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Recent Advances in Technology and Properties of Composite Materials
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Recent Advances in Technology and Properties of Composite 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: 15 May 2025 | Viewed by 2413

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Xiaodi Dai

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre for Infrastructure Materials, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BX, UK
Interests: digital fabrication; low carbon cements; carbon mineralization; rheology; waste recycling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Luchuan Ding

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Civil Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Interests: structural engineering; progressive collapse; dynamics; RC structures; reliability

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recent technological advancements have propelled composite materials into novel realms of innovation and functionality. Composites, characterized by their composition of two or more constituent materials with markedly distinct physical or chemical properties, have garnered significant attention across diverse industries, spanning aerospace, automotive, construction, and biomedical fields. This heightened interest stems from the exceptional combination of properties that composites offer, encompassing high strength-to-weight ratios, customizable properties, resistance to corrosion, and flexibility in design. Over the past decade, notable strides have been achieved in enhancing the performance and characteristics of composite materials through pioneering manufacturing techniques, sophisticated characterization methodologies, and innovative material amalgamations. These advancements both broaden the application scope of composites and present opportunities to tackle critical challenges such as sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and scalability.

For our upcoming Special Issue, the authors are invited to submit exceptional papers focusing on various aspects within the scope of composite materials. These encompass manufacturing, design, validation, characterization/testing, performance assessment, application exploration, and sustainability evaluation. Additionally, we welcome submissions addressing the domains of functional and smart composite materials, innovative conceptualizations in composite materials, and studies pertaining to biomimetics and bio-based composites. We eagerly anticipate contributions that significantly advance our understanding and application of these diverse material systems.

Dr. Xiaodi Dai
Dr. Luchuan Ding
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

  • ceramic matrix composite
  • metal matrix composite
  • reinforced concrete
  • glass fiber-reinforced concrete
  • biocomposite
  • carbon fiber-reinforced polymer

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

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 15042 KiB  
Article
Mechanical Properties and Mesoscopic Numerical Simulation of Local Weakening in High-Performance Concrete after 10 Years of Alkali Solution Immersion
by Juan Guo, Jianbo Guo, Hongfa Yu, Haiyan Ma, Jinhua Zhang, Jun Yan, Fang Wang and Lifang Zhang
Buildings 2024, 14(7), 1965; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14071965 - 28 Jun 2024
Viewed by 715
Abstract
The natural environment in the high-altitude regions of Northwest China is extremely harsh, characterized by numerous salt lakes. The high concentrations of chloride salts, sulfates, and alkali metal ions in these areas can induce alkali–silica reactions (ASRs) in concrete. These reactions generate harmful [...] Read more.
The natural environment in the high-altitude regions of Northwest China is extremely harsh, characterized by numerous salt lakes. The high concentrations of chloride salts, sulfates, and alkali metal ions in these areas can induce alkali–silica reactions (ASRs) in concrete. These reactions generate harmful gel within the concrete, causing expansion and cracking, which significantly impacts the durability of concrete structures. This study investigates the evolution of the mechanical properties in high-performance concrete (HPC) under long-term ASR by incorporating different admixtures and varying the equivalent alkali content. A three-dimensional random aggregate mesoscopic model was used to simulate static compression tests under various operational conditions. Non-destructive testing methods were utilized to determine the expansion rate, internal, and surface damage variables of the concrete. The experimental results indicate that the 10-year expansion rate differs from the 1-year rate by approximately 1%, and under long-term ASR mitigation measures, the internal damage in the HPC is minimal, though the surface damage is more severe. As the equivalent alkali content increases, the compressive strength of the concrete cubes decreases, initially rising before falling by 5–15% over time. The HPC with only air-entraining agent added exhibited better mechanical performance than the HPC with both air-entraining and corrosion inhibitors added, with the poorest performance observed in the HPC with only a corrosion inhibitor. A relationship was established between the surface and internal damage variables, with the surface damage initially increasing rapidly before stabilizing as the internal damage rose. Numerical simulations effectively describe the damage behavior of HPC under static uniaxial compression. Comparisons with actual failure morphologies revealed that, in the cube compression tests, crack propagation directly penetrated both coarse and fine aggregates rather than circumventing them. The simulations closely matched the experimental outcomes, demonstrating their accuracy in modeling experiments. This study discusses the compressive mechanical properties of concrete under prolonged ASR through a combination of experimental and simulation approaches. It also delves into the impact of surface damage on the overall mechanical performance and failure modes of concrete. The findings provide experimental and simulation support for the concrete structures in regions with high alkali contents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Technology and Properties of Composite Materials)
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22 pages, 4266 KiB  
Article
Splitting Tensile Mechanical Performance and Mesoscopic Failure Mechanisms of High-Performance Concrete under 10-Year Corrosion from Salt Lake Brine
by Fang Wang, Hongfa Yu, Haiyan Ma, Ming Cheng, Jianbo Guo, Jinhua Zhang, Weifeng Liu, Weiquan Gao, Qinghua Tao and Juan Guo
Buildings 2024, 14(6), 1673; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14061673 - 5 Jun 2024
Viewed by 788
Abstract
In regions characterized by the challenging combination of brine corrosion in the salt lakes and river sand with alkali silica reaction (ASR) activity in areas of the Northwest, high-performance concrete (HPC) formulated with high-volume composite mineral admixtures as ASR suppression measures has been [...] Read more.
In regions characterized by the challenging combination of brine corrosion in the salt lakes and river sand with alkali silica reaction (ASR) activity in areas of the Northwest, high-performance concrete (HPC) formulated with high-volume composite mineral admixtures as ASR suppression measures has been preferred for civil engineering structures in the region. This study investigates the splitting tensile strength, corrosion products, microscopic structure characteristics, and mesoscopic mechanical mechanisms of splitting failure of such HPC under 10-year corrosion from salt lake brine. The relationship between mechanical properties and corrosion damage, as well as the characteristics of internal crack propagation paths and failure mechanisms of HPC under splitting load, are explored. The findings reveal that as the alkali content within HPC rises, corrosion damage intensifies, resulting in a reduction in splitting tensile strength. Moreover, a linear association between mechanical properties and corrosion damage is observed. Microscopic structural analysis and numerical simulation of the splitting failure process of HPC elucidate that while the substantial presence of mineral admixtures effectively suppresses the ASR risk associated with alkali-reactive aggregates in concrete, uneven ASR gel products persist. These discontinuous micro-fine interface cracks induced by the gel products and the cracks induced by the gel products around the selective alkali-active aggregate particles distributed in the local area are the initiation sources of mortar cracks in HPC splitting failure. In terms of the overall failure state observed during the concrete splitting process, mortar cracks manifest two distinct extension paths: along the coarse aggregate interface and directly through the aggregates themselves. Notably, a greater proportion of coarse aggregates are directly penetrated by mortar cracks, as opposed to the number of interface failures bypassing coarse aggregates. More importantly, the above work establishes a theoretical reference in three dimensions: macroscopic, mesoscopic, and microscopic, for studying concrete corrosion damage in complex environments such as salt lake brine corrosion and ASR inhibition. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Technology and Properties of Composite Materials)
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20 pages, 7900 KiB  
Article
Impact Toughness Analysis and Numerical Simulation of Coral Aggregate Concrete at Various Strength Grades: Experimental and Data Investigations
by Jianbo Guo, Hongfa Yu, Haiyan Ma, Sangchu Quan, Ting Liu and Xiaodi Dai
Buildings 2024, 14(6), 1605; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14061605 - 1 Jun 2024
Viewed by 435
Abstract
This paper comprehensively investigates the dynamic mechanical properties of concrete by employing a 75 mm diameter Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB). To be detailed further, dynamic compression experiments are conducted on coral aggregate seawater concrete (CASC) to unveil the relationship between the toughness [...] Read more.
This paper comprehensively investigates the dynamic mechanical properties of concrete by employing a 75 mm diameter Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB). To be detailed further, dynamic compression experiments are conducted on coral aggregate seawater concrete (CASC) to unveil the relationship between the toughness ratio, strain rate, and different strength grades. A three-dimensional random convex polyhedral aggregate mesoscopic model is also utilized to simulate the damage modes of concrete and its components under varying strain rates. Additionally, the impact of different aggregate volume rates on the damage modes of CASC is also studied. The results show that strain rate has a significant effect on CASC, and the strength grade influences both the damage mode and toughness index of the concrete. The growth rate of the toughness index exhibits a distinct change when the 28-day compressive strength of CASC ranges between 60 and 80 MPa, with three times an increment in the toughness index of high-strength CASC comparing to low-strength CASC undergoing high strain. The introduction of pre-peak and post-peak toughness highlights the lowest pre-to-post-peak toughness ratio at a strain rate of approximately 80 s−1, which indicates a shift in the concrete’s damage mode. Various damage modes of CASC are under dynamic impact and are consequently defined based on these findings. The LS-DYNA finite element software is employed to analyze the damage morphology of CASC at different strain rates, and the numerical simulation results align with the experimental observations. By comparing the numerical simulation results of different models with varying aggregate volume rates, it is reported that CASC’s failure mode is minimized at an aggregate volume rate of 20%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Technology and Properties of Composite Materials)
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