Topic Review
Ultra-High Performance Concrete Mixtures and Supplementary Cementitious Materials
Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is a novel cement-based material with exceptional mechanical and durability properties. Silica fume, the primary supplementary cementitious material (SCM) in UHPC, is expensive in North America, so it is often substituted with inexpensive class F fly ash. However, future availability of fly ash is uncertain as the energy industry moves toward renewable energy, which creates an urgent need to find cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternatives to fly ash. Replacing cement, fly ash, and silica fume in UHPC mixtures with ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS), metakaolin, and a natural pozzolan (pumicite) are investigated. To identify acceptable UHPC mixtures (28-day compressive strength greater than 120 MPa), workability, compression, and flexural tests were conducted on all mixtures. Then, durability properties including shrinkage, frost resistance, and chloride ion permeability (rapid chloride permeability and surface resistivity tests) were evaluated for the acceptable UHPC mixtures. Results showed that 75, 100, and 40% of fly ash in the control mixture could be replaced with pumicite, metakaolin, and GGBFS, respectively, while still producing acceptable strengths. Flexural strengths were greater than 14.20 MPa for all mixtures. For durability, UHPC mixtures had shrinkage strains no greater than 406 μstrain, durability factors of at least 105, and “very low” susceptibility to chloride ion penetration, indicating that these SCMs are suitable candidates to completely replace fly ash and partially replace silica fume in non-proprietary UHPC.
  • 349
  • 16 Nov 2023
Topic Review
EIS and IRT for Evaluating Lithium Batteries
During lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) ordinary operation, safety concerns are related to the possibility of overheating and, in extreme cases, to the risk of fire or explosion. Hence, it is crucial to implement proper safety measures in the design, manufacturing, and in the second life of LIBs, through a proper design of thermal management systems or short circuit protection. Regarding their durability, LIBs can face degradation over time due to repeated charge–discharge cycles. This might affect their charge retention capacity and their lifespan. Hence, ongoing research is being conducted to improve these aspects through advancements in materials, electrode design, and battery management systems. LIB development focuses on improving their efficiency by using environmentally friendly materials. The non-destructive testing (NDT) of LIBs can be classified into several categories. The commonly accepted taxonomy is based on their underlying physical principle of measurement, e.g., electromagnetic waves, thermal waves, mechanical waves, etc.
  • 273
  • 16 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Renewable Energies and Desalination
Desalination is a widely applied technology that is used to remove the salinity from brackish water, seawater, or wastewater to make it usable for domestic and industrial use. Desalination technologies are mainly categorized as conventional and advanced technologies, commonly known as thermal desalination and membrane-based desalination, respectively. The thermal desalination process includes different methods such as multi-effect distillation (MED), multistage flash distillation (MSF), and vapor compression distillation (VCD). Renewable energy refers to energy sources that are replenished naturally and can be used indefinitely.
  • 272
  • 16 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Nature-Inspired Chiral Structures
Diverse chiral structures observed in nature find applications across various domains, including engineering, chemistry, and medicine. Particularly notable is the optical activity inherent in chiral structures, which has emerged prominently in the field of optics. This phenomenon has led to a wide range of applications, encompassing optical components, catalysts, sensors, and therapeutic interventions.
  • 195
  • 16 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Enhancing Walking Accessibility in Urban Transportation
The rise in “urban diseases” like population density, traffic congestion, and environmental pollution has renewed attention to urban livability. Walkability, a critical measure of pedestrian friendliness, has gained prominence in urban and transportation planning.
  • 273
  • 15 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Transformation to Sustainable Energy System for Smart Cities
Transformation is a deliberate, carefully planned, complete reconstruction, the effects of which will be used in the long term. It usually concerns economic infrastructure, and its implementation requires a multifaceted approach for the solutions created. The term smart city is associated with the words livable, green, intelligent, low carbon, sustainable, digital, information, knowledge, resilient, eco, and ubiquitous. Targeting sustainable energy systems is now an integral element of smart-city operation.
  • 175
  • 15 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Barriers to Attracting and Retaining Female Construction Graduates
Ongoing debates exist about making career decisions and increasing women’s representation in male-dominated professions. This is because countless efforts to increase this status quo across various sectors face different barriers.
  • 363
  • 15 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Remote Sensing Methods for Soil Measurements
Soil is a diverse and intricate natural asset and the foundation for nearly all agricultural production endeavors because its physiochemical properties and nutrients play essential functions in understanding the ecosystem’s dynamics. Remote sensing (RS) techniques offer advantages over other methods for measuring soil properties, including large-scale coverage, a non-destructive nature, temporal monitoring, multispectral capabilities, and rapid data acquisition. The different detection methods, types, parts, and applications of RS techniques in soil measurements are highlighted, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the measurements of soil properties. 
  • 623
  • 15 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Building Information Modeling in Assessing Buildings Carbon Footprint
The analysis of the carbon footprint of buildings is a key tool for assessing the impact of different buildings on climate change. Several frameworks and methodologies are available to calculate the footprint of buildings, including standards and norms, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and dedicated software tools. The use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) programme for these calculations is both scientifically justified and very practical.
  • 177
  • 15 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Computer-Aided Models for Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women who are mainly middle-aged and older. Due to these reasons, computer-aided detection (CADe) and computer-aided diagnosis (CADx) systems help assist physicians and experts in increasing the success rate of the analysis/diagnosis. The role of a CADe system focuses on the localization of a specific object or region of interest (ROI), as the particular area of interest is specific to the task.
  • 226
  • 15 Nov 2023
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