Special Issue Editors
https://doi.org/10.33263/Materials21.045045
Jorge de Brito 
, 
* Correspondence: jb@civil.ist.utl.pt
CERIS, IST, University of Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: Green cementitious materials; Diagnosis and pathology of buildings and bridges; Service life prediction of building materials and components; Life cycle assessment.
Rui Neves ,
* Correspondence: rui.neves@estbarreiro.ips.pt
Polytechnic Institute of Setubal – Barreiro Technology School, Portugal
Interests:Durability of structural materials; Rheology of cementitious composites; Reliability and numerical analysis; Sustainable structures; Development of new structural materials; Textile reinforced concrete; Fiber reinforced concrete.
Special Issue Information
Aim and Scope: Sustainability requires a judicious use of natural resources. Reducing the consumption of natural aggregates and ensuring adequate durability of reinforced concrete infrastructures are major steps towards sustainability. Performance-based Service Life Design and recycled aggregate concrete are intense research fields. Considering the research maturity of each subject on its own, it is time to couple them and deliver knowledge on performance-based Service Life Design for reinforced concrete structures incorporating recycled aggregates. This Special Issue of Materials International constitutes a way to disseminate results and findings from original studies, experimental programs, empirical, analytical and numerical modelling of initiation period (carbonation- and chloride ion-related), propagation period or both (service life). Probabilistic, semi-probabilistic and deterministic approaches are welcome.
Subtopics: Initiation period – carbonation-induced corrosion; Initiation period – chloride-induced corrosion; Propagation period – carbonation-induced corrosion; Propagation period – chloride-induced corrosion; Service life models.
Keywords: durability; corrosion; reinforced recycled aggregate concrete; Service Life Design; carbonation; chlorides; performance indicators
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2020
Manuscript Submission Information
All submissions to Materials International should be made at review@materials.international. The corresponding author has the responsibility of the manuscript during the submission and peer-reviewing process. Please do not forget to state in the email “Subject” the title of this special issue.
Submission Checklist
- read the Aim & Scope to gain an overview and assess if your manuscript is suitable for this journal;
- use the Microsoft Word Template to prepare your manuscript;
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- please try to cite only articles with DOI (digital object identifier); also add DOI for each reference;
- please add at least 10 references from the last 2 years (2018-2019) in order to highlight the novelty of your work;
- ensure that all authors have approved the content of the submitted manuscript.
Published papers
(1) Performance Study of Eco-Concrete Based on Waste Demolition as Recycled Aggregates
https://doi.org/10.33263/Materials22.123130
Oussama Kessal 1,2,*, Larbi Belagraa 2,3 , Ammar Noui 1,2 , Nabil Maafi 1 , Abderrazak Bouzid 2
1 Department of Civil Engineering, Mohammed El-Bachir Ibrahimi University of Bordj Bou Arreridj,(34062), Algeria
2 Laboratory of Materials and Electronic Systems [LMSE], University of Bordj Bou Arréridj, (34062), Algeria
3 Department of Civil Engineering, Mohamed Boudiaf University of M’sila(UMBM), M’sila (28000), Algeria
* Correspondence: oussama.kessal@yahoo.fr; oussama.kessal@univ-bba.dz;
(2) Investigation on High-Temperature Effect of Recycled Concrete Aggregate on Mortars
https://doi.org/10.33263/Materials22.236241
Emriye Çınar 1 , Behçet Dündar 1 , Tayfun Uygunoğlu 2,*
1 Osmaniye Korkut Ata University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Osmaniye, Turkey; emriyecinar@osmaniye.edu.tr; behcetdundar@osmaniye.edu.tr
3 Afyon Kocatepe University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey; uygunoglu@aku.edu.tr
* Correspondence: uygunoglu@aku.edu.tr; Scopus ID: 14627796200
Planned Papers
1) An overview of research and applications on recycled aggregate concrete blocks/bricks in China
Zhanggen Guoa,*, Jiang Tao a, Zhang Jin a, Xu Haipeng a, Sun Yan a
a School of Civil Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, 30 Puzhu Road(S), Nanjing, 211800, China
Abstract: Recently, numerous programs on the mechanical behaviors and durability of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) blocks/bricks have been conducted in China as well as the structural performances of RAC masonry structures. In addition, several practical engineering applications of RAC blocks/bricks were also implemented. The extensive review and thorough assessment of recent research progresses on RAC blocks/bricks in China are presented. Firstly, the production of RAC blocks/bricks, the mechanical behaviors and durability of RAC blocks/bricks are summarized, highlighting the governing variables. Secondly, the mechanical properties, in terms of compressive and shear performances, of RAC block/brick masonry are reviewed. The test results obtained from open literatures are employed to derive the prediction models for RAC masonry. Then, a review on seismic behavior of RAC masonry walls is presented as well as some research progress of life cycle assessment (LCA) of the production of RAC blocks/bricks. At last, a brief introduction to several practical applications of RAC blocks/bricks in China is presented. The need for further study is proposed at the end of the paper. Results of these studies show that it is feasible to manufacture concrete blocks/bricks with recycled aggregates and apply RAC blocks/bricks in practical engineering, which will significantly improve the sustainability aspect of masonry structures. It is hoped this review will improve the practical engineering applications of RAC blocks/bricks.
Keywords: Recycled concrete aggregates (RCAs); Recycled aggregate concrete (RAC); Blocks; Bricks; Masonry structures; Practical engineering applications
2) Air Entry Pressure A Critical Parameter To Promote Plastic Shrinkage Cracking Of Recycled Concrete
Jean-Claude Souche
Centre des Matériaux des Mines d’Alès, Ecole des Mines d’Alès, 6 avenue de Clavières 30319 Alès cedex, France. Jean-Claude.Souche@mines-ales.fr
Marie Salgues
Centre des Matériaux des Mines d’Alès, Ecole des Mines d’Alès, 6 avenue de Clavières 30319 Alès cedex, France. Marie.Salgues@mines-ales.fr
Eric Garcia Diaz
Centre des Matériaux des Mines d’Alès, Ecole des Mines d’Alès, 6 avenue de Clavières 30319 Alès cedex, France. Eric.Garcia-Diaz@mines-ales.fr
Philippe Devillers
Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Montpellier, 179 rue de l’Espérou 34093 Montpellier cedex 5, France. Philippe.Devillers@montpellier.archi.fr
Abstract: The use of recycled aggregates in concrete is the aim of the French national project RECYBETON. Recycled coarse aggregates are composed of a mixture of natural aggregates roughly coated with hardened cement paste or mortar. The high water absorption capacity of recycled coarse aggregates has an impact on properties of concrete at very early age, such as plastic shrinkage or cracking. The aim of this study is to understand the ageing mechanism of fresh recycled coarse aggregate concrete, up to cracking, under severe drying conditions. Two concrete families, each consisting of two recycled concrete mixtures and one natural concrete mixture, are studied during the first three hours, under controlled drying. Plastic shrinkage, cracking time and crack opening are compared for the six concretes studied. At cracking inception, the capillary pressure is measured and compared to the air entry pressure. The air entry pressure is obtained from the water retention curve which expresses water content as a function of capillary pressure. The fresh concrete characteristic curves are exploited in the same way as for fine drained soils. For recycled concretes, cracking time is strongly correlated with total water content. Therefore, recycled coarse aggregate concretes tend to have wider cracks opening compare to natural aggregate concretes. At cracking inception, the results highlight the link between measured capillary pressure and air entry pressure, whether for natural concretes or recycled concretes. The air entry value is not influenced by the use of recycled coarse aggregates; rather it is dependent on the W/B ratio. The leading parameter is the quality of the new concrete paste. Pore diameters involved by air entry value are in the same order of magnitudes as the mean distance between two grains of the binder. Knowing the air entry value, starting from mix design parameters, allows controlling plastic shrinkage cracking by capillary pressure monitoring.
Keywords: recycled coarse aggregate, plastic shrinkage, cracking, capillary pressure, air entry.
3) New Insights of Effect of Chloride Ions on Superface Electrical Resistivity of Concrete
Gustavo J. L. Coppioa, Maryangela Geimba de Limab, Julia W. Lencionic, Luciana S. Cividanesb, Paulo P. O. L. Dyerd, Silvelene A. Silvae
a Professor, Federal Institute of São Paulo, Itapetininga, Brazil.
b Professor, Aeronautics Institute of Technology, São José dos Campos, Brazil.
c Professor, University of Taubaté, Taubaté, Brazil.
d Graduate Researcher, Aeronautics Institute of Technology, São José dos Campos, Brazil.
e Researcher, Institute of Advanced Studies, São José dos Campos, Brazil.
Abstract: Corrosion is one of the main problems of degradation of reinforced concrete structures and affects the durability and performance of buildings. Corrosion causes elevated economic and financial losses, as well as security risks. In the marine environment, corrosion is mainly caused by the penetration of chlorides into the concrete. The electrical resistivity of the concrete is one of the main factors that influences the initiation period and the propagation velocity of the reinforcement corrosion and that can be measured by non-destructive tests such as the Wenner method (or four-point method). Several studies have been carried out on the electrical resistivity of concrete as a qualitative parameter of corrosion probability of steel immersed in concrete. There are factors that influence the electrical resistivity of the concrete as the ratio of water/cement (w/c), type of binder, curing conditions, moisture content, temperature, concrete age, chloride ion presence, carbonation, material geometry, among others, which have been the object of several studies. However, there is still no consensus regarding the influence of chloride ions on the electrical resistivity of the concrete. In this context, a study is presented on the effect of the chloride on the superficial electrical resistivity of the concrete, in which concrete samples with 0%, 3% and 5% of chloride ions addition were molded, which were submitted to the surface electrical resistivity test using the Wenner method until two years of age. During the test period, the specimens remained immersed in water with the same concentrations of chloride added to the samples. The results show that the higher chloride concentration induced lower concrete superficial electrical resistivity, contributing to the reinforcement corrosion process.
Keywords: Concrete, Surface electrical resistivity, Chloride, Corrosion.