Dear Colleagues,

Large quantities of concrete are consumed yearly in the construction industry. Cementitious materials are one of the main components of the concrete mix, including hydraulic cement and supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs).

Cementitious materials can deteriorate for a variety of reasons, including loading and environmental factors, and their deterioration is often the result of a combination of factors. Most degradation processes are either physical mechanisms, such as freeze-thaw attack, or a combination of chemical and physical mechanisms, such as carbonation, alkali-silica reaction, sulfate attack, or delayed ettringite attack. Degradation of cementitious materials can result in damage, cracking of the matrix, and the ingress of deleterious ions. This can further lead to corrosion of the steel reinforcement and cracking of the matrix, ultimately leading to failure of the structures.

This section discusses the potential causes of degradation of cementitious materials and the factors that influence them. These may include, but are not limited to, physical or chemical mechanisms, or a combination thereof, such as freeze-thaw attack, carbonation, alkali-silica reaction, sulfate attack, or delayed ettringite attack. Both experimental and numerical results are welcome in this section.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Section Editors

Prof. Dr. Xianfeng Wang

Prof. Arup Kumar Mohapatra

Prof. Biao Hu

Prof. Fengjuan Chen

Prof. A. Narender Reddy