Reaction Mechanism and Properties of Cement-Based Materials (2nd Edition)

Dear Colleagues,

Cement is one of the most important building materials in human history, and is used to build various infrastructures due to its high strength, excellent durability, and relatively low cost. The microstructure of cement-based materials is composed of a cement paste system, stone, porosity, water content, and other components. Among them, the cement paste system, mainly the hydration product of clinker or a reaction precursor, is the most important component of cement-based materials. The microstructure of a reaction product, pores, and the constituent phase, as well as the hardening process of a cement paste system, have crucial influences on the mechanical and physical properties of the resulting materials. The in-depth understanding of the relationship between the microstructure and macroscopic properties of cement-based materials helps to design more efficient and stable cementitious materials for construction. Cement-based materials are multi-phase and multi-scale structures, and each component has a different degree of influence on the overall mechanical and physical properties. This Special Issue focuses on, but is not limited to, the mechanisms of the physicochemical effects on the cracking and toughening properties of cement-based materials on the macroscopic scale, such as gelling components, aggregates, admixtures, fibers, the water–binder ratio, curing system, and environmental effect; the effects of micrometer-scale reinforcement materials, such as microbeads, whiskers, and osmotic crystals, on filling, bridging, bonding, and osmotic crystallization in cement-based material systems; the enhancing effects and mechanisms of nano-scale reinforcement materials, such as nano-SiO₂, nano-CaCO₃, graphene, carbon nanotubes, micro-organisms, nano-polymers, etc., on the microstructure of hydration products as well as the growth mode and pore structure of hardened paste; and the conjugate toughening effects of cross-scale components such as “carbon fiber + carbon nanotubes” and “fiber + whisker + graphene” on different scales of cement-based materials.

It is my pleasure to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue, “Reaction Mechanism and Properties of Cement-Based Materials”. Full papers, communications, discussions, and reviews related to the current research, application, and development of strengthening, toughening, and durability enhancement components of different scales of cement-based materials, reaction mechanisms, and properties of various cementitious materials, including Portland cement, aluminate cement, sulfate aluminum cement, ferroaluminate cement, and phosphate cement, are welcomed.

Dr. Weiting Xu
Guest Editor

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• cement-based materials
• cement-based composite materials
• kinetics of hydration evolution
• strengthening, toughening, and durability enhancement effect and mechanism
• multi-phase and multi-scale structures of cement-based materials
• macro-properties and micro-structure
• numerical simulation study of cement-based materials
• macro-properties and micro-structure of cement or concrete
• utilization of waste in the production of sustainable cement-based materials
• reaction mechanism of admixtures and their effects on the properties of cement or concrete
• mechanism and properties of 3D-printing cement materials
• cement-based functional materials
• portland cement, aluminate cement, sulfate aluminum cement, ferroaluminate cement, and phosphate cement