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Properties and Durability of Advanced Concrete and Novel Construction Composites
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Properties and Durability of Advanced Concrete and Novel Construction Composites

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2022) | Viewed by 9923

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Zbyšek Pavlík

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Materials Engineering and Chemistry, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Thákurova 7, 166 29 Prague, Czech Republic
Interests: design, development and testing of new materials for construction use; waste to materials; low energy materials; pozzolanic materials; buildings physics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Durability of building materials is a popular and crucial term meaning the ability for long time performance. In general it is the period of service life of a given material under specified conditions of the environment and construction assembly. Technically speaking there are no durable or not durable materials, there are only materials that under certain climatic conditions and interaction with other materials may last longer or shorter period of time. In respect to sustainability, the durability of construction products clearly refers to economic and environmental issues as limited service life increases the cost of constructions, leads to the production of undesired and often hazardous waste, negatively affects the energy performance of buildings, etc.  Concrete and construction composites are worldwide the most often used materials in the construction sector whose development and exploration towards advanced and high-performance products is today very intensive especially with respect to application of novel types materials, such as nano-additives, nano-reinforcement, and active mineral admixtures. However, despite of high level of knowledge achieved in the design, development, and manufacturing of prospective, alternative, and multi-functional materials, there must be invested effort of finding high-performance, sustainable, and eco-efficient construction materials that can compete or even surpass traditional concrete and  composites available today on construction market. Except the complete assessment of properties and behavior of these novel products, their durability with respect to their long time performance is of the particular performance. This Special Issue is therefore dedicated to recent research works aimed at the durability of building materials and components to contribute to the systematization and dissemination of knowledge related to the long-term performance and durability of construction, and simultaneously to show the most recent advances in this domain. The Special Issue will provide collection of new developments in the field of durability of advanced building materials, systems, and components, their characterization, service life prediction methodologies, and maintenance management. I believe, the Special Issue will be a resume of the current stage of knowledge for the benefits of professional colleagues, such as material engineers, designers, production engineers, etc.

Prof. Zbyšek Pavlík
Guest Editor

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

  • Advanced concrete
  • Novel Construction Composites
  • Characterization and Assessment
  • Durability
  • Long-term performance
  • Service life prediction
  • Salt attack
  • Moisture induced damage
  • Frost resistance
  • Hygrothermal performance

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 3819 KiB  
Article
Diatomaceous Earth—Lightweight Pozzolanic Admixtures for Repair Mortars—Complex Chemical and Physical Assessment
by Milena Pavlíková, Pavla Rovnaníková, Martina Záleská and Zbyšek Pavlík
Materials 2022, 15(19), 6881; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15196881 - 03 Oct 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1998
Abstract
The presented research is focused on the complex assessment of three different types of diatomaceous earth and evaluation of their ability for application as pozzolana active admixtures applicable in the concrete industry and the production of repair mortars applicable for historical masonry. The [...] Read more.
The presented research is focused on the complex assessment of three different types of diatomaceous earth and evaluation of their ability for application as pozzolana active admixtures applicable in the concrete industry and the production of repair mortars applicable for historical masonry. The comprehensive experimental campaign comprised chemical, mineralogical, microstructural, and physical testing of raw materials, followed by the analyses and characterization of pozzolanic activity, rheology and heat evolution of fresh blended pastes, and testing of macrostructural and mechanical parameters of the hardened 28-days and 90-days samples. The obtained results gave evidence of the different behavior of researched diatomaceous earth when mixed with water and Portland cement. The differences in heat evolution, initial and final setting time, porosity, density, and mechanical parameters were identified based on chemical and phase composition, particle size, specific surface, and morphology of diatomaceous particles. Nevertheless, the researched mineral admixtures yielded a high strength activity index (92.9% to 113.6%), evinced their pozzolanic activity. Three fundamental factors were identified that affect diatomaceous earth’s contribution to the mechanical strength of cement blends. These are the filler effect, the pertinent acceleration of OPC hydration, and the pozzolanic reaction of diatomite with Portland cement hydrates. The optimum replacement level of ordinary Portland cement by diatomaceous earth to give maximum long-term strength enhancement is about 10 wt.%., but it might be further enhanced based on the properties of pozzolan. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Properties and Durability of Advanced Concrete and Novel Construction Composites)
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15 pages, 2052 KiB  
Article
Crack-Resistant Cements under Drying: Results from Ring Shrinkage Tests and Multi-Physical Modeling
by Vít Šmilauer, Pavel Reiterman, Rostislav Šulc and Petr Schořík
Materials 2022, 15(12), 4040; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15124040 - 07 Jun 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1428
Abstract
Cementitious materials exhibit shrinkage strain on drying, leading easily to crack formation when internally or externally restrained. It is known that cements with a slow strength gain show higher crack resistance under external drying. The ring shrinkage test can be considered an accelerated [...] Read more.
Cementitious materials exhibit shrinkage strain on drying, leading easily to crack formation when internally or externally restrained. It is known that cements with a slow strength gain show higher crack resistance under external drying. The ring shrinkage test can be considered an accelerated method for cracking tendency due to existing historical correlations between ring cracking time and long-term surface concrete cracking. The experimental campaign used ring shrinkage tests on 25 mortars, covering 10 commercial cements and 15 cements produced on demand, covering Portland cements and blended cements up to a 30% slag substitution. The results show that the restrained ring cracking time generally increases with lower Blaine fineness and higher slag substitution in 6 to over 207 days’ span. Upper limits for crack-resistant cements were proposed for 2-day compressive strength and Blaine fineness, in the case of Portland cements: 27.7 MPa and 290 m2/kg, respectively. A hygro-mechanical model successfully replicated strain evolution with crack formation and brittle failure. Only two out of ten commercial cements were classified as crack-resistant, while the ratio increased to 10 out of 15 cements which were produced on demand. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Properties and Durability of Advanced Concrete and Novel Construction Composites)
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22 pages, 2868 KiB  
Article
Magnesium Potassium Phosphate Cement-Based Derivatives for Construction Use: Experimental Assessment
by Šimon Marušiak, Adéla Kapicová, Adam Pivák, Milena Pavlíková and Zbyšek Pavlík
Materials 2022, 15(5), 1896; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15051896 - 03 Mar 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1754
Abstract
The presented research is focused on the development and testing of the magnesium potassium phosphate cement-based materials (MKPC-based). Firstly, the fresh state properties of the pastes consisting of dead burned magnesia powder, potassium dihydrogen phosphate, setting retarder borax applied in the range of [...] Read more.
The presented research is focused on the development and testing of the magnesium potassium phosphate cement-based materials (MKPC-based). Firstly, the fresh state properties of the pastes consisting of dead burned magnesia powder, potassium dihydrogen phosphate, setting retarder borax applied in the range of 0–10 wt.%, and batch water were investigated. The aim of testing was to characterize the hydration process in dependence on the borax content. The properties of raw MgO powder were described by chemical composition and particle size distribution. The properties tested in fresh state included shear stress (viscosity), Young’s modulus of elasticity, and temperature; their time dependence was observed. The measurements started immediately after the mixing process. At the age of 14 days, basic structural and mechanical properties of the hardened pastes were obtained. The mixture with 5 wt.% of borax proved to be the most advantageous in terms of setting time, sample integrity, and mechanical strength; therefore, it was chosen as the binder for the following part of the study—MKPC-based mortar development. In the next step, the MKPC paste containing 5 wt.% of borax was supplemented by silica sand aggregate, and the resulting material was marked as a reference. Subsequently, three other mixtures were derived by replacing 100% of quartz sand by lightweight aggregate; namely by expanded glass aggregate, waste rubber from tires, and combination of both in ratio 1:1. The aggregates were characterized by chemical composition (except for the rubber granulate), and loose and compacted powder density. For the resulting hardened composites, basic structural, hygric, strength, and thermal parameters were investigated. The use of lightweight aggregates brought in a considerable decrease in heat transport parameters and low water permeability while maintaining sufficient strength. The favorable obtained material properties are underscored by the fact that magnesia-phosphate is considered to be a low-carbon binder. The combination of magnesia-phosphate binder and recycled aggregate provides a satisfying, environmentally friendly, and thermally efficient alternative to traditional Portland cement-based materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Properties and Durability of Advanced Concrete and Novel Construction Composites)
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14 pages, 2056 KiB  
Article
Lightweight Vapor-Permeable Plasters for Building Repair Detailed Experimental Analysis of the Functional Properties
by Martina Záleská, Milena Pavlíková, Adam Pivák, Anna-Marie Lauermannová, Ondřej Jankovský and Zbyšek Pavlík
Materials 2021, 14(10), 2613; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14102613 - 17 May 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1857
Abstract
Three types of lightweight plasters for building repair were prepared and tested. The composition of plasters was designed in respect to their compatibility with materials used in the past in historical masonry. For the hardened plasters, detailed testing of microstructural and macrostructural parameters [...] Read more.
Three types of lightweight plasters for building repair were prepared and tested. The composition of plasters was designed in respect to their compatibility with materials used in the past in historical masonry. For the hardened plasters, detailed testing of microstructural and macrostructural parameters was realized together with the broad experimental campaign focused on the assessment of mechanical, hygric, and thermal properties. As the researched plasters should find use in salt-laden masonry, specific attention was paid to the testing of their durability against salt crystallization. The mechanical resistance, porosity, water vapor transmission properties, and water transport parameters of all the researched plasters safely met criteria of WTA directive 2-9-04/D and standard EN 998-1 imposed on repair mortars. Moreover, the tested materials were ranked as lightweight plasters and due to their low thermal conductivity they can be used for the improvement of thermal performance of repaired masonry. The salt crystallization test caused little or no damage of the plasters, which was due to their high porosity that provided free space for salt crystallization. The developed plasters can be recommended for application in repair of damp and salt masonry and due to their compatible composition also in historical, culture heritage buildings. The added value of plasters is also their good thermal insulation performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Properties and Durability of Advanced Concrete and Novel Construction Composites)
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14 pages, 12568 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Graphene and Diatomite Admixtures on the Performance and Properties of High-Performance Magnesium Oxychloride Cement Composites
by Anna-Marie Lauermannová, Filip Antončík, Michal Lojka, Ondřej Jankovský, Milena Pavlíková, Adam Pivák, Martina Záleská and Zbyšek Pavlík
Materials 2020, 13(24), 5708; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13245708 - 14 Dec 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 1796
Abstract
A high-performance magnesium oxychloride cement (MOC) composite composed of silica sand, diatomite powder, and doped with graphene nanoplatelets was prepared and characterized. Diatomite was used as a 10 vol.% replacement for silica sand. The dosage of graphene was 0.5 wt.% of the sum [...] Read more.
A high-performance magnesium oxychloride cement (MOC) composite composed of silica sand, diatomite powder, and doped with graphene nanoplatelets was prepared and characterized. Diatomite was used as a 10 vol.% replacement for silica sand. The dosage of graphene was 0.5 wt.% of the sum of the MgO and MgCl2·6H2O masses. The broad product characterization included high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy analyses. The macrostructural parameters, pore size distribution, mechanical resistance, stiffness, hygric and thermal parameters of the composites matured for 28-days were also the subject of investigation. The combination of diatomite and graphene nanoplatelets greatly reduced the porosity and average pore size in comparison with the reference material composed of MOC and silica sand. In the developed composites, well stable and mechanically resistant phase 5 was the only precipitated compound. Therefore, the developed composite shows high compactness, strength, and low water imbibition which ensure high application potential of this novel type of material in the construction industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Properties and Durability of Advanced Concrete and Novel Construction Composites)
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