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Recent Development in Construction and Building Materials Using Natural and Mineral Fibers

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 December 2022) | Viewed by 25172

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Mehran Khan

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Guest Editor

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong 999077, China
Interests: hybrid fiber reinforced concrete; multi-scale fiber reinforced composites; analytical modelling of hybrid fiber concrete; durability of fiber concrete; structural and fire engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Piotr Smarzewski

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geodesy, Military University of Technology, 00-908 Warsaw, Poland
Interests: eco-efficient concrete; high performance fiber reinforced cementitious composites; durability of fiber reinforced concrete; experimental testing and numerical analysis of concrete materials and structures
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Prof. Dr. Mingli Cao

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Guest Editor

Department of Civil Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
Interests: high-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites; micro/nano-modified cement-based materials; multi-scale fiber reinforced cementitious composites; functional porous cement-based materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Muhammad Usman Farooqi

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Guest Editor Assistant

Department of Civil Engineering, Capital University of Science and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan
Interests: natural fiber reinforced concrete; fiber reinforced composites; construction material; agricultural/plant fibers concrete; sustainable development; green construction

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainability has become the most critical concern of the construction industry. Scientific solutions should be promoted for innovation in eco-friendly construction and building materials. For this purpose, natural resources such as natural and mineral fibers need to be considered for green construction. Additionally, the role of supplementary cementitious materials together with the natural fibers in construction are also important aspects to study in the future. Particularly, the role of geopolymers and other waste/recycled materials needs to be considered in cement-based composites with natural fibers for the responsible development of new materials. Additionally, the use of artificial intelligence is receiving attention from scholars with the aim of predicting the parameters of cementitious materials while minimizing the experimental efforts and cost. Thus, the goal of this collection is to encourage and promote the latest information on Sustainable Construction and Building Materials.

This Special Issue aims to cover scientific considerations and research on new developments in the field of eco-friendly construction, providing a useful resource for readers, addressing the up-to-date research contributions. Relevant topics include, but are not limited to:

Natural-fiber-reinforced concrete.
Fiber-reinforced geopolymer composites.
Eco-friendly construction and building materials.
Durability of natural/plant fiber-reinforced concrete.
Fire performance of fiber-reinforced concrete with use of natural fiber or waste materials.
Advanced artificial intelligence for prediction of the properties of sustainable construction materials.

Dr. Mehran Khan
Dr. Piotr Smarzewski
Prof. Dr. Mingli Cao
Dr. Muhammad Usman Farooqi
Guest Editors

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Keywords

natural fiber
mineral fiber
sustainable materials
hybrid fiber
geopolymer composites
durability
fire resistance
artificial intelligence

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

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23 pages, 3700 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Small Deviations in Fiber Orientation on Compressive Characteristics of Plain Concrete Cylinders Confined with FRP Laminates

by Ali Banaeipour, Mohammadreza Tavakkolizadeh, Muhammad Akbar, Zahoor Hussain, Krzysztof Adam Ostrowski, Alireza Bahadori and Mariusz Spyrka

Materials 2023, 16(1), 261; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma16010261 - 27 Dec 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2021

Abstract

The effectiveness of concrete confinement by fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) materials is highly influenced by the orientation of fibers in the FRP laminates. In general, acceptable deviation limit from the intended direction is given as 5° in most design guidelines, without solid bases and reasoning. In this paper, a numerical study using finite element modeling was conducted to assess the effects of small deviations in fiber orientation from the hoop direction on compressive behavior of concrete cylinders confined with FRP. Different fiber angles of 0°, 2°, 5°, 8°, 10° and 15° with respect to hoop direction, unconfined concrete compressive strengths of 20, 35 and 50 MPa, FRP thicknesses of 0.2, 0.5 and 1.0 mm and FRP moduli of elasticity of 50 and 200 GPa were considered. The results showed that total dissipated energy (

E_{t}

), ultimate axial strain (

ε_{c u}^{'}

) and compressive strength (

f_{c u}^{'}

) exhibited the most reduction with deviation angle. For 5° deviation in fiber orientation, the average reduction in

f_{c u}^{'}

ε_{c u}^{'}

and

E_{t}

were 2.4%, 2.8% and 4.5%, respectively. Furthermore, the calculated allowable limit of deviation in fiber orientation for a 2.5% reduction in

f_{c u}^{'}

ε_{c u}^{'}

and

E_{t}

were 6°, 3° and 2°, respectively, with a 95% confidence. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Development in Construction and Building Materials Using Natural and Mineral Fibers)

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18 pages, 5561 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Behavior of Concrete Reinforced with Date Palm Fibers

by Fadi Althoey, Ibrahim Y. Hakeem, Md. Akter Hosen, Shaker Qaidi, Haytham F. Isleem, Haitham Hadidi, Kiran Shahapurkar, Jawad Ahmad and Elias Ali

Materials 2022, 15(22), 7923; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15227923 - 09 Nov 2022

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 2691

Abstract

In recent decades, researchers have begun to investigate innovative sustainable construction materials for the development of greener and more environmentally friendly infrastructures. The main purpose of this article is to investigate the possibility of employing date palm tree waste as a natural fiber alternative for conventional steel and polypropylene fibers (PPFs) in concrete. Date palm fibers are a common agricultural waste in Middle Eastern nations, particularly Saudi Arabia. As a result, this research examined the engineering properties of high-strength concrete using date palm fibers, as well as the performance of traditional steel and PPF concrete. The concrete samples were made using 0.0%, 0.20%, 0.60%, and 1.0% by volume of date palm, steel, and polypropylene fibers. Ten concrete mixtures were made in total. Compressive strength, flexural strength, splitting tensile strength, density, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), water absorption capability, and water permeability tests were performed on the fibrous-reinforced high-strength concrete. With a 1% proportion of date palm, steel, and polypropylene fibers, the splitting tensile strength improved by 17%, 43%, and 16%, respectively. By adding 1% fiber, flexural strength was increased by 60% to 85%, 67% to 165%, and 61% to 79%. In addition, date palm fibers outperformed steel and PPFs in terms of density, UPV, and water permeability. As a result, date palm fibers might potentially be employed in the present construction sector to improve the serviceability of structural elements. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Development in Construction and Building Materials Using Natural and Mineral Fibers)

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22 pages, 19176 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fracture Behavior of Basalt Fiber-Reinforced Airport Pavement Concrete at Different Strain Rates

by Yifan Mu, Haiting Xia, Yong Yan, Zhenhui Wang and Rongxin Guo

Materials 2022, 15(20), 7379; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15207379 - 21 Oct 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1386

Abstract

As a commonly used surface structure for airport runways, concrete slabs are subjected to various complex and random loads for a long time, and it is necessary to investigate their fracture performance at different strain rates. In this study, three-point bending fracture tests were conducted using ordinary performance concrete (OPC) and basalt fiber-reinforced airport pavement concrete (BFAPC) with fiber volume contents of 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6%, at five strain rates (10⁻⁶ s⁻¹, 10⁻⁵ s⁻¹, 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹, 10⁻³ s⁻¹, and 10⁻² s⁻¹). Considering parameters such as the peak load, initial cracking load, double K fracture toughness, fracture energy, and critical crack expansion rate, the effects of the fiber volume content and strain rate on the fracture performance of concrete were systematically studied. The results indicate that these fracture parameters of OPC and BFAPC have an obvious strain rate dependence; in particular, the strain rate has a positive linear relationship with peak load and fracture energy, and a positive exponential relationship with the critical crack growth rate. Compared with OPC, the addition of basalt fiber (BF) can improve the fracture performance of airport pavement concrete, to a certain extent, where 0.4% and 0.6% fiber content were the most effective in enhancing the fracture properties of concrete under strain rates of 10⁻⁶–10⁻⁵ s⁻¹ and 10⁻⁴–10⁻² s⁻¹, respectively. From the point of view of the critical crack growth rate, it is shown that the addition of BF can inhibit the crack growth of concrete. In this study, the fracture properties of BFAPC were evaluated at different strain rates, providing an important basis for the application of BFAPC in airport pavement. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Development in Construction and Building Materials Using Natural and Mineral Fibers)

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21 pages, 7652 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of Ductile and Durable High Strength Concrete (HSC) through Interactive Incorporation of Coir Waste and Silica Fume

by Babar Ali, Muhammad Fahad, Shahid Ullah, Hawreen Ahmed, Rayed Alyousef and Ahmed Deifalla

Materials 2022, 15(7), 2616; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15072616 - 02 Apr 2022

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2454

Abstract

The issue of brittleness and low post-peak load energy associated with the plain HSC led to the development of fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) by using discrete fiber filaments in the plain matrix. Due to the high environmental impact of industrial fibers and plasticizers, FRC development is ecologically challenged. Sustainability issues demand the application of eco-friendly development of FRC. This study is aimed at the evaluation of coir as a fiber-reinforcement material in HSC, with the incorporation of silica fume as a partial replacement of cement. For this purpose, a total of 12 concrete mixes were produced by using three different doses of coir (0%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2% by wt. of binder) with silica fume (0%, 5%, and 10% as volumetric replacements of cement). The examined parameters include compressive strength, shear strength, splitting tensile strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity, water absorption, and chloride ion permeability. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technique was adopted to observe the microstructure of the CF-reinforced concrete. The results revealed that due to the CF addition, the compressive strength of HSC reduces notably; however, the splitting tensile strength and shear strength experienced notable improvements. At the combined incorporation of 1.5% CF with 5% silica fume, the splitting tensile strength and shear strength of the concrete experienced improvements of 47% and 70%, respectively, compared to that of the control mix. The CF incorporation is detrimental to the imperviousness of concrete. The combined incorporation of CF and silica fume is recommended to minimize the negative effects of CF on the permeability resistance of concrete. The SEM results revealed that CF underwent a minor shrinkage with the age. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Development in Construction and Building Materials Using Natural and Mineral Fibers)

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15 pages, 7597 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application of Machine Learning Approaches to Predict the Strength Property of Geopolymer Concrete

by Rongchuan Cao, Zheng Fang, Man Jin and Yu Shang

Materials 2022, 15(7), 2400; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15072400 - 24 Mar 2022

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 3041

Abstract

Geopolymer concrete (GPC) based on fly ash (FA) is being studied as a possible alternative solution with a lower environmental impact than Portland cement mixtures. However, the accuracy of the strength prediction still needs to be improved. This study was based on the investigation of various types of machine learning (ML) approaches to predict the compressive strength (C-S) of GPC. The support vector machine (SVM), multilayer perceptron (MLP), and XGBoost (XGB) techniques have been employed to check the difference between the experimental and predicted results of the C-S for the GPC. The coefficient of determination (R²) was used to measure how accurate the results were, which usually ranged from 0 to 1. The results show that the XGB was a more accurate model, indicating an R² value of 0.98, as opposed to SVM (0.91) and MLP (0.88). The statistical checks and k-fold cross-validation (CV) also confirm the high precision level of the XGB model. The lesser values of the errors for the XGB approach, such as mean absolute error (MAE), mean square error (MSE), and root mean square error (RMSE), were noted as 1.49 MPa, 3.16 MPa, and 1.78 MPa, respectively. These lesser values of the errors also indicate the high precision of the XGB model. Moreover, the sensitivity analysis was also conducted to evaluate the parameter’s contribution towards the anticipation of C-S of GPC. The use of ML techniques for the prediction of material properties will not only reduce the effort of experimental work in the laboratory but also minimize the cast and time for the researchers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Development in Construction and Building Materials Using Natural and Mineral Fibers)

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Review

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19 pages, 5740 KiB

Open AccessReview

Scientometric Analysis and Research Mapping Knowledge of Coconut Fibers in Concrete

by Mingli Gu, Waqas Ahmad, Turki M. Alaboud, Asad Zia, Usman Akmal, Youssef Ahmed Awad and Hisham Alabduljabbar

Materials 2022, 15(16), 5639; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15165639 - 16 Aug 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2646

Abstract

Biodegradable materials are appropriate for the environment and are gaining immense attention worldwide. The mechanical properties (such as elongation at break, density, and failure strain) of some natural fibers (such as Coir, Hemp, Jute, Ramie, and Sisal) are comparable with those of some synthetic fibers (such as E glass, aramid, or Kevlar). However, the toughness of coconut fibers is comparatively more than other natural fibers. Numerous studies suggest coconut fibers perform better to improve the concrete mechanical properties. However, the knowledge is dispersed, making it difficult for anyone to evaluate the compatibility of coconut fibers in concrete. This study aims to perform a scientometric review of coconut fiber applications in cementitious concrete to discover the various aspects of the literature. The typical conventional review studies are somehow limited in terms of their capacity for linking different literature elements entirely and precisely. Science mapping, co-occurrence, and co-citation are among a few primary challenging points in research at advanced levels. The highly innovative authors/researchers famous for citations, the sources having the highest number of articles, domains that are actively involved, and co-occurrences of keywords in the research on coconut-fiber-reinforced cementitious concrete are explored during the analysis. The bibliometric database with 235 published research studies, which are taken from the Scopus dataset, are analyzed using the VOSviewer application. This research will assist researchers in the development of joint ventures in addition to sharing novel approaches and ideas with the help of a statistical and graphical description of researchers and countries/regions that are contributing. In addition, the applicability of coconut fiber in concrete is explored for mechanical properties considering the literature, and this will benefit new researchers for its use in concrete. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Development in Construction and Building Materials Using Natural and Mineral Fibers)

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31 pages, 10504 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Comprehensive Review of Types, Properties, Treatment Methods and Application of Plant Fibers in Construction and Building Materials

by Muhammad Nasir Amin, Waqas Ahmad, Kaffayatullah Khan and Ayaz Ahmad

Materials 2022, 15(12), 4362; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15124362 - 20 Jun 2022

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 5277

Abstract

Sustainable development involves the usage of alternative sustainable materials in order to sustain the excessive depletion of natural resources. Plant fibers, as a “green” material, are progressively gaining the attention of various researchers in the field of construction for their potential use in composites for stepping towards sustainable development. This study aims to provide a scientometric review of the summarized background of plant fibers and their applications as construction and building materials. Studies from the past two decades are summarized. Quantitative assessment of research progress is made by using connections and maps between bibliometric data that are compiled for the analysis of plant fibers using Scopus. Data refinement techniques are also used. Plant fibers are potentially used to enhance the mechanical properties of a composite. It is revealed from the literature that plant-fiber-reinforced composites have comparable properties in comparison to composites reinforced with artificial/steel fibers for civil engineering applications, such as construction materials, bridge piers, canal linings, soil reinforcement, pavements, acoustic treatment, insulation materials, etc. However, the biodegradable nature of plant fibers is still a hindrance to their application as a structural material. For this purpose, different surface and chemical treatment methods have been proposed in past studies to improve their durability. It can be surmised from the gathered data that the compressive and flexural strengths of plant-fiber-reinforced cementitious composites are increased by up to 43% and 67%, respectively, with respect to a reference composite. In the literature, alkaline treatment has been reported as an effective and economical method for treating plant fibers. Environmental degradation due to excessive consumption of natural resources and fossil fuels for the construction industry, along with the burning of waste plant fibers, can be reduced by incorporating said fibers in cementitious composites to reduce landfill pollution and, ultimately, achieve sustainable development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Development in Construction and Building Materials Using Natural and Mineral Fibers)

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41 pages, 6410 KiB

Open AccessReview

Heat-Induced Spalling of Concrete: A Review of the Influencing Factors and Their Importance to the Phenomenon

by Hussein Mohammed, Hawreen Ahmed, Rawaz Kurda, Rayed Alyousef and Ahmed Farouk Deifalla

Materials 2022, 15(5), 1693; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15051693 - 24 Feb 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2390

Abstract

Heat-induced spalling in concrete is a problem that has been the subject of intense debate. The research community has, despite all the effort invested in this problem, few certain and definitive answers regarding the causes of and the way in which spalling happens. A major reason for this difficulty is the lack of a unified method for testing, which makes comparing data from various studies against each other a difficult task. Many studies have been performed that show the positive effects of using synthetic micro-fibres, such as polypropylene (PP). The mechanism with which PP fibres improve heat-induced spalling resistance in concrete, however, remains a subject of debate. This paper, therefore, looks at the work that has been performed in the field of spalling (particularly spalling of self-compacting concrete (SCC)). Influencing factors are identified and their links to each other (as reported) are discussed. A particular emphasis is put on discussing the role of PP fibres and how they improve the behaviour of high-performance concrete (HPC) at elevated temperatures. A brief summary of the reviewed papers are provided for each of the influencing factors to help the reader navigate with ease through the references. An introduction to heat-induced spalling and the common causes (as reported in the literature) is also included to highlight the wide range of theories trying to explain the spalling phenomenon. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Development in Construction and Building Materials Using Natural and Mineral Fibers)

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Other

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20 pages, 2446 KiB

Open AccessTechnical Note

Consideration of Critical Parameters for Improving the Efficiency of Concrete Structures Reinforced with FRP

by Krzysztof Adam Ostrowski, Carlos Chastre, Kazimierz Furtak and Seweryn Malazdrewicz

Materials 2022, 15(8), 2774; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15082774 - 09 Apr 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1997

Abstract

Fibre-reinforced polymer materials (FRP) are increasingly used to reinforce structural elements. Due to this, it is possible to increase the load-bearing capacity of polymer, wooden, concrete, and metal structures. In this article, the authors collected all the crucial aspects that influence the behaviour of concrete elements reinforced with FRP. The main types of FRP, their characterization, and their impact on the load-carrying capacity of a composite structure are discussed. The most significant aspects, such as type, number of FRP layers including fibre orientation, type of matrix, reinforcement of concrete columns, preparation of a concrete surface, fire-resistance aspects, recommended conditions for the lamination process, FRP laying methods, and design aspects were considered. Attention and special emphasis were focused on the description of the current research results related to various types of concrete reinforced with FRP composites. To understand which aspects should be taken into account when designing concrete reinforcement with composite materials, the main guidelines are presented in tabular form. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Development in Construction and Building Materials Using Natural and Mineral Fibers)

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