Environ Sci Pollut Res Int
September 2025
Concrete production significantly contributes to CO emissions and depletion of natural resources, leading to substantial environmental concerns. The integration of polymers into concrete has emerged as a promising innovative solution aimed at overcoming inherent limitations of traditional concrete, including brittleness, susceptibility to tracking, environmental degradation, and substantial ecological impacts. This systematic review thoroughly investigates the properties, sustainability implications, and practical challenges associated with polymer-based concrete (PBC), particularly focusing on polymer concrete composites (PCC) and polymer-modified concrete (PMC) detailing their composition, mechanical behavior, and durability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn light of the growing need to mitigate climate change impacts, this study presents an innovative methodology combining ensemble machine learning with experimental data to accurately predict the carbon dioxide footprint (CO-FP) of fly ash geopolymer concrete. The approach employs adaptive boosting to enhance decision tree regression (DTR) and support vector regression (SVR), resulting in a robust predictive framework. The models used key material features, including fly ash concentration, fine and coarse aggregates, superplasticizer, curing temperature, and alkali activator levels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDeveloping effective, cost-efficient, and eco-friendly energy storage solutions is crucial for sustainable building structures. Red mud, a waste material, was used as the electrolyte and separator in supercapacitors, alongside activated carbon derived from jute sticks coated on steel mesh electrodes. Tests on RM-enhanced supercapacitors showed that 20 % by weight of RM was the best amount.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSilica fume is usually used in UHPC, three times more than that for normal concrete, to enhance mechanical properties and durability. However, silica fume (SF) is an expensive material and has high production costs. This work is aimed at investigating the shrinkage and durability performance of previously developed UHPC mixtures utilizing the two calcareous waste materials, namely limestone powder (LSP) and cement kiln dust (CKD), by partially replacing the silica fume.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMaterials (Basel)
May 2023
Alkali-activated concrete is an eco-friendly construction material that is used to preserve natural resources and promote sustainability in the construction industry. This emerging concrete consists of fine and coarse aggregates and fly ash that constitute the binder when mixed with alkaline activators, such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium silicate (NaSiO). However, understanding its tension stiffening and crack spacing and width is of critical importance in fulfilling serviceability requirements.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study carried out a comprehensive review to determine the carbonation process that causes the most deterioration and destruction of concrete. The carbonation mechanism involved using carbon dioxide (CO) to penetrate the concrete pore system into the atmosphere and reduce the alkalinity by decreasing the pH level around the reinforcement and initiation of the corrosion process. The use of bacteria in the concrete was to increase the pH of the concrete by producing urease enzyme.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aimed to evaluate the effects of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) on the performance of liquid epoxidized natural rubber (LENR)-modified asphalt. The physical, adhesion and rheological properties were determined by several tests such as penetration, elastic recovery, ring and ball softening point, Brookfield rotational viscometer, AFM and dynamic shear rheometer. LENR was used at concentrations of 3, 6, and 9%, while CNFs were used at contents of 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe push for sustainability in the construction sector has demanded the use of increasingly renewable resources. These natural fibers are biodegradable and non-toxic, and their mechanical capabilities are superior to those of synthetic fibers in terms of strength and durability. A lot of research recommends coconut fibers as an alternative to synthetic fibers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAluminum waste-can management in Malaysia has recently become a serious environmental and public health issue, particularly in metropolitan areas. This has prompted the need to valorize these waste-cans into value-added products using the most economical and environmentally friendly techniques. In this study, the sol-gel technique was used to synthesize high-quality alumina from the aluminum waste-cans collected.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMaterials (Basel)
April 2022
This paper reports the findings of the effect of elevated temperature on the compressive strength and durability properties of crumb rubber engineered cementitious composite (CR-ECC). The CR-ECC has been tested for its compressive strength and chemical resistance test against acid and sulphate attack. Different proportions of crumb rubber (CR) in partial replacement to the fine aggregate and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber have been utilized from 0 to 5% and 0 to 2%.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe objective of this research was to determine the durability of an engineered cementitious composite (ECC) incorporating crumb rubber (CR) and graphene oxide (GO) with respect to resistance to acid and sulphate attacks. To obtain the mix designs used for this study, response surface methodology (RSM) was utilized, which yielded the composition of 13 mixes containing two variables (crumb rubber and graphene oxide). The crumb rubber had a percentage range of 0-10%, whereas the graphene oxide was tested in the range of 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe concrete-filled double skin steel tube (CFDST) is a more viable option compared to a concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) due to consisting a hollow section, while degradation is enhanced simply by using carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP). Hence, the stabilization of a concrete's ductile strength needs high- performance fiber-reinforced cementitious conmposite. This study investigates the behavior of high-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composite-filled double-skin steel tube (HPCFDST) beams strengthened longitudinally with various layers, lengths, and configurtion of CFRP sheets.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEngineered cementitious composite (ECC) was discovered as a new substitute of conventional concrete as it provides better results in terms of tensile strain, reaching beyond 3%. From then, more studies were done to partially replace crumb rubber with sand to achieve a more sustainable and eco-friendlier composite from the original ECC. However, the elastic modulus of ECC was noticeably degraded.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMaterials (Basel)
June 2020
Deep beams are more susceptible to shear failure, and therefore reparation is a crucial for structural reinforcements. Shear failure is structural concrete failure in nature. It generally occurs without warning; however, it is acceptable for the beam to fail in bending but not in shear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn experimental study is conducted to determine the influence of secondary reinforcement on the behaviour of corbels fabricated with three different types of high-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites, including engineered cementitious concrete (ECC); high-performance steel fiber-reinforced composite (HPSFRC); and hybrid fiber-reinforced composite (HyFRC). Two shear span-to-depth ratios (a/d = 0.75 and 1.
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