Concrete in Aggressive Environments: Sustainability and Challenges
1Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Kuantan, Malaysia
2Mehran University of Engineering, Sindh, Pakistan
3Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Concrete in Aggressive Environments: Sustainability and Challenges
Description
The use of waste materials to produce sustainable concrete from industrial, agricultural, and thermoelectric plant leftovers has increased over time. Fly ash (FA), condensed silica fume (CSF), blast-furnace slag (BFS), and rice husk ash (RHA) are examples of pozzolanic materials that have played an essential role in green and sustainable concrete manufacture. It is universally accepted that concrete incorporated with pozzolanic materials and exposed to aggressive environments such as seawater, chlorides, and sulfates exhibits a substantial increase in durability due to the reduced number of larger pores. The use of pozzolanic materials will increase the resistance of concrete to hazardous situations, especially in aggressive environments.
The durability of concrete is a major concern in the construction industry. It is well known that aggressive environments are a major factor affecting concrete. The early failure of concrete may be caused by external factors or by a variety of internal causes. External factors can be physical or chemical in nature, including weathering, extreme variation of temperatures, wetting and drying cycles, abrasion, and exposure to aggressive environments. Internal factors can be related to the choice of materials or an inappropriate combination of materials. However, the most aggressive chemicals that affect the durability of concrete are chlorides and sulfates with their associated cations. Chloride dissolved in water increases the rate of leaching of calcium hydroxide and leads to loss of stiffness and strength. Under aggressive conditions, sulfates and chlorides are harmful to concrete as they react with hydrated cement paste leading to expansion, cracking, spallings, and loss of strength. Research on durability is still in progress. However, several parameters such as chloride and sulfate concentrations, temperature, wetting and drying cycles, heating and cooling cycles, etc. need further examination.
This Special Issue aims to collate original research and review articles that report on the newest findings in concrete under aggressive environments covering a variety of aspects including recycled waste materials, concrete in ports, estuarine, coastal, and offshore environments. The Special Issue will focus on producing safe and sustainable concrete in aggressive environments. Other topics such as economic (costs, savings) and environmental impacts (life cycle assessment) are also worth exploring in order to demonstrate how the use of waste materials for concrete can play a significant role in sustainable development and circular economy for a resource-saving and environmentally friendly society. We welcome articles from industry and academia that convey advanced research in developing, designing. or constructing schemes as well as papers on good practices that others can learn from and utilize. Furthermore, discussions/research on any normative restrictions, implementation in Codes and Standards in regard to applications and challenges are encouraged. Original research and review articles are welcome.
Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:
- Cement manufacture and materials
- Properties and durability of cementitious materials
- Hydration process of concrete
- Interaction of cement with other materials
- Analysis and testing of concrete
- Cements and applications