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The New Generation of Concrete: Use of Eco-Efficient Aggregates, Binders and Water

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (26 March 2023) | Viewed by 15842

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Jorge de Brito

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Guest Editor

Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049–001 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: sustainable construction (recycled aggregates in concrete and mortars); bridge and building management systems; buildings service life (prediction); life cycle assessment; construction technology
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Prof. Dr. Miguel Bravo

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Guest Editor

CERIS, IST-ID, Department of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Georresources, Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: materials science; sustainability in construction; recycled aggregate concrete; cementitious materials from industrial byproducts; supplementary cementitious materials; alkali-activated materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

During the 20th century, the yearly carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions rose from 1500 to 25000 Mton. These emissions are caused by many activities, including construction that, due to cement production alone, contributes with more than 6% of this value. The Paris Agreement has established the urgent need to fight climate changes happening to the planet.

Today, one of the main objectives of this sector is to provide the construction industry with a new way of producing structural concrete with a positive environmental impact throughout its life cycle. To achieve that, synergies between three vectors need to be developed: replacement of concrete’s traditional binder with one of lower environmental impact; use of recycled aggregates (RA) instead of natural ones; and reuse of alternative water instead of tap water.

This Special Issue focuses on the development of sustainable cementitious composites, either through the replacement of natural aggregates with recycled aggregates, or the use of alternative sustainable binders to Portland cement or the use of reused water.

The main topics covered in this Special Issue include (but are not limited to):

Experimental characterization of cementitious composites containing recycled aggregates from all origins;
Experimental characterization of cementitious composites containing alternative sustainable binders;
Experimental characterization of cementitious composites containing recycled water;
Development of analytical methods and numerical models applied to the characterization of sustainable materials and structures produced with them;
Development of standards or specifications for evaluating the performance of sustainable materials;
Development of a environmental and economic assessment of sustainable mixes and structures with them;
Development of large scale models of sustainable materials, measuring the impacts of these new materials.

Original studies and reviews on subjects other than the aforementioned that are deemed to contribute to an advance in the knowledge of the sustainable materials and their applications are welcome in this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Jorge de Brito
Prof. Dr. Miguel Bravo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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.

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Keywords

sustainable materials
recycled aggregate concrete
alternative binders
supplementary cementitious materials
construction and demolition waste
industrial waste
recycled water
low environmental impact

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 3855 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental Study on the Mechanics and Impact Resistance of Multiphase Lightweight Aggregate Concrete

by Jian Meng, Ziling Xu, Zeli Liu, Song Chen, Chen Wang, Ben Zhao and An Zhou

Sustainability 2022, 14(15), 9606; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159606 - 4 Aug 2022

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 1914

Abstract

Multiphase lightweight aggregate concrete (MLAC) is a green composite building material prepared by replacing part of the crushed stone in concrete with other coarse aggregates to save construction ore resources. For the best MLAC performance in this paper, four kinds of coarse aggregate—coal gangue ceramsite, fly ash ceramsite, pumice and coral—were used in different dosages (10%, 20%, 30% and 40%) of the total coarse aggregate replacement. Mechanical property and impact resistance tests on each MLAC group showed that, when coal gangue ceramsite was 20%, the mechanical properties and impact resistance of concrete were the best. The compressive, flexural and splitting tensile strength and impact energy dissipation increased by 29.25, 19.93, 13.89 and 8.2%, respectively, compared with benchmark concrete. The impact loss evolution equation established by the two-parameter Weibull distribution model effectively describes the damage evolution process of MLAC under dynamic loading. The results of a comprehensive performance evaluation of four multiphase light aggregate concretes are coal gangue ceramsite concrete (CGC) > fly ash ceramsite concrete (FAC) > coral aggregate concrete (CC) > pumice aggregate concrete (PC). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The New Generation of Concrete: Use of Eco-Efficient Aggregates, Binders and Water)

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25 pages, 13093 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Foam Concrete Produced with Recycled Concrete Powder and Phase Change Materials

by Osman Gencel, Mehrab Nodehi, Gökhan Hekimoğlu, Abid Ustaoğlu, Ahmet Sarı, Gökhan Kaplan, Oguzhan Yavuz Bayraktar, Mucahit Sutcu and Togay Ozbakkaloglu

Sustainability 2022, 14(12), 7458; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127458 - 18 Jun 2022

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 2508

Abstract

In construction industry, phase change materials (PCMs), have recently been studied and found effective in increasing energy efficiency of buildings through their high capacity to store thermal energy. In this study, a combination of Capric (CA)-Palmitic acid (PA) with optimum mass ratio of 85–15% is used and impregnated with recycled concrete powder (RCP). The resulting composite is produced as foam concrete and tested for a series of physico-mechanical, thermal and microstructural properties. The results show that recycled concrete powder can host PCMs without leaking if used in proper quantity. Further, the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results show that the produced RCP/CA-PA composites have a latent heat capacity of 34.1 and 33.5 J/g in liquid and solid phases, respectively, which is found to remain stable even after 300 phase changing cycles. In this regard, the indoor temperature performance of the rooms supplied with composite foams made with PCMs, showed significantly enhanced efficiency. In addition, it is shown that inclusion of PCMs in foam concrete can significantly reduce porosity and pore connectivity, resulting in enhanced mechanical properties. The results are found promising and point to the suitability of using RCP-impregnated PCMs in foam composites to enhance thermo-regulative performance of buildings. On this basis, the use of PCMs for enhanced thermal properties of buildings are recommended, especially to be used in conjunction with foam concrete. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The New Generation of Concrete: Use of Eco-Efficient Aggregates, Binders and Water)

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12 pages, 3605 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Thermal Performance of Concrete with Reactive Magnesium Oxide as an Alternative Binder

by Javier A. Forero, Miguel Bravo, João Pacheco, Jorge de Brito and Luís Evangelista

Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 5885; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14105885 - 12 May 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2267

Abstract

This study evaluates the thermal conductivity of concrete produced with reactive magnesium oxide (MgO) as a partial replacement for cement. MgO is a viable option for the concrete industry, mainly due to its benefits in sustainability and reducing CO₂ emissions compared to cement emissions. Four different MgO’s produced in Australia, Canada, and Spain were used in concrete mixes as a partial replacement of cement at 5%, 10%, and 20% by mass. The experimental results showed that the thermal conductivity is higher when MgO increases in mixes after 28 days of curing. With the incorporation of MgO, the thermal conductivity increased between 3.2% and 10.2%, and the mechanical properties declined: compressive strength between 12.7% to 26.2%, splitting tensile strength between 9.7% to 34.0%, and modulus of elasticity between −4.1% to 7.8%. Finally, it is important to highlight that the addition of different contents of MgO in the concrete mixes modified the microstructure of the cement matrix. As a result, there was an increase in porosity, which negatively influenced the mechanical properties and thermal conductivity. Therefore, the relationships between these properties were also analyzed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The New Generation of Concrete: Use of Eco-Efficient Aggregates, Binders and Water)

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17 pages, 2561 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Iron and Aluminium Production Wastes as Exclusive Components of Alkali Activated Binders—Towards a Sustainable Alternative

by Nuno Cristelo, Fernando Castro, Tiago Miranda, Zahra Abdollahnejad and Ana Fernández-Jiménez

Sustainability 2021, 13(17), 9938; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179938 - 4 Sep 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2316

Abstract

The sustainability of resources is becoming a worldwide concern, including construction and building materials, especially with the alarming increase rate in global population. Alternative solutions to ordinary Portland cement (OPC) as a concrete binder are being studied, namely the so-called alkali-activated cements (AAC). These are less harmful to the environment, as lower CO₂ emissions are associated with their fabrication, and their mechanical properties can be similar to those of the OPC. The aim of developing alkali-activated materials (AAM) is the maximization of the incorporated recycled materials, which minimises the CO₂ emissions and cost, while also achieving acceptable properties for construction applications. Therefore, various efforts are being made to produce sustainable construction materials based on different sources and raw materials. Recently, significant attention has been raised from the by-products of the steelmaking industry, mostly due to their widespread availability. In this paper, ladle slag (LS) resulting from steelmaking operations was studied as the main precursor to produce AAC, combined with phosphating bath sludge—or phosphate sludge (PS)—and aluminium anodising sludge (AS), two by-products of the surface treatment of metals, in replacement rates of 10 and 20 wt.%. The precursors were activated by two different alkaline solutions: a combination of commercial sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate (COM), and a disposed solution from the cleaning of aluminium extrusion steel dies (CLE). This study assesses the influence of these by-products from the steelmaking industry (PS, AS and CLE) on the performance of the alkali-activated LS, and specifically on its fresh and hardened state properties, including rheology, heat of hydration, compressive strength and microstructure and mineralogy (X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy and Fourier transform infra-red. The results showed that the CLE had no negative impact on the strength of the AAM incorporating PS or/and AS, while increasing the strength of the LS alone by 2×. Additionally, regardless of the precursor combination, the use of a commercial activator (COM) led to more fluid pastes, compared with the CLE. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The New Generation of Concrete: Use of Eco-Efficient Aggregates, Binders and Water)

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Review

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30 pages, 6965 KiB

Open AccessReview

Influence of Different Types of Wastes on Mechanical and Durability Properties of Interlocking Concrete Block Paving (ICBP): A Review

by Turhan Bilir, Beyza Fahriye Aygun, Jinyan Shi, Osman Gencel and Togay Ozbakkaloglu

Sustainability 2022, 14(7), 3733; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14073733 - 22 Mar 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 5324

Abstract

This paper examines the compressive, flexural and tensile strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity, unit weight, water absorption, freeze-thawing, thermal and abrasion resistance, and microstructural properties of Interlocking Concrete Block Paving (ICBP) containing major industrial and agricultural wastes along with an assessment of their environmental effects, with a specific focus on recent work. The color, shape, and patterns of the blocks, their advantages, and their relationship with sustainability are discussed in this study. In addition, a limited number of studies that investigated the use of other byproducts are presented. Based on a review of the existing studies in the literature, recommendations are made for future studies. It has been determined that up to 30% inclusion of waste evaluated in ICBP provides optimal performance in terms of the evaluated properties. Moreover, as ICBP provides opportunities for low-energy concrete block production, the environmental burden and total cost of concrete and concrete block pavements can be reduced. Considering these benefits, studies performed on this subject seem promising. However, one of the missing points in ICBP is that the surface layer is not homogeneous due to the presence of various material types due to the coating design and analysis method. Therefore, modified slab analysis, layered elastic analysis, and finite element analysis can be used to analyze ICBP in detail. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The New Generation of Concrete: Use of Eco-Efficient Aggregates, Binders and Water)

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