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Study on Advanced Cement-Based Materials and Their Applications

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 16390

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Gintautas Skripkiunas

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Guest Editor

Institute of Building Materials, Laboratory of Concrete Technology, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Vilnius, Lithuania
Interests: cement-based materials; concrete technology; rheology of mixtures; modification admixtures; concrete properties; concrete durability

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cement-based materials are widely used in the construction industry and other industrial or infrastructure applications. New construction works and production technologies require specific properties of cement-based mortars or concrete in fresh and hardened state and high durability in severe operating conditions. The modification, including nanomodification, of ordinary cements and application of advanced technologies in civil engineering is very interesting and important from a scientific, engineering, and environment protection point of view.

This new issue is proposed and organized to present recent developments in the field of advanced cement-based materials and their applications in civil engineering. For this reason, the articles highlighted in this issue should relate to different aspects of cement modification with new chemical and mineral additives, to improve properties of concrete in a fresh and hardened state and to expand the field of application of that materials for new production technologies and severe applications. The development of low carbon dioxide emission materials, investigation of rheological and technological properties of mixtures, cement hydration processes and microstructure of hardened cement, and high durability in severe conditions (chemical impact, high temperature impact, marine environment, freezing–thawing cycles and other) are the main topics of concern in this Special Issue.

It is my pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript to this Special Issue mainly focused on advanced cement-based materials and their applications.

The topics of interest include but are not limited to:

Rheology of cement-based materials;
Concrete admixtures from novel materials and industrial wastes;
Concrete mixtures stability and flowability;
Optimization of aggregates granulometrical composition;
Cements and concrete with low carbon dioxide emission;
Self-compacting cement-based materials;
Self-healing processes in cement-based materials;
High-strength and high-performance cement-based materials;
Shrinkage reduction in cement-based materials;
Nanomodification of cement-based materials;
Cement-based materials for 3D printing;
Cement-based materials for high temperatures;
Concrete for marine application;
Chemically resistant cement-based materials;
High freezing–thawing resistance concrete.

Prof. Dr. Gintautas Skripkiunas
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. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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

Cement
Admixture
Aggregate
Modification
Concrete
Rheology
Properties
Durability

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 5640 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ground Waste Tire Rubber as a Total Replacement of Natural Aggregates in Concrete Mixes: Application for Lightweight Paving Blocks

by Matteo Sambucci and Marco Valente

Materials 2021, 14(24), 7493; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14247493 - 07 Dec 2021

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3745

Abstract

The use of waste materials as alternative aggregates in cementitious mixtures is one of the most investigated practices to enhance eco-sustainability in the civil and construction sectors. For specific applications, these secondary raw materials can ensure adequate technological performance, minimizing the exploitation of natural resources and encouraging the circular disposal of industrial or municipal waste. Aiming to design and develop lightweight paving blocks for pedestrian or very light-traffic purposes (parking area, garage, sidewalk, or sports surfaces), this paper presents the material characterization of rubberized cement mortars using ground waste tire rubber (0–1 mm rubber powder and 1–3 mm rubber granules) to totally replace the mineral aggregates. Considering recommended requirements for concrete paving members in terms of mechanical strength, water drainage performance, acoustic attenuation, and dynamic and energy absorption behavior, a comprehensive laboratory testing is proposed for five different formulations varying the sand-rubber replacement level and the proportion ratio between the two rubber fractions. Tests highlighted positive and promising results to convert laboratory samples into pre-cast members. The “hot” finding of the work was to prove the feasibility of obtaining totally rubberized mortars (0 v/v% of sand) with suitable engineering performance and enhanced eco-friendly features. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Study on Advanced Cement-Based Materials and Their Applications)

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15 pages, 4553 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Properties of Concrete Prepared with Silane Coupling Agent-Impregnated Coral Aggregate and Coral Concrete

by Jinming Liu, Boyu Ju, Qing Yin, Wei Xie, Haiying Xiao, Shanliang Dong and Wenshu Yang

Materials 2021, 14(21), 6454; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14216454 - 27 Oct 2021

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2176

Abstract

Silane coupling agent (SCA), a kind of organic solvent, was introduced to improve the performance of coral coarse aggregates and enhance the interfacial adhesion between the inorganic coral aggregate and the cement paste of coral concrete. The crushing indicator and water absorption of the coral aggregates over various dipping times were measured, and the slump, interface microhardness, and compressive strength of coral concrete tested. The microscopic appearances of the coral concrete before and after modification were analyzed based on SEM images. The experimental results indicate that SCA can effectively reduce the crushing indicator and water absorption of coral coarse aggregates, and the modification performance becomes better over time. SCA facilitates the generation of chemical forces between the coral aggregates and cement mortars, improves adhesion between the aggregates and mortars, augments the microhardness of the interface, and increases the compressive strength. According to the microscopic appearance of the treated and untreated coral aggregate interfaces, the aggregates and the mortars are in closer combination after modification. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Study on Advanced Cement-Based Materials and Their Applications)

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22 pages, 14968 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Volume Tie Ratio in the Engineered Cementitious Composites Plastic Hinges on the Seismic Performance of RC Composite Bridge Columns

by Qian Li, Kedao Chen, Rui Zhang, Xi Li and Wenjin Zhang

Materials 2021, 14(19), 5739; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14195739 - 01 Oct 2021

Viewed by 1369

Abstract

The feasibility that the transverse reinforcements in steel-reinforced Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) columns could be reduced or even totally eliminated has been experimentally demonstrated. However, due to the effect of the tie volume ratio in ECC plastic hinges on the seismic performance of RC composite bridge columns not being fully clarified as of yet, a numerical study was carried out. In this study, the analytical models based on the fiber element method, by considering the superposition of different lateral confinements resulting from ties and the ECC cover, were used to correlate with a target hybrid-loading experiment. Load-displacement hysteresis, strains in extreme fibers and longitudinal bars in analytical results correlated well with the experiments, verifying the accuracy of the analytical models proposed in this study. Based on the analytical results, it was found that the volume tie ratio had little effect on the stress-strain hysteresis of the ECC cover, but a lower volume tie ratio resulted in more significant nonlinear behavior longitudinally. Finally, the pushover analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of volume tie ratios on the seismic design parameters, and the results showed that a higher volume tie ratio resulted in a limited increase in the maximum allowable displacement for design. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Study on Advanced Cement-Based Materials and Their Applications)

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18 pages, 9112 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dynamic Behaviors of Mortar Reinforced with NiTi SMA Fibers under Impact Compressive Loading

by Eunsoo Choi, Ha-Vinh Ho and Junwon Seo

Materials 2021, 14(17), 4933; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14174933 - 30 Aug 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1513

Abstract

In this study, a compressive impact test was conducted using the split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) method to investigate SMA fiber-reinforced mortar’s impact behavior. A 1.5% fiber volume of crimped fibers and dog-bone-shaped fibers was used, and half of the specimens were heated to induce recovery stress. The results showed that the appearance of SMA fibers, recovery stress, and composite capacity can increase strain rate. For mechanical properties, the SMA fibers reduced dynamic compressive strength and increased the peak strain. The specific energy absorption of the reinforced specimens slightly increased due to the addition of SMA fibers and the recovery stress; however, the effect was not significant. The composite behavior between SMA fibers and the mortar matrix, however, significantly influenced the dynamic compressive properties. The higher composite capacity of the SMA fibers produced lower dynamic compressive strength, higher peak strain, and higher specific energy absorption. The composite behavior of the dog-bone-shaped fiber was less than that of the crimped fiber and was reduced due to heating, while that of the crimped fiber was not. The mechanical properties of the impacted specimen followed a linear function of strain rate ranging from 10 to 17 s⁻¹; at the higher strain rates of about 49–67 s⁻¹, the linear functions disappeared. The elastic modulus of the specimen was independent of the strain rate, but it was dependent on the correlation between the elastic moduli of the SMA fibers and the mortar matrix. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Study on Advanced Cement-Based Materials and Their Applications)

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17 pages, 1586 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Concrete Modular Pavement Structures with Optimized Thickness Based on Characteristics of High Performance Concrete Mixtures with Fibers and Silica Fume

by Audrius Vaitkus, Judita Gražulytė, Ovidijus Šernas, Martynas Karbočius and Rafal Mickevič

Materials 2021, 14(12), 3423; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14123423 - 21 Jun 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2084

Abstract

Usually, C30/37 strength class concrete is used to construct concrete pavements on a rigid, semi-rigid or flexible base. Concrete with such a strength delivers essential design characteristics: flexural strength and tensile splitting strength are between 4.5–5.4 MPa and 2.8–3.7 MPa, respectively. Design characteristics can be significantly increased by densifying the concrete mixture, i.e., adding silica fume, steel or polypropylene macro fibers. As high-performance concrete characteristics are 20–60% higher than those for standard concrete (C30/37), new possibilities to reduce the thickness of concrete pavement slabs appear. The theoretical analysis of concrete pavement structures with high-performance concrete mixtures (C40/50, C45/55 and C50/60) showed that slab thickness could be reduced by 6–39% compared to a standard concrete pavement structure depending on the concrete properties and design method. From all those pavement structures, three concrete mixtures were determined as the most rational ones in terms of PCP thickness reduction and total pavement cost: (i) with 49.5 kg/m³ of steel fibers and 25.2 kg/m³ of silica fume; (ii) with 10.0 kg/m³ of polypropylene fibers (type A); (iii) with 49.5 kg/m³ of steel fibers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Study on Advanced Cement-Based Materials and Their Applications)

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17 pages, 2010 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Rheological and the Fresh State Properties of Alkali-Activated Mortars by Blast Furnace Slag

by Markssuel Teixeira Marvila, Afonso Rangel Garcez de Azevedo, Paulo Ricardo de Matos, Sérgio Neves Monteiro and Carlos Maurício Fontes Vieira

Materials 2021, 14(8), 2069; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14082069 - 20 Apr 2021

Cited by 84 | Viewed by 3795

Abstract

The fresh and rheological properties of alkali mortars activated by blast furnace slag (BFS) were investigated. Consistency tests, squeeze flow, dropping ball, mass density in the hardened state, incorporated air, and water retention were performed. Mortars were produced with the ratio 1:2:0.45 (binder:sand:water), using not only ordinary Portland cement for control but also BFS, varying the sodium content of the activated alkali mortars from 2.5 to 15%. The results obtained permitted understanding that mortars containing 2.5 to 7.5% sodium present a rheological behavior similar to cementitious mortars by the Bingham model. In turn, the activated alkali mortars containing 10 to 15% sodium showed a very significant change in the properties of dynamic viscosity, which is associated with a change in the type of model, starting to behave similar to the Herschel–Bulkley model. Evaluating the properties of incorporated air and water retention, it appears that mortars containing 12.5% and 15% sodium do not have compatible properties, which is related to the occupation of sodium ions in the interstices of the material. Thus, it is concluded that the techniques used were consistent in the rheological characterization of activated alkali mortars. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Study on Advanced Cement-Based Materials and Their Applications)

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