scholarly journals Special Issue of Environment-Friendly Construction Materials

Materials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaopeng Wu ◽  
Inge Hoff ◽  
Serji Amirkhanian ◽  
Yue Xiao

This special issue, “Environment-Friendly Construction Materials”, has been proposed and organized as a means to present recent developments in the field of construction materials. For this reason, the articles highlighted in this editorial relate to different aspects of construction materials, from pavement materials to building materials, from material design to structural design, from self-healing to cold recycling, from asphalt mixture to cement concrete.

Author(s):  
Leopold Mbereyaho ◽  
Jean de Dieu Mutabaruka ◽  
Abaho G. Gershome ◽  
Armel Ineza ◽  
Ezra Ngirabatware

The construction industry is one of the rapidly growing and the cost analysis suggests that the materials cost is constantly increasing. The continuous extraction of aggregates intensively used in the field is negatively acting to the environment. Therefore research in construction materials should focus not only on discovering new alternative materials but also in appreciating the quality of those locally available for their better application. This research aimed at evaluating the performance of bamboo and mud bricks as two available local building materials, especially with regards not only to their strength but also to new performance concepts which are affordability, energy efficiency and environment friendly aspects. The study comprised mainly of laboratory tests of used materials and cost estimation analysis. Study results established that the considered bamboo and mud bricks, made in ordinary soils and reinforced by sisal fibers were reusable, environment friendly materials and energy efficient, with the bamboo showing the thermal conductivity equal to 0.1496 W/mK. Regarding the compressive strength, reinforced mud bricks with sisal fibers showed an increased value from 1.75 MPA to 4.29MPA, what was in line with related previous studies. The average compressive strength of the studied Arundinaria Alpine bamboo was established at 133,7MPA, while its tensile strength was 88.16MPA and these values were reasonable with comparison to other conventional materials. It is recommended that further research in checking the performance of other types of bamboo as well as about new construction technologies be undertaken in order to enhance the service life of both bamboo and mud bricks.Keywords: Affordability, Bamboo, Conventional concrete, Materials strength, Mud reinforced bricks, Sustainability


Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1575
Author(s):  
Yue Xiao ◽  
Sandra Erkens ◽  
Mingliang Li ◽  
Tao Ma ◽  
Xueyan Liu

This Special Issue “Sustainable Designed Pavement Materials” has been proposed and organized as a means to present recent developments in the field of environmentally-friendly designed pavement materials. For this reason, articles included in this special issue relate to different aspects of pavement materials, from industry solid waste recycling to pavement materials recycling, from pavement materials modification to asphalt performance characterization, from pavement defect detection to pavement maintenance, and from asphalt pavement to cement concrete pavement, as highlighted in this editorial.


Coatings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1017
Author(s):  
Luigi Calabrese ◽  
Edoardo Proverbio

“Recent Developments on Functional Coatings for Industrial Applications” assessed some emerging aspects concerning the recent research progress in the designing, manufacturing and tailoring of new functional coatings for industrial applications. The purpose was to address the recent development in functional coatings synthesis, characterization and optimization, highlighting its emerging industrial applicability in many industrial fields, such as self-healing, self-cleaning or sustainable energy technologies. The multidisciplinary nature of the issue represents an added value aimed at better enhancing the practical relevance and the technological versatility of the functional surface engineering design.


2019 ◽  
Vol 945 ◽  
pp. 36-41
Author(s):  
Michail Bruyako ◽  
L. Grigoryeva

As a result of the influence of the corrosive environment, the construction materials have a decrease in performance. To increase the service life of the structures, continuous monitoring and, if necessary, restorative repairs are carried out. One of the ways to maintain the initial properties for materials is to give them a self-healing effect by introducing a specially developed additive containing a bioactive component in the manufacturing process. The article presents the results of research on the ability of building materials based on mineral binders to self-repair. Mixtures containing nutrient medium for the biomass of aerobic bacteria were used as bioadditives. Portland cement and gypsum binder were used as mineral binders. The obtained results allow to make a conclusion about a significant change in the rheological properties of cement-sand mortars due to the presence of biological surface-active substances that are part of the cells of microorganisms. The effect of changing the concentration of cells on the setting time and on the strength characteristics of cement-sand mortars was established.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 9033
Author(s):  
Valery Lesovik ◽  
Roman Fediuk ◽  
Mugahed Amran ◽  
Nikolai Vatin ◽  
Roman Timokhin

A person spends most of his life in rooms built from various building materials; therefore, the optimization of the human environment is an important and complex task that requires interdisciplinary approaches. Within the framework of the new theory of geomimetics in the building science of materials, the concepts of technogenic metasomatism, the affinity of microstructures, and the possibilities of creating composites that respond to operational loads and can self-heal defects have been created. The article aims to introduce the basic principles of the science of geomimetics in terms of the design and synthesis of building materials. The study’s novelty lies in the concept of technogenic metasomatism and the affinity of microstructures developed by the authors. Novel technologies have been proposed to produce a wide range of composite binders (including waterproof and frost-resistant gypsum binders) using novel forms of source materials with high free internal energy. The affinity microstructures for anisotropic materials have been formulated, which involves the design of multilayered composites and the repair of compounds at three levels (nano-, micro-, macro-). The proposed theory of technogenic metasomatism in the building science of materials represents an evolutionary stage for composites that are categorized by their adaptation to evolving circumstances in the operation of buildings and structures. Materials for three-dimensional additive technologies in construction are proposed, and examples of these can be found in nature. Different ways of applying our concept for the design of building materials in future works are proposed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Stanaszek-Tomal

The right selection of building materials plays an important role when designing a building to fall within the definition of sustainable development. One of the most commonly used construction materials is concrete. Its production causes a high energy burden on the environment. Concrete is susceptible to external factors. As a result, cracks occur in the material. Achieving its durability along with the assumptions of sustainable construction means there is a need to use an environmentally friendly and effective technique of alternative crack removal in the damaged material. Bacterial self-healing concrete reduces costs in terms of detection of damage and maintenance of concrete structures, thus ensuring a safe lifetime of the structure. Bacterial concrete can improve its durability. However, it is not currently used on an industrial scale. The high cost of the substrates used means that they are not used on an industrial scale. Many research units try to reduce production costs through various methods; however, bacterial concrete can be an effective response to sustainability.


The recycling and reuse of materials and objects were extensive in the past, but have rarely been embedded into models of the economy; even more rarely has any attempt been made to assess the scale of these practices. Recent developments, including the use of large datasets, computational modelling, and high-resolution analytical chemistry, are increasingly offering the means to reconstruct recycling and reuse, and even to approach the thorny matter of quantification. Growing scholarly interest in the topic has also led to an increasing recognition of these practices from those employing more traditional methodological approaches, which are sometimes coupled with innovative archaeological theory. Thanks to these efforts, it has been possible for the first time in this volume to draw together archaeological case studies on the recycling and reuse of a wide range of materials, from papyri and textiles, to amphorae, metals and glass, building materials and statuary. Recycling and reuse occur at a range of site types, and often in contexts which cross-cut material categories, or move from one object category to another. The volume focuses principally on the Roman Imperial and late antique world, over a broad geographical span ranging from Britain to North Africa and the East Mediterranean. Last, but not least, the volume is unique in focusing upon these activities as a part of the status quo, and not just as a response to crisis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2756
Author(s):  
Federica Vitale ◽  
Maurizio Nicolella

Because the production of aggregates for mortar and concrete is no longer sustainable, many attempts have been made to replace natural aggregates (NA) with recycled aggregates (RA) sourced from factories, recycling centers, and human activities such as construction and demolition works (C&D). This article reviews papers concerning mortars with fine RA from C&D debris, and from the by-products of the manufacturing and recycling processes of building materials. A four-step methodology based on searching, screening, clustering, and summarizing was proposed. The clustering variables were the type of aggregate, mix design parameters, tested properties, patents, and availability on the market. The number and the type of the clustering variables of each paper were analysed and compared. The results showed that the mortars were mainly characterized through their physical and mechanical properties, whereas few durability and thermal analyses were carried out. Moreover, few fine RA were sourced from the production waste of construction materials. Finally, there were no patents or products available on the market. The outcomes presented in this paper underlined the research trends that are useful to improve the knowledge on the suitability of fine RA from building-related processes in mortars.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 2291
Author(s):  
Alessandro P. Fantilli ◽  
Daria Jóźwiak-Niedźwiedzka

The environmental impact of the Portland cement production and the large use of cement-based building materials is a growing problem [...]


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