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Sustainable Cementitious Materials for Civil and Transportation Engineering

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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: 20 November 2024 | Viewed by 16495

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Junjie Wang

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Guest Editor

Department of Civil Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Interests: fractal theory; microstructure; pore structure; durability predicting; mathematical model
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Jianhe Xie

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Co-Guest Editor

School of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
Interests: mechanical behavior and durability of advanced construction materials such as FRP, recycled concrete, ultra-high performance concrete and geopolymer concrete; structural strengthening engineering in particular the use of FRP in civil engineering

Dr. Yongliang Liu

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Co-Guest Editor

Department of Engineering Mechanics, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130025, China
Interests: testing and evaluation of cement-asphalt mortar based on fracture mechanics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Concrete has become the most widely used construction material since its invention. Growing concerns over the greenhouse emissions profile of the Portland cement and concrete industry have led to a very high level of recent interest in the development of low-carbon construction materials. The requirements of raw materials for cement and concrete, such as natural minerals, stones and river sand, have been increasing, especially in developing countries where massive amounts of infrastructure are being built. This trend certainly promotes the requirements on sustainable cementitious materials with low carbon emissions for civil and transportation engineering. The development of low-carbon construction materials has been recognized as a means of reducing the carbon footprint of the Portland cement and concrete industry, in response to growing global concerns over natural materials shortage and CO₂ emissions from the construction sector. The concrete and cement industry has been under pressure to shift towards sustainability by developing alternative low-carbon cement and concrete materials. However, many fundamental mechanisms in this field are yet to be well understood. Besides, industrial applications are still scarce due to the gap existing between the fundamental research and industrial use in this area.

The purpose of this special issue is to focus on state-of-the-art progress, developments, and new trends on the physical and chemical mechanisms, fresh and harden properties, long term performance and durability of sustainable cementitious materials with low carbon emissions for civil and transportation engineering. Both original research and review articles are welcome. In particular, the topics of interest include but are not limited to:

Low carbon cementitious binders
Carbonation enhanced concrete
Low-carbon cement and concrete technology based on non-Portland cement systems, such as alkali-activated materials or geopolymeric materials
Recycled aggregate concrete
Green admixtures for cement and concrete
Durability of low-carbon concrete

Dr. Junjie Wang
Dr. Yongliang Liu
Prof. Dr. Jianhe Xie
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. 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

low carbon emissions
carbon fixation
sustainable materials
recycled materials
cement
concrete

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review

2 pages, 161 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Sustainable Cementitious Materials for Civil and Transportation Engineering

by Junjie Wang, Jianhe Xie and Yongliang Liu

Materials 2023, 16(18), 6290; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16186290 - 19 Sep 2023

Viewed by 1016

Abstract

The current Special Issue entitled “Sustainable Cementitious Materials for Civil and Transportation Engineering” aims to discuss current research on the preparation, characterization, and application of sustainable cementitious materials for civil and transportation engineering, with a special focus on the development of low-carbon construction [...] Read more.

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Cementitious Materials for Civil and Transportation Engineering)

Research

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14 pages, 8202 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental Study on Effects of CO₂ Curing Conditions on Mechanical Properties of Cement Paste Containing CO₂ Reactive Hardening Calcium Silicate Cement

by Young-Jin Kim, Sang-Rak Sim and Dong-Woo Ryu

Materials 2023, 16(22), 7107; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16227107 - 09 Nov 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 751

Abstract

Human survival is threatened by the rapid climate change due to global warming caused by the increase in CO₂ emissions since the Second Industrial Revolution. This study developed a secondary cement product production technology by replacing cement, a conventional binder, with calcium silicate cement (CSC), i.e., CO₂ reactive hardening cement, to reduce CO₂ emissions and utilize CO₂ from the cement industry, which emits CO₂ in large quantities. Results showed that the carbonation depth, compressive strength increase rate, and CO₂ sequestration rate increased as the CSC content increased, suggesting that CSC can be applied as a secondary cement product. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Cementitious Materials for Civil and Transportation Engineering)

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17 pages, 3590 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Fiber and Surface Treatment on Airport Pavement Concrete against Freeze–Thawing and Salt Freezing

by Lei Xu, Yong Lai, Daoxun Ma, Junjie Wang, Molan Li, Le Li, Zhibin Gao, Yan Liu, Pukang He and Yi Zhang

Materials 2022, 15(21), 7528; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15217528 - 27 Oct 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1364

Abstract

Airport pavement concrete often suffers from freeze–thawing damage in high latitude and cold areas. In addition, the use of aircraft deicer makes the airport pavement concrete suffer from salt-freezing damage. To improve the durability of airport pavement concrete, modified polyester synthetic fiber (FC), cellulose fiber (CF), and basalt fiber (BF) reinforced concrete were prepared in this paper. The mechanical strength, pore structure, and frost resistance (freeze–thawing and salt freezing) of fiber-reinforced concrete were investigated. The effects of the combined action of fiber (fiber type and content) and surface treatment methods (spraying silane and impregnating silane) on the frost resistance of concrete were investigated. The results show that the flexural strength of concrete is positively correlated with the elastic modulus of fiber, but has little effect on the compressive strength. Fiber can reduce mass loss and dynamic modulus loss of concrete subjected to frost damage. FC more effectively improved the frost resistance of concrete than CF. After 30 cycles of salt freezing, the spalling amount of concrete sprayed or soaked with silane was decreased by 65.5% and 55.5%, respectively. Adding fiber and impregnating silane reduced the spalled concrete by up to 70.5%. Spraying silane treatment is better than impregnating silane treatment in enhancing the frost resistance of concrete because a better silane condensation reaction is achieved with spraying silane. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Cementitious Materials for Civil and Transportation Engineering)

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20 pages, 1160 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Laboratory Study and Field Validation of the Performance of Salt-Storage Asphalt Mixtures

by Yangsen Cao, Xinzhou Li, Zhuangzhuang Liu, Jiarong Li, Fan Zhang and Baozeng Shan

Materials 2022, 15(19), 6720; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15196720 - 27 Sep 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1192

Abstract

The traditional method of removing ice and snow on roads carries the risk of damaging roads and the environment. In this circumstance, the technology of salt-storage asphalt pavement has gradually attracted attention. However, snow-melting salts may also have an impact on asphalt mixture performance. To explore the effect of snow-melting salts on the mechanical and surface properties of salt-storage asphalt mixtures (SSAM), SSAMs were prepared with styrene–butadiene–styrene (SBS)-modified asphalt and high-elastic asphalt (HEA) as binders and snow-melting salts as fillers. The influence of the type of asphalt binder and the content of snow-melting salt on the performance of the SSAM was preliminarily investigated through laboratory tests. The results show that the high-temperature, low-temperature, and moisture resistance performance of the SBS group SSAM decreased by 9.8–15.1%, 1.6–12.3%, and 6.3–19.4%, respectively, compared with SBS00. The higher the amount of snow-melting salt, the greater the performance drop. The three mechanical properties of the HEA group containing high-elastic agent TPS are 11.3–19.7%, 4.2–12.3%, and 4.8–13.3% higher than that of the SBS group. Even when the content of snow-melting salt is 50% or 75%, the mechanical properties of the HEA group are better than that of SBS00 without snow-melting salt. Snow-melting salt has clear advantages in improving the anti-skid performance but decreases the anti-spalling performance. The surface properties of the HEA group were also better than that of the SBS group. Considering the mechanical properties and surface properties, the comprehensive performance of the HEA group is better than that of the SBS group, and HEA50 has the best comprehensive performance. In addition, the construction performance of the SSAM has also been verified, and the production of SSAM according to the hot mix asphalt can meet the specification requirements. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Cementitious Materials for Civil and Transportation Engineering)

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15 pages, 2956 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Fineness Levels and Dosages of Light-Burned Dolomite on Portland Cement Performance

by Wenxiu Jiao, Aimin Sha, Zhuangzhuang Liu and Shuo Li

Materials 2022, 15(16), 5798; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15165798 - 22 Aug 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1593

Abstract

The paper aims to understand the effect of light-burned dolomite powders (LBD) on ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and evaluate the influence of LBD dosages and fineness levels on the mechanical properties and hydration properties of OPC. The LBD/OPC pastes were prepared by OPC blended with LBD at various replacement dosages and fineness levels. The mechanical properties were studied by flexural and compressive strength tests, while the hydration properties were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and reaction degree of LBD. Experiment results indicated that the flexural and compressive strength of LBD/OPC samples were higher than reference sample at all ages. The fineness levels of LBD was C (C-LBD) with 0.5–1.5 wt% dosages, and the fineness levels of LBD was B (B-LBD) with 1.5–2.5 wt% dosages can significantly improve the strength of cement-based materials. The main mineral components of LBD are MgO and CaCO₃, of which MgO could react with water to form Mg(OH)₂ quickly, and CaCO₃ could hydrate with C₃A to from hydrated calcium carboaluminate (C₃A·CaCO₃·11H₂O), which prevents the conversion of AFt to AFm. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Cementitious Materials for Civil and Transportation Engineering)

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15 pages, 5191 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on Mechanical Behavior of the Steel–Concrete–Steel Composite Structures Subjected to High Temperature of Fire

by Peng Cao, Xuebing Hu, Enlong Liu, Jianzhong Chen, Shouchao Jiang and Hao Ding

Materials 2022, 15(14), 4872; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15144872 - 13 Jul 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1429

Abstract

A new type of steel–concrete–steel composite structure was adopted and widely used in the immersed tunnel of the Shenzhen–Zhongshan access. The research on the mechanical behavior of the new composite structure under a high temperature of fire is of great engineering significance to the fire protection design of the structure. Both the model test and a numerical simulation were adopted to study the mechanical behavior and damage characteristics of the new composite structure under fire. The RABT standard temperature rise curve was used to simulate the temperature rising law under fire (it reflects the characteristics of temperature rise in case of fire in an enclosed environment: rapidly raised to 1200 °C within 5 min, maintained at 1200 °C for 120 min, then it is cooled to normal temperature after 110 min). The temperature distribution law inside the structure, the deformation development law of the roof and the crack distribution were analyzed based on the thermal–mechanical coupling analysis method. The results showed that the internal part of the composite structure close to the fire surface was directly affected by the high temperature, and the temperature presented a step distribution law, while the part far from the fire surface was affected by the lag effect of the temperature transfer, and the temperature presented a continuous growth law. The roof deformation presented a three-stage model of “rapid growth-deformation stability-deformation recovery” with time. The overall cracks of the composite structure showed a symmetrical distribution under fire. The composite structure presented a shear failure mode as a whole. The results could provide a reference for the study of fire resistance for the new composite structure and support the structural fire protection design of the immersed tunnel of the Shenzhen–Zhongshan access. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Cementitious Materials for Civil and Transportation Engineering)

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15 pages, 3837 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fracture Behavior of Steel Slag Powder-Cement-Based Concrete with Different Steel-Slag-Powder Replacement Ratios

by Ke-Xian Zhuo, Guo-Tao Liu, Xue-Wei Lan, Dong-Ping Zheng, Si-Quan Wu, Pei-Zong Wu, Yong-Chang Guo and Jia-Xiang Lin

Materials 2022, 15(6), 2243; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15062243 - 18 Mar 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2066

Abstract

The influence of different replacement ratios of steel-slag powder as cement-replacement material on the fracture performance of concrete is studied in this paper. A three-point bending fracture test is carried out on slag powder-cement-based concrete (SPC)-notched beams with steel-slag powder as cementitious materials, partially replacing cement (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%). Load-deflection curves and load-crack-opening displacement curves of SPC-notched beams with five different replacement ratios of steel-slag powder were obtained. The effects of different steel-slag-powder replacement ratios on the fracture properties (fracture energy, fracture toughness, and double-K fracture parameters) of the SPC were analyzed and discussed. The results showed that the incorporation of appropriate steel-slag powder can affect the fracture performance of SPC. Compared with concrete without steel-slag powder, adding appropriate steel-slag powder can effectively improve the bond performance between aggregate and matrix because the steel-slag powder contains hydration activity substances such as calcium oxide and aluminium trioxide. The fracture energy and fracture toughness of SPC increased and then decreased with the increase in steel-slag-powder replacement ratios, and the SPC concrete showed best fracture performance with a 5% steel slag powder replacement ratio. Its fracture energy increases by 13.63% and fracture toughness increases by 53.22% compared with NC. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Cementitious Materials for Civil and Transportation Engineering)

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Review

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19 pages, 5405 KiB

Open AccessReview

Advances in the Experiments of Leaching in Cement-Based Materials and Dissolution in Rocks

by Lifan Zheng, Junjie Wang, Kefei Li, Mingyu Wang, Shimeng Li and Lin Yuan

Materials 2023, 16(24), 7697; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16247697 - 18 Dec 2023

Viewed by 615

Abstract

Leaching in cement-based materials and dissolution in rocks are important problems in civil engineering. In the past century, concrete damage caused by leaching have occurred worldwide. And, rock dissolution is usually the main cause of karst rock erosions. This paper provides a review of the causes, influencing factors, and effects on engineering properties of dissolution of rocks and leaching of cement-based materials. The applied experimental methods for leaching and dissolution have been sorted out and discussed. In situ field experiments can be used to study dissolution under natural conditions, while the laboratory experiments can effectively shorten the experiment time length (by changing pH, temperature, pressure or other factors that affect the leaching or dissolution) to quickly investigate the mechanism of dissolution and leaching. Micro tests including XRD, SEM, EDS, and other testing methods can obtain the changes in material properties and microstructures under leaching and dissolution. In addition, with the advances in technologies and updated instruments, more and more new testing methods are being used. The factors affecting the leaching and dissolution include environmental factors, materials, and solvent parameters. The mechanisms and deterioration processes of leaching and dissolution varies according to the types of material and the compositions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Cementitious Materials for Civil and Transportation Engineering)

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27 pages, 1641 KiB

Open AccessReview

Does Current Knowledge Give a Variety of Possibilities for the Stabilization/Solidification of Soil Contaminated with Heavy Metals?—A Review

by Agnieszka Lal and Joanna Fronczyk

Materials 2022, 15(23), 8491; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15238491 - 28 Nov 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1966

Abstract

Stabilization/solidification of contaminated soil is a process that allows simultaneous strengthening of the soil structure, disposal of contamination and recycling of industrial waste, implemented as substitutes for Portland cement or additives to improve the properties of the final product obtained. Extremely intensive development of studies pertaining to the S/S process prompted the authors to systematize the binders used and the corresponding methods of binding the contamination, and to perform an analysis of the effectiveness expressed in geomechanical properties and leachability. The study pays close attention to the types of additives and binders of waste origin, as well as the ecological and economic benefits of their use. The methods of preparing and caring for the specimens were reviewed, in addition to the methods of testing the effectiveness of the S/S process, including the influence of aging factors on long-term properties. The results of the analyses carried out are presented in the form of diagrams and charts, facilitating individual evaluation of the various solutions for the stabilization/solidification of soils contaminated with heavy metals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Cementitious Materials for Civil and Transportation Engineering)

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29 pages, 3037 KiB

Open AccessReview

Cementitious Grouts for Semi-Flexible Pavement Surfaces—A Review

by Muhammad Imran Khan, Muslich Hartadi Sutanto, Nur Izzi Md. Yusoff, Salah E. Zoorob, Waqas Rafiq, Mujahid Ali, Roman Fediuk and Nikolai Ivanovich Vatin

Materials 2022, 15(15), 5466; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15155466 - 08 Aug 2022

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3145

Abstract

The hybrid type of pavement called semi-flexible or grouted macadam has gained popularity over the last few decades in various countries, as it provides significant advantages over both rigid and conventional flexible pavements. The semi-flexible pavement surface consists of an open-graded asphalt mixture with high percentage voids into which flowable cementitious slurry is allowed to penetrate due to gravitational effect. Several researchers have conducted laboratory, as well as field, experiments on evaluating the performance of semi-flexible layers using different compositions of cementitious grouts. The composition of grouts (i.e., water/cement ratio, superplasticizer, polymers, admixtures, and other supplementary materials) has a significant effect on the performance of grouts and semi-flexible mixtures. A comprehensive review of cementitious grouts and their effect on the performance of semi-flexible layers are presented and summarized in this review study. The effect of byproducts and other admixtures/additives on the mechanical properties of grouts are also discussed. Finally, recommendations on the composition of cementitious grouts have been suggested. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Cementitious Materials for Civil and Transportation Engineering)

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