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Advances in Low Carbon Concrete and Structures

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Green Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 November 2024 | Viewed by 1043

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MI 65409, USA
Interests: Carbon mineralization; thermal energy storage material; solid waste upcycling; cement chemistry; future types of cement
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO 65409, USA
Interests: future types of cement; alternative types of cement ; solid waste utilization; carbon mineralization; ultra-high-performance concrete; concrete repair and rehabilitation
Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO, USA
Interests: future cements (cement efficiency enhancing strategies, novel supplementary cementitious materials, and alternative cements); solid waste upcycling; massive CO2 capture, utilization, and mineralization; thermal energy storage and micro-grid integration; materials characterization; multi-scale modeling; concrete durability; NDT and sensing; nano- and biological technologies in construction; and carbon-negative recovery of critical minerals (e.g., Ni, Co, Li, and Cu)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The construction industry is shifting toward sustainability, focusing on reducing carbon emissions associated with concrete production, construction activities, and structures. The carbon emission from concrete production accounts for 7–8% of global atmospheric CO2 emission, and the carbon emission from buildings due to thermal loads is responsible for >10%. Achieving the paramount transformation to a sustainable construction industry will make a significant difference in combating climate change. To this end, much more research endeavor is needed, regarding (1) alternative cement formulations, including the novel low-carbon cement and the use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) to partially replace cement; (2) recycled aggregates from solid waste and demolished concrete as sustainable alternatives; (3) optimization of concrete mixture to minimize cementitious material content while maintaining performance and durability, or enhancing concrete durability; (4) innovative construction techniques, such as 3D printing and prefabrication, to improve construction efficiency; (5)  carbon capture from industrial emissions and carbon utilization in concrete production, including techniques such as injecting CO2 into fresh concrete, carbon curing, and carbon mineralization in cement/SCMs/aggregates; (6) carbon footprint reduction innovations, such as adoption of green energy; (7) carbon footprint and cost estimation over the life cycle of materials and structures; (8) the embracement of green structures through novel design, low-carbon materials, decarbonation techniques, and artificial intelligence; and (9) large-scale deployment and relevant regulations development.

We invite you to contribute your innovative findings in the above-mentioned aspects to propel the discourse on advancements in low-carbon concrete structures, fighting together for a zero-carbon construction industry. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. The topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Novel low-carbon cement (e.g., low-calcium cement, blended cement, magnesium phosphate cement, and geopolymer);
  • Conventional and alternative SCMs;
  • Low-carbon concrete (e.g., novel admixtures, recycled aggregate, low-cement mixture design, and high-performance concrete);
  • Carbon utilization techniques in concrete;
  • Low-carbon concrete structure;
  • Integration of machine learning or artificial intelligence;
  • Innovations in construction (e.g., green energy and 3D printing);
  • Intelligent structure and materials;
  • Energy-saving structures (e.g., phase change material-integrated functional concrete structure);
  • Carbon footprint calculation and Life cycle assessment (LCA);
  • Standards/Policies/Certificates development for low-carbon materials/structures.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Wenyu Liao
Dr. Jihui Qin
Dr. Hongyan Ma
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. Materials 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 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

  • low-carbon structure
  • low-carbon concrete
  • supplementary cementitious material (SCM)
  • alternative cementitious material
  • carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS)
  • carbon footprint
  • embodied carbon
  • thermal energy storage (TES)
  • life cycle assessment (LCA).

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 7303 KiB  
Article
Chloride Binding Behavior and Pore Structure Characteristics of Low-Calcium High-Strength Cement Pastes
by Ziwei Wang, Minglei Guo, Chunlin Liu, Zhong Lv, Tengfei Xiang, Shunquan Zhang and Depeng Chen
Materials 2024, 17(13), 3129; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17133129 - 26 Jun 2024
Viewed by 632
Abstract
While Portland cement produces large amounts of carbon dioxide, low-calcium high-strength cements effectively reduce carbon emissions by decreasing the proportion of high-calcium minerals. In order to enhance the practical application value of low-calcium high-strength cement, the effects of mineral admixtures on the chloride [...] Read more.
While Portland cement produces large amounts of carbon dioxide, low-calcium high-strength cements effectively reduce carbon emissions by decreasing the proportion of high-calcium minerals. In order to enhance the practical application value of low-calcium high-strength cement, the effects of mineral admixtures on the chloride binding capacity and pore structure characteristics of low-calcium high-strength cement pastes were investigated by equilibrium method and mercury intrusion method. The results showed that the chloride binding capacity of low-calcium high-strength cement pastes is superior to that of Portland cement. Fly ash and slag enhance this capacity by promoting monosulfoaluminate and C-S-H gel formation, with fly ash being more effective. Ground limestone also boosts chloride binding when incorporated at less than 10 wt%. However, sulfates have a more significant negative impact on chloride binding capacity in low-calcium high-strength cement pastes compared to Portland cement. The porosity of low-calcium high-strength cement pastes exhibits contrasting trends with the addition of fly ash, ground limestone, and slag. Fly ash and limestone initially coarsen the pore structure but later facilitate the transition of larger pores to smaller ones. In contrast, slag initially has little impact but later promotes the conversion of large capillary pores to medium ones, optimizing the pore structure. Notably, above 10 wt% fly ash, the critical pore diameter decreases with additional fly ash except at 10% where it increases for 3 days. Ground limestone enlarges the critical pore diameter, and this effect intensifies with higher content. During early hydration, slag decreases the critical pore diameter, but its impact diminishes in later stages. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Low Carbon Concrete and Structures)
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