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Sustainability
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Sustainable Building Materials and Energy-Efficient Buildings
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Sustainable Building Materials and Energy-Efficient Buildings

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2021) | Viewed by 27153

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Francesco Nocera

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DICAR), University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy
Interests: buildings energy analysis; environmental thermo-fluid dynamics; natural and artificial lighting; environmental and building acoustics; solar energy; heat transfer; energy saving; renewable energy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Rosa Giuseppina Caponetto

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Catania, Catania 95125, Italy
Interests: natural building materials; innovation in construction technologies; materials and building components durability; sustainable architecture; retrofit of existing building heritage
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Giada Giuffrida

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre d’Études et de Recherche en Thermique, Environnement et Systèmes, University of Paris-Est Créteil, 94000 Paris, France
Interests: bio-based and recycled building materials; raw earth construction; innovation in construction technologies; sustainable and bioclimatic architecture; vernacular construction technologies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Mr. Maurizio Detommaso

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Catania, Catania 95125, Italy
Interests: buildings energy analysis; passive strategies for energy retrofitting of buildings; energy saving, indoor and outdoor thermal comfort; heat transfer; mitigation strategies of Urban Heat Island

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Guest Editors are inviting submissions to a Special Issue of Sustainability on the subject area of “Sustainable Building Materials and Energy-Efficient Buildings.” As known, the construction sector has a great responsibility in energy and natural resources consumption and in annual production of waste. Innovative and more integrated solutions to contemporary buildings are needed to preserve our environments by systemic strategies aiming to reduce impacts and consumptions.

This approach needs to be pursued both in production phase (using low-embodied energy base materials, as natural or recycled ones, according to the circular economy approach), construction phase (promoting the use of low energy demanding construction technologies and building processes), use phase (through the refurbishment and retrofitting of existing buildings toward the minimization of their energy needs and improvement of thermal performance of the envelope, designing highly energy-efficient buildings by passive and active strategies) and end-life phases (advancing in zero-waste and low carbon footprint materials, technologies and processes).

In this regard, the Special Issue aims to answer several issues connected to the concept of sustainability in buildings, by exploring different aspects concerning building materials, construction technologies, hygrothermal and energy performances and indoor thermal comfort of the built environment. In addition, other issues regarding the influence of building materials on outdoor thermal comfort in urban areas and their environmental performance can be addressed. The presentation of comprehensive literature review, case studies, and development of new methodological approaches, based on experimental measurements and building energy analysis are warmly encouraged.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to:

  • Innovative and emerging bio-based, recycled, and waste-based building materials
  • Improvement of mechanical, physical, thermal performances of building materials
  • Durability of Bio-aggregate based building materials
  • Circular economy strategies for building sustainability
  • Life cycle sustainability assessment of building materials and technologies
  • Innovative technologies for low energy buildings
  • Advances in material and technology research and engineering
  • Eco-design and bioclimatic approach for buildings
  • Technical synergic solutions for improving thermal inertia, indoor thermal comfort and energy performance of massive and lightweight existing buildings
  • Active and passive strategies for designing high-energy efficient buildings
  • Zero energy buildings and passive houses
  • New approaches to sustainable production and building construction
  • Innovative procedures to assess building and construction materials’ sustainability
  • Urban materials and greening strategies for outdoor thermal comfort in densely built areas
  • Mitigation strategies of Urban Heat Island phenomenon

Prof. Francesco Nocera
Prof. Rosa Giuseppina Caponetto
Ms. Giada Giuffrida
Mr. Maurizio Detommaso
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. Sustainability 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 2400 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

  • sustainable building materials
  • low-emissions carbon technologies
  • energy saving
  • environmental impact
  • greenhouse gas emissions
  • Life-Cycle Assessment
  • Low-Carbon Foot Print
  • thermal inertia
  • indoor and outdoor thermal comfort
  • Primary and thermal energy needs
  • Heat transfer
  • Urban Heat Island

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  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 381 KiB  
Article
Looking Critically at Heat Loss through Party Walls
by Jason Palmer and Nicola Terry
Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 3072; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14053072 - 6 Mar 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2342
Abstract
Heat loss through party walls to outside (not the neighbouring dwelling) has received considerable attention in the UK, and this was flagged as a serious omission from the UK Building Regulations in 2010-12. There was evidence of significant heat loss between adjoined terraced [...] Read more.
Heat loss through party walls to outside (not the neighbouring dwelling) has received considerable attention in the UK, and this was flagged as a serious omission from the UK Building Regulations in 2010-12. There was evidence of significant heat loss between adjoined terraced or semi-detached new homes, which was increasingly important as heat loss from other parts of dwellings was being reduced. As a result, Building Regulations were changed so that other parts of the building envelope had to be improved in new homes to compensate for heat loss through the party wall. However, this empirical work based on measuring heat loss through the party walls of 55 UK dwellings indicates that fears about high heat loss through party walls may have been exaggerated. While a minority of dwellings (less than 10%) do suffer from a “thermal bypass” through the party wall, for the vast majority of existing homes with party walls, heat loss through the party wall is minimal. There may be a case for revising UK Building Regulations to reflect this new evidence, and for re-directing the efforts aimed at reducing heat loss through party walls towards other opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of dwellings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Building Materials and Energy-Efficient Buildings)
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17 pages, 2945 KiB  
Article
Prototyping of a Novel Rammed Earth Technology
by Giada Giuffrida, Rosa Caponetto, Francesco Nocera and Massimo Cuomo
Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 11948; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111948 - 28 Oct 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4721
Abstract
Buildings of the future are called to meet increasingly high-performance requirements and to ensure adequate environmental sustainability of the production and construction chain. This issue has stimulated a keen interest in the use of natural materials in construction. Among these, raw earth has [...] Read more.
Buildings of the future are called to meet increasingly high-performance requirements and to ensure adequate environmental sustainability of the production and construction chain. This issue has stimulated a keen interest in the use of natural materials in construction. Among these, raw earth has proved to be particularly interesting for its intrinsic availability, sustainability, and recyclability. In Europe, the spread of raw earth building technologies has often been hindered by the lack of specific legislation regulating its use for load-bearing structures, even if in many countries, it can be noticed a widespread and well-established constructive tradition. Some transoceanic research experiences attest that unfired earth can be used, together with different types of reinforcements, to create seismic-resistant buildings. After presenting a review of the main raw earth reinforced technologies, the present study focuses on a novel reinforced and modular rammed earth construction made with natural or recycled materials, developing a technology with low energy consumption and low environmental impact, specifically designed for areas with high seismic risk. In particular, the work presents the results of a prototyping procedure aiming at developing a new seismic-resistant construction system that combines rammed earth with timber reinforcement elements and nylon/polyester ropes. These elements have a dual function: (1) they are fundamental components of the construction process (as they integrate the formwork system), and (2) they act as seismic-resistant devices once the structure is completed. In line with the performance-based approach required by the construction sector, the study aims at defining a controlled and standardised supply chain for rammed earth construction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Building Materials and Energy-Efficient Buildings)
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21 pages, 9463 KiB  
Article
A New Formulation to Estimate the Elastic Modulus of Recycled Concrete Based on Regression and ANN
by Emerson Felipe Felix, Edna Possan and Rogério Carrazedo
Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8561; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158561 - 31 Jul 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2434
Abstract
A new formulation to estimate the elastic modulus of concrete containing recycled coarse aggregate is proposed in this work using artificial neural networks (ANN) and nonlinear regression. Up to six predictors variables were used to training 243 ANN. The models were generated based [...] Read more.
A new formulation to estimate the elastic modulus of concrete containing recycled coarse aggregate is proposed in this work using artificial neural networks (ANN) and nonlinear regression. Up to six predictors variables were used to training 243 ANN. The models were generated based on results obtained from experimental campaigns. Feedforward neural network and Levenberg–Marquardt back propagation algorithm were used for training the ANN. The best ANN was found with the architecture 6-4-2-1 (input -1st hidden layer -2nd hidden layer -output), attaining a root-mean-square error of 2.4 GPa associated with a coefficient of determination of 0.91. Once the ANN model was established, 46,656 concrete samples were created. These were employed to formulate the model using nonlinear regression. The developed model showed a highly efficient performance to predict the elastic modulus. Lastly, considering the parametric study conducted, the results pointed out that the approach can be applied to predict the concrete elastic modulus and can indicate better mix proportions for concretes containing natural and/or recycled coarse aggregates, enabling its use as a simulation tool in the development of engineering projects focused on durability and sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Building Materials and Energy-Efficient Buildings)
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24 pages, 6651 KiB  
Article
New Life for Disused Religious Heritage: A Sustainable Approach
by Alessandro Lo Faro and Alessia Miceli
Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8187; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158187 - 22 Jul 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3200
Abstract
The sustainable reuse of the built heritage is one of the main challenges of our time. Religious heritage, in particular, requires strong survey strategies and analyses in order to achieve consistent approaches for the conservation and transmission of its value, both material and [...] Read more.
The sustainable reuse of the built heritage is one of the main challenges of our time. Religious heritage, in particular, requires strong survey strategies and analyses in order to achieve consistent approaches for the conservation and transmission of its value, both material and immaterial. The exploitation of the latter is underpinned by knowledge analyses, prior to the conservation actions, with a focus not only on the techniques of material restoration but also on the values that it represents for the territory and local communities. With this aim, three case studies in Southern Italy are here presented, that offer a good example of how ecclesiastical heritage, although vast and diffuse, is still an undervalued asset. By combining accurate knowledge and historical research in comparison with the residual performance of the buildings, the results aim to demonstrate how integrated knowledge strategies can pursue more conscious choices of new possible uses for abandoned religious heritage, resulting in preserve their memory and add value in terms of social sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Building Materials and Energy-Efficient Buildings)
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16 pages, 6350 KiB  
Article
Thermal, Physical and Mechanical Performance of Orange Peel Boards: A New Recycled Material for Building Application
by Matteo Vitale, María del Mar Barbero-Barrera and Santi Maria Cascone
Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7945; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147945 - 16 Jul 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 8462
Abstract
More than 124 million tons of oranges are consumed in the world annually. Transformation of orange fruit generates a huge quantity of waste, largely composed of peels. Some attempts to reuse by-products derived from citrus waste have been proposed for energy production, nutrient [...] Read more.
More than 124 million tons of oranges are consumed in the world annually. Transformation of orange fruit generates a huge quantity of waste, largely composed of peels. Some attempts to reuse by-products derived from citrus waste have been proposed for energy production, nutrient source or pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industries. However, their use in the building sector had not been researched. In this study, orange peels, in five different ratios, from 100% of wet peels to 75% and from 0% of dry peels to 25%, were submitted to a thermo-compression procedure. They were evaluated according to their physical (bulk density, water absorption, thickness swelling, surface soundness and thermal conductivity) and mechanical properties (bending strength and modulus of elasticity). The results showed that orange peels can be used as thermal insulation material. The addition of dried peels makes the structure of the board heterogeneous and thus increases its porosity and causes the loss of strength. Hence, the board with the sole use of wet peel, whose thermal conductivity is 0.065 W/mK while flexural strength is 0.09 MPa, is recommended. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Building Materials and Energy-Efficient Buildings)
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28 pages, 3732 KiB  
Article
Influence of Fine Recycled Concrete Powder on the Compressive Strength of Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) Using Artificial Neural Network
by Sara Boudali, Bahira Abdulsalam, Amir Hossein Rafiean, Sébastien Poncet, Ahmed Soliman and Adel ElSafty
Sustainability 2021, 13(6), 3111; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063111 - 12 Mar 2021
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 4022
Abstract
This paper aims to investigate the effect of fine recycled concrete powder (FRCP) on the strength of self-compacting concrete (SCC). For this purpose, a numerical artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed for strength prediction of SCC incorporating FRCP. At first, 240 experimental [...] Read more.
This paper aims to investigate the effect of fine recycled concrete powder (FRCP) on the strength of self-compacting concrete (SCC). For this purpose, a numerical artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed for strength prediction of SCC incorporating FRCP. At first, 240 experimental data sets were selected from the literature to develop the model. Approximately 60% of the database was used for training, 20% for testing, and the remaining 20% for the validation step. Model inputs included binder content, water/binder ratio, recycled concrete aggregates’ (RCA) content, percentage of supplementary cementitious materials (fly ash), amount of FRCP, and curing time. The model provided reliable results with mean square error (MSE) and regression values of 0.01 and 0.97, respectively. Additionally, to further validate the model, four experimental recycled self-compacting concrete (RSCC) samples were tested experimentally, and their properties were used as unseen data to the model. The results showed that the developed model can predict the compressive strength of RSCC with high accuracy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Building Materials and Energy-Efficient Buildings)
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