Studies on the Characterization and Technology of Construction Materials

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Materials, and Repair & Renovation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2025 | Viewed by 2445

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
L'Institut de Recherche en Constructibilité (IRC) - ESTP Paris, Loge, 28 Av. du Président Wilson, 94230 Cachan, France
Interests: microstructure; alternative binders; cement hydration; bio-based materials; earthen construction; mechanical and hygrothermal performances

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Guest Editor
EPF Engineering School, 21 Bd. Berthelot, 34000 Montpellier, France
Interests: earthen construction; thermal energy storage; bio-based materials; heat transfers; sustainable buildings; phase change materials; energy efficiency in building

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
L'Institut de Recherche en Constructibilité (IRC) - ESTP Paris, 94230 Cachan, France
Interests: heat and mass transfer; hygrothermal characterization; thermal comfort; earthen construction; physical modeling; artificial intelligence modeling; energy systems; energy efficiency in building

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The construction industry is undergoing a tremendous transformation in order to provide resilient, sustainable housing. Research on construction materials is at the forefront of this transformation, given the significance of reducing carbon footprints, improving durability, and assuring occupant comfort.

With high-quality contributions, this Special Issue aims to showcase current advances in the field of construction and building materials. Thanks to multi-physics and multi-scale strategies, this will allow us to enhance existing literature and achieve an expanded knowledge of modern construction materials. More specifically, authors with research interests in the following topics are encouraged to submit their work:

* Hygrothermal and/or mechanical characterization of eco-friendly construction materials.

* Experimental or numerical investigation into new construction materials.

* Innovative methodologies for assessing the sustainability of construction materials.

Prof. Dr. Yassine El Mendili
Dr. Karim Touati
Dr. Mohammed-Hichem Benzaama
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

  • materials for sustainable construction
  • construction materials
  • hygrothermal performance
  • mechanical performance
  • experimental characterization
  • numerical modelling

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 9366 KiB  
Article
Indoor Air Quality in Cob Buildings: In Situ Studies and Artificial Neural Network Modeling
by Karim Touati, Mohammed-Hichem Benzaama, Yassine El Mendili, Malo Le Guern, François Streiff and Steve Goodhew
Buildings 2023, 13(11), 2892; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13112892 - 19 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1862
Abstract
Knowledge of indoor air quality (IAQ) in cob buildings during the first few months following their delivery is of vital importance in preventing occupants’ health problems. The present research focuses on evaluating IAQ in cob buildings through a prototype built in Normandy, France. [...] Read more.
Knowledge of indoor air quality (IAQ) in cob buildings during the first few months following their delivery is of vital importance in preventing occupants’ health problems. The present research focuses on evaluating IAQ in cob buildings through a prototype built in Normandy, France. To achieve this, the prototype was equipped with a set of sensors to monitor various parameters that determine indoor and outdoor air quality. These parameters include relative humidity (RH), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), particulate matter (PM1 and PM10), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The obtained experimental results indicate that, overall, there is good indoor air quality in the prototype building. However, there are some noteworthy findings, including high indoor RH and occasional spikes in CO2, PM1, PM10, and VOCs concentrations. The high RH is believed to be a result of the ongoing drying process of the cob walls, while the peaks in pollutants are likely to be attributed to human presence and the earthen floor deterioration. To ensure consistent good air quality, this study recommends the use of a properly sized Controlled Mechanical Ventilation system. Additionally, this study explored IAQ in the cob building from a numerical perspective. A Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model was developed and trained to predict pollutant concentrations inside the building. A validation test was conducted on the CO2 concentration data collected on-site, and the results indicated that the LSTM model has accurately predicted the evolution of CO2 concentration within the prototype building over an extended period. Full article
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