Concrete and Building Materials

Dear Colleagues,

As well-preserved ancient Roman concrete constructions show, concrete is one of the oldest construction materials. However, in the last few decades, due to extensive research and technological advancement, its characteristics have been considerably improved and its shortcomings overcome. As a result, different kinds of high-performance concrete have recently been developed and used. Additionally, substitutions for conventional aggregates in concrete have been studied using various eco-efficient materials, such as rubber tires, steel slag, plastic waste, recycled aggregates of construction and demolition waste, etc.

This Special issue is dedicated to both traditional building materials (concrete, steel, mortars, etc.) as well as new and advanced materials, which could either be traditional materials with enhanced properties or newly developed ones with high performance that have found extensive application in civil engineering. In construction, these materials are being implemented in infrastructures and in both load-bearing as well as non-load-bearing structural elements.

Currently, engineers and researchers are primarily interested in exploring traditional, new and/or advanced materials (e.g., concrete, steel, wood, mortars, polymers, glass, FRP, and coatings) to optimize technical solutions that require materials with specific characteristics and tight tolerances and enable their widespread use in various engineering applications and modern building technology.

The identification of the behavior or properties of structures (e.g., deformation, energy consumption, and damage assessment) and the control of the structural response to external (e.g., wind and earthquake) or internal (e.g., acoustic and temperature variations) influences have led to the development of high-performance materials which are either used for entire structures or selectively in critical structural components.

Building materials must also help to address the new challenges of durability in a changing climate. In the context of global climate change control policies, improving the energy efficiency of both new and existing structures poses a major challenge, but has great potential for saving energy. Redeveloped or refurbished nearly zero-energy buildings can be achieved by designing sophisticated solutions of innovative technical concepts using materials that meet the requirements.

Issues related to the sustainability of building materials also need to be considered, such as environmentally friendly options or the most desirable option being the use of recycled materials or byproducts from other products.

Finally, an important factor that needs to be considered is the economic viability of the material. Based on implementation, the cost effectiveness or cost/performance ratio of a material is important, because it must be demonstrated to be suitable without compromising quality. Such factors need to be considered while taking into consideration the life cycle of materials and energy efficiency within the circular economy design process.

This Special Issue aims to cover recent research on concrete, traditional and advanced building materials, their properties, and the possibility of their application in construction practice.

Assoc. Prof. Marijana Hadzima-Nyarko
Guest Editor

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