Guest Editor(s)
Dr. Yanliang Ji
Email: ji@tu-berlin.de
Affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Homepage: https://www.tu.berlin/baustoffe/forschung/arbeitsgruppen-fachgruppen/wissenschatfliche-mitarbeiter/lebenslauf-yanliang-ji-phd
Research Interests: Application of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) technology in civil engineering materials, including water migration mechanisms and dynamic binding behavior of chloride ions in cement-based materials and low-carbon binders. Rheological properties, hydration mechanisms, and microstructure evolution of cementitious systems under different conditions. Reactivity and alkali activation mechanisms of lunar regolith simulants via multiscale computational methods. Integration of experimental and numerical approaches to develop high-performance, low-carbon building materials, providing thermodynamic data for geopolymer products in support of sustainable civil engineering
Dr. Tamino Hirsch
Email: t.hirsch@ibmb.tu-bs.de
Affiliation: Institute of Building Materials, Concrete Construction and Fire Safety (iBMB), Division of Building Materials, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany
Homepage:
Research Interests: Research focuses on the hydration and phase assemblage of Portland cement-based binders, with particular emphasis on thermodynamic modelling, clinker aluminate hydration, impact of the sulfate carriers, admixtures, surface complexation, and phase transformations under elevated-temperature or autoclaving conditions
Dr. Alexander Mezhov
Email: alexander.mezhov@bam.de
Affiliation: Division Technology of Construction Materials, Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
Homepage:
Research Interests: research focuses on the rheology and early-age behaviour of cementitious materials, with particular emphasis on structural build-up, static yield stress evolution, cement hydration, admixture interactions, and the effects of agitation, superplasticizers, and biobased rheology-modifying agents on fresh cement paste performance
Summary
The early-age behavior of cement-based materials governs workability, structural build-up, setting, hydration kinetics, and subsequent performance development. During the first minutes to hours after mixing, cementitious systems undergo rapid physicochemical changes, including particle flocculation, dissolution and precipitation reactions, hydrate nucleation and growth, pore solution evolution, water redistribution, and the formation of mechanically relevant microstructures. These processes are strongly coupled with rheology, phase assemblage, pore structure, ion transport, and admixture interactions, making their quantitative understanding and prediction a continuing challenge.
This Special Issue welcomes original research articles and comprehensive review papers, including but not limited to the following topics:
· Early-age hydration mechanisms of cement-based materials
· Structure formation and structural build-up in fresh cementitious systems
· Rheological behavior, workability loss, thixotropy, and setting processes
· Particle flocculation, dispersion, and interparticle interactions
· Hydrate nucleation, growth, and microstructural evolution
· Pore solution chemistry, ion transport, and water redistribution at early ages
· Effects of admixtures, supplementary cementitious materials, and blended binders
· Early-age behavior of ordinary Portland cement, blended cement, alkali-activated, low-carbon, and special cementitious systems
· Influence of chemical, thermal, and curing conditions on hydration and structure formation
· Experimental characterization methods, including rheology, calorimetry, nuclear magnetic resonance, microscopy, diffraction, spectroscopy, and pore solution analysis
· Thermodynamic, kinetic, and multi-scale modelling of early-age hydration and microstructure development
· Quantitative links between early-age reactions, fresh-state behavior, and later-age performance
Particular emphasis will be placed on studies that connect experimental observations with mechanistic interpretation, quantitative analysis, modelling approaches, and material performance. This Special Issue seeks to advance the understanding of how early hydration reactions and microstructural evolution govern the fresh-state behavior and performance development of cement-based materials.
Keywords
cement hydration, early-age characterization, structural build-up, fresh-state rheology, static yield stress, thermodynamic modelling, phase assemblage, NMR characterization, calorimetry, microstructure evolution, supplementary cementitious materials, low-carbon binders
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