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Low-Carbon Construction and Building Materials
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Low-Carbon Construction and Building Materials

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 April 2025 | Viewed by 2790

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Junfei Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300401, China
Interests: low-carbon building materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Construction and building materials have encountered heightened scrutiny due to concerns regarding greenhouse gas emissions associated with Portland cement and concrete production. This has spurred a notable surge in interest towards the creation of low-carbon construction and building materials. The escalating demand for raw materials like natural minerals, stones, and river sand, especially in burgeoning economies engaged in extensive infrastructure pro-jects, underscores the necessity for sustainable cementitious materials with reduced carbon footprints in civil and transportation engineering. The pursuit of low-carbon construction and building materials is acknowledged as a strategy to mitigate the carbon impact of the Portland cement and concrete industry, addressing global apprehensions about dwindling natural resources and escalating CO2 emissions from construction activities. The concrete and cement sector faces increasing pressure to embrace sustainability through the innovation of alternative low-carbon cement and concrete materials. Nevertheless, comprehending many fundamental mechanisms in this domain remains a challenge, and the scarcity of industrial applications persists, underscoring the existing gap between foundational research and practical implementation in this realm.

This Special Issue aims to concentrate on the latest advancements, progress, and emerging trends pertaining to the physical and chemical mechanisms, as well as the fresh and hardened properties, long-term performance, and durability of sustainable cementitious materials with low carbon emissions, specifically in the context of civil engineering. We invite submissions of both original research and review articles. Topics of particular interest encompass, but are not confined to:

  • Innovations in Green Concrete;
  • Sustainable Timber and Wood-Based Materials;
  • Advancements in Insulating Materials;
  • Recycling and Upcycling in Building Materials;
  • Smart and Responsive Materials for Building;
  • Biocompatible and Biodegradable Building Materials;
  • Low-Carbon Footprint Materials;
  • Innovative Steel and Metal Alloys;
  • Nano and Micro Technologies in Construction Materials;
  • Fire-Resistant and Flame-Retardant Materials;
  • Natural-Fiber-Reinforced Composites;
  • Low-Impact Exterior Finishes;
  • Urban Mining and Material Recovery;
  • 3D Printing in Construction;
  • Durability and Longevity of Building Materials.

Dr. Junfei Zhang
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

  • green concrete
  • carbon footprint
  • recycled aggregate concrete
  • biocompatible materials
  • fiber-reinforced composites
  • durability

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 2712 KiB  
Article
Influence of Conductive Filler Types on the Ratio of Reflection and Absorption Properties in Cement-Based EMI Shielding Composites
by Daeik Jang, Jihoon Park, Woosuk Jang, Jinho Bang, G. M. Kim, Jaesuk Choi, Joonho Seo and Beomjoo Yang
Materials 2024, 17(19), 4913; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17194913 - 8 Oct 2024
Viewed by 611
Abstract
The growing importance of electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding composites in civil engineering has garnered increasing attention. Conductive cement-based composites, incorporating various conductive fillers, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), carbon fibers (CFs), and graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs), provide effective solutions due to their high electrical [...] Read more.
The growing importance of electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding composites in civil engineering has garnered increasing attention. Conductive cement-based composites, incorporating various conductive fillers, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), carbon fibers (CFs), and graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs), provide effective solutions due to their high electrical conductivity. While previous studies have primarily focused on improving the overall shielding effectiveness, this research emphasizes balancing the reflection and absorption properties. The experimental results demonstrate an EMI shielding performance exceeding 50 dB, revealing that filler size (nano, micro, or macro) and shape (platelet or fiber) significantly influence both reflection and absorption characteristics. Based on a comprehensive evaluation of the shielding properties, this study highlights the need to consider factors such as reflection versus absorption losses and filler shape or type when optimizing filler content to develop effective cement-based EMI shielding composites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Carbon Construction and Building Materials)
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24 pages, 5123 KiB  
Article
Elemental Design of Alkali-Activated Materials with Solid Wastes Using Machine Learning
by Junfei Zhang, Shenyan Shang, Zehui Huo, Junlin Chen and Yuhang Wang
Materials 2024, 17(18), 4573; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17184573 - 18 Sep 2024
Viewed by 874
Abstract
Understanding the strength development of alkali-activated materials (AAMs) with fly ash (FA) and granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) is crucial for designing high-performance AAMs. This study investigates the strength development mechanism of AAMs using machine learning. A total of 616 uniaxial compressive strength [...] Read more.
Understanding the strength development of alkali-activated materials (AAMs) with fly ash (FA) and granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) is crucial for designing high-performance AAMs. This study investigates the strength development mechanism of AAMs using machine learning. A total of 616 uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) data points from FA-GBFS-based AAM mixtures were collected from published literature to train four tree-based machine learning models. Among these models, Gradient Boosting Regression (GBR) demonstrated the highest prediction accuracy, with a correlation coefficient (R-value) of 0.970 and a root mean square error (RMSE) of 4.110 MPa on the test dataset. The SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) analysis revealed that water content is the most influential variable in strength development, followed by curing periods. The study recommends a calcium-to-silicon ratio of around 1.3, a sodium-to-aluminum ratio slightly below 1, and a silicon-to-aluminum ratio slightly above 3 for optimal AAM performance. The proposed design model was validated through laboratory experiments with FA-GBFS-based AAM mixtures, confirming the model’s reliability. This research provides novel insights into the strength development mechanism of AAMs and offers a practical guide for elemental design, potentially leading to more sustainable construction materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Carbon Construction and Building Materials)
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Review

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23 pages, 16905 KiB  
Review
Comprehensive Utilization of Industry By-Products in Precast Concrete: A Critical Review from the Perspective of Physicochemical Characteristics of Solid Waste and Steam Curing Conditions
by Yang Shao, Zengqi Zhang, Xiaoming Liu, Lilei Zhu, Chun Han, Siyi Li and Weijie Du
Materials 2024, 17(19), 4702; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17194702 - 25 Sep 2024
Viewed by 778
Abstract
Solid wastes have been widely used as a cement substitute in precast concrete. On the one hand, solid waste can effectively ameliorate a series of problems caused by steam curing. On the other hand, the use of solid waste can reduce the amount [...] Read more.
Solid wastes have been widely used as a cement substitute in precast concrete. On the one hand, solid waste can effectively ameliorate a series of problems caused by steam curing. On the other hand, the use of solid waste can reduce the amount of cement used in the construction industry and reduce carbon emissions. However, due to the complexity of the steam curing system, the performance of precast concrete prepared under different steam curing conditions varies greatly. Moreover, there are a wide variety of solid wastes, and the differences in the physicochemical properties of different solid wastes are significant. Therefore, it is necessary to systematically determine the mechanism of action of commonly used solid wastes. In this paper, the steam curing system is introduced in detail, and the mechanism of action of solid waste in precast concrete is systematically summarized. It was found that an appropriate increase in the temperature and duration of steam curing facilitates the strength development of precast concrete. In addition, there is a difference in the effect of the addition of solid wastes on the early and late strength of precast concrete, which usually leads to a decrease in the demolding strength of precast concrete, but increases the late strength of precast concrete. This study provides a reference for rationally regulating steam curing systems and realizing the comprehensive utilization of solid wastes in precast concrete. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low-Carbon Construction and Building Materials)
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