Low-Carbon Concrete Structures Incorporating Sustainable Pozzolan and Recycled Materials

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Structures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2025 | Viewed by 815

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong SAR, China
Interests: smart materials; structural dynamics; vibration; structural analysis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong SAR, China
Interests: low-carbon concrete; sustainable cementitious materials; fiber-reinforced concrete; recycled concrete; waste valorization; machine learning and artificial intelligence

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The construction industry faces significant challenges in meeting the ever-growing demand for civil infrastructure while minimizing resource consumption, reducing construction and demolition waste, and safeguarding the natural environment. Traditional concrete structures consume substantial raw materials and high energy resources and result in high carbon dioxide emissions. To address this, there is an urgent need to develop low-carbon concrete solutions that incorporate sustainable and environmentally friendly materials. This Special Issue is devoted to publishing original research articles that mainly focus on the development and adoption of sustainable concrete solutions that contribute to a greener and more resilient built environment. We invite researchers and industry professionals to share their high-quality research articles, review articles, and case studies focusing on, but not limited to, the utilization of sustainable pozzolans as well as recycled materials, including construction and demolition waste, solid waste materials, and recycled fibers in low-carbon concrete mixtures, and advanced technologies in low-carbon concrete design. The focus will be on reducing the carbon footprint of concrete while maintaining or enhancing its physical, mechanical, and durability properties.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Low-carbon concrete by using sustainable pozzolans, industrial by-products, and natural pozzolans as partial replacements for cement in concrete.
  • Sustainable concrete mix designs incorporating but not limited to recycled aggregates, crushed glass, crumb rubber, waste plastic, and other recycled materials.
  • Future and emerging eco-efficient binders.
  • Experimental investigation of mechanical properties (e.g., compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural strength), durability, and long-term performance (e.g., resistance to freeze–thaw cycles, chloride penetration, sulfate attack, shrinkage), and microstructure assessment of sustainable low-carbon concrete.
  • Environmental impact assessment of green concrete via life cycle assessment (LCA) and other methodologies to assess and highlight the environmental benefits and carbon footprint reduction of low-carbon concrete structures.
  • Design optimization of low-carbon concrete via machine learning and artificial intelligence.
  • Three-dimensional concrete printing technology in low-carbon infrastructure.
  • Innovative technologies and methods including nanomaterials, fibers, and other strengthening techniques for enhancing the performance and sustainability of low-carbon concrete.
  • Case studies and real-world applications demonstrating the practical implementation of low-carbon concrete in construction projects.

Prof. Dr. C. W. Lim
Dr. Wisal Ahmed
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. Buildings 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

  • low-carbon concrete
  • sustainable and recycled materials
  • sustainable pozzolans
  • eco-efficient binders
  • fiber-reinforced concrete
  • mechanical properties and durability
  • life cycle assessment
  • artificial intelligence (AI) and machine Learning (ML)

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Review

44 pages, 45485 KiB  
Review
A Critical Review of the Technical Characteristics of Recycled Brick Powder and Its Influence on Concrete Properties
by Jinkang Hu, Wisal Ahmed and Dengwu Jiao
Buildings 2024, 14(11), 3691; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14113691 - 20 Nov 2024
Viewed by 530
Abstract
This paper presents a systematic overview of the applications of RBP as a substitute for cement. Initially, the fundamental properties of RBP, including physical properties, chemical compositions, and morphology, are discussed. Subsequently, the effects of RBP on various aspects of cement-based materials, such [...] Read more.
This paper presents a systematic overview of the applications of RBP as a substitute for cement. Initially, the fundamental properties of RBP, including physical properties, chemical compositions, and morphology, are discussed. Subsequently, the effects of RBP on various aspects of cement-based materials, such as fresh properties, shrinkage behavior, hydration, microstructure, strength development, and durability, are thoroughly reviewed. The findings of this study reveal that waste brick powder exhibits pozzolanic activity and can be used to partially replace cement in concrete formulations. However, its relatively high water absorption and irregular shape increase the water demand and, thus, reduce the rheological properties. The incorporation of RBP with 10–20% or finer particle sizes can refine the pore structure and promote the formation of hydration products. However, replacements of RBP greater than 25% can lead to adverse effects on the mechanical properties, frost resistance, and carbonation resistance of cementitious composites. Therefore, to enhance the effectiveness of RBP, measures such as improving fineness, incorporating mineral admixtures, adjusting curing conditions, and applying nano- or chemical modifications are necessary. This study provides valuable technical support for promoting the sustainable preparation of construction materials, which holds important environmental and economic implications. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop