pressure resistance of the actual tunnel lining could be obtained. Research indicated that water pressure resistance of K2.0 (bearing water pressure of 2.0 MPa) type lining at the transition section of karst caves and K3.0 (bearing water pressure of 3.0 MPa) type lining at the section of karst caves of the New Yuanliangshan Tunnel was 3.33 MPa and not less than 4.36 MPa, respectively, and the high reliability of the large-scale model tests was verified by numerical calculation, implying that the model test method could be extended to similar tunnel projects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Civil Engineering Materials Integrated with Structures)
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