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New Findings in Cementitious Materials (2nd Edition)

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2024 | Viewed by 1354

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering UANL (FIME), The Autonomous University of Nuevo León (UANL), San Nicolás de los Garza 66455, Mexico
Interests: hybrid cements; alkali activated cements; cement chemistry; supplementary cementitious materials; calcium sulfoaluminate cements; characterization techniques for cement-based materials

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Guest Editor
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Interests: cement chemistry and mineralogy; thermodynamic modeling; chloride in cement; characterization techniques for cement-based materials; conservation of cultural heritage
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The discovery and exploitation of materials has greatly influenced our advancement as a civilization and enabled great improvements in our quality of life. This is especially true in the case of the materials of modern construction, viz. cement, concrete, and steel, which have led to the emplacement of buildings and infrastructure which fulfill functions ranging from human habitation structures, to sanitation and water conveyance systems and infrastructure. While, unarguably, cement, concrete (i.e., a mixture of cement, sand, stone, and water), and steel have found extensive use in the construction of building and infrastructure—e.g., in the construction of framed steel and reinforced concrete structures—the environmental impact of these materials poses foundational challenges. For example, at the current level of production—around 4.2 B tons in 2022—cement alone is responsible for nearly 9% of global CO2 emissions. This number is only expected to grow as development-related construction in Asia and Africa further expands the scale of cement production. This is an issue not only for the obvious impacts on climate change, but also because the imposition of CO2 penalties is expected to, in time, double the price of cement. The implications of this are straightforward, i.e., materials engineers working in the civil engineering field need to:

  • Identify alternate materials: Identify compositionally optimal, low-CO2 materials which can be used to replace and thereby reduce the use of cement as the binder in concrete or propose novel, functionally effective, and environmentally friendly construction materials;
  • Extend the service-life of infrastructure: Develop functional pathways to mitigate steel corrosion, which is unarguably the leading cause of premature structural decay of infrastructure.

Taking all of the above into consideration, this Special Issue aims to highlight recent findings and provide useful guidelines or problem solution options to consider for scientists and engineers dealing with sustainability and durability of the construction materials.

Dr. Lauren Yolanda Gómez-Zamorano
Dr. Magdalena Balonis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at mdpi.longhoe.net 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

  • corrosion
  • durability
  • sustainability
  • low CO2 cements
  • admixtures
  • cement alternatives

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 3621 KiB  
Article
Mechanical Properties and Durability of Composite Cement Pastes Containing Phase-Change Materials and Nanosilica
by Javier Ziga-Carbarín, Lauren Y. Gómez-Zamorano, Arquímedes Cruz-López, Soorya Pushpan, Sofía Vázquez-Rodríguez and Magdalena Balonis
Materials 2024, 17(13), 3271; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17133271 - 2 Jul 2024
Viewed by 234
Abstract
Escalating global surface temperatures are highlighting the urgent need for energy-saving solutions. Phase-change materials (PCMs) have emerged as a promising avenue for enhancing thermal comfort in the construction sector. This study assessed the impact of incorporating PCMs ranging from 1% to 10% by [...] Read more.
Escalating global surface temperatures are highlighting the urgent need for energy-saving solutions. Phase-change materials (PCMs) have emerged as a promising avenue for enhancing thermal comfort in the construction sector. This study assessed the impact of incorporating PCMs ranging from 1% to 10% by mass into composite Portland cement partially replaced by fly ash (FA) and nanosilica particles (NS). Mechanical and electrochemical techniques were utilized to evaluate composite cements. The results indicate that the presence of PCMs delayed cement hydration, acting as a filler without chemically interacting within the composite. The combination of FA and PCMs reduced compressive strength at early ages, while thermal conductivity decreased after 90 days due to the melting point and the latent heat of PCMs. Samples with FA and NS showed a significant reduction in the CO2 penetration, attributed to their pozzolanic and microfiller effects, as well as reduced water absorption due to the non-absorptive nature of PCMs. Nitrogen physisorption confirmed structural changes in the cement matrix. Additionally, electrical resistivity and thermal behavior assessments revealed that PCM-containing samples could reduce temperatures by an average of 4 °C. This suggested that PCMs could be a viable alternative for materials with thermal insulation capacity, thereby contributing to energy efficiency in the construction sector. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Findings in Cementitious Materials (2nd Edition))
9 pages, 1185 KiB  
Article
New Method for Photoactive Cement Preparation—Selected Mechanical Properties and Photocatalytic Activity of New Materials
by Magdalena Janus, Jarosław Strzałkowski, Kamila Zając and Ewelina Kusiak-Nejman
Materials 2024, 17(10), 2285; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17102285 - 11 May 2024
Viewed by 748
Abstract
In this study, a new method of obtaining photoactive cements is presented. The goal was to obtain photoactive cements using a method that could reduce the production costs. In the study, an intermediate product from the production of titanium dioxide using the sulfate [...] Read more.
In this study, a new method of obtaining photoactive cements is presented. The goal was to obtain photoactive cements using a method that could reduce the production costs. In the study, an intermediate product from the production of titanium dioxide using the sulfate method, taken from the installation before the calcination process, was used to obtain photoactive cements. Laboratory conditions corresponding to introducing this amorphous TiO2 into cement clinker during its cooling were simulated. The study shows that the temperature from 300 to 800 °C and the time of amorphous TiO2 contact with the cement clinker within 30 min is sufficient to obtain a photoactive cement. The highest photocatalytic activity was obtained for the material with 5 wt.% TiO2 content, and the method used did not cause a significant decrease in the bending and compressive strength of the new photoactive cements. The obtained materials were characterized by determining the crystal size of the TiO2, the sulfur content and the photocatalytic activity during NO decomposition under UV radiation. The bending and compressive strength were measured. The influence of the addition of photocatalysts on the beginning and end of the setting time was also investigated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Findings in Cementitious Materials (2nd Edition))
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