Concrete is one of the most widely used construction materials all around the globe. Associated with urban expansion, concrete pavements increase the impermeable surfaces that affect the hydrological cycle and generate urban heat islands. Cement is one of the main components of concrete, and its production is one of the main sources of worldwide CO₂ emissions. Pervious concrete with partial cement replacement represents a more sustainable alternative. In this paper, the use of natural pozzolans zeolite and pumicite, as partial cement replacement materials in pervious concrete mixtures, is analyzed. The mechanical and hydraulic properties of pervious concretes using different percentages of pumicite and zeolite to replace cement (0% to 20%) were evaluated by a series of tests on compressive strength, flexural strength, permeability, porosity, and a microanalysis by SEM for the samples. Additionally, experiments with a plasticizer additive were conducted. The results show that mixtures with 0.35 W/C ratio present better mechanical and hydraulic properties; pumicite shows a better performance than zeolite, with the better properties achieved at 10% cement replacement; and the addition of plasticizer increased the final strengths. It is recommended to partially replace cement by adding 10% pumicite and to consider using 0.7% of plasticizer.

Concrete is a material with high compressive strength, but predisposed to shrinkage cracking, rapid cracks propagation, and brittle failures. The incorporation of fibre is an acceptable solution to reduce these limitations. However, high cost and energy consumption related to man-made fibres have placed natural fibres as an attractive sustainable alternative, especially considering that different natural fibres are industrial waste (as the Eucalyptus globulus bark fibre). Still, natural fibres can produce an important reduction of concrete strength. Hence, the objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of Eucalyptus globulus bark fibre in traditional concrete mechanical properties as compressive and flexural strength. For this, an experimental program was developed in such a way that reduces the results uncertainties and increases the power of decision regarding the percentage and fibre conditions of the samples. The results indicate that, unlike other natural fibres, the traditional mechanical properties have a slight reduction and acceptable workability. This fact is more evident in the samples with 0.50% fibre with respect to the weight of cement. Therefore, reinforcing mortars and concrete with Eucalyptus globulus bark fibres emerges as an eco-friendly building alternative to reuse this industrial waste.

Concrete pavements are characterized by their high durability and low conservation costs. However, concrete production causes large amounts of harmful emissions. In this context, short slab pavements allow us to reduce the slab thickness and the amount of concrete used in their construction. These benefits are only valid if the design assumptions are fulfilled, one of which is the provision of enough Load Transfer Efficiency (LTE) by the aggregate interlock. However, the current design method for short slabs does not relate the LTE with the Crack Width (CW) under the joints. This can jeopardize the sustainable benefits of short slabs. The objective of this study is to propose a method to develop the LTE–CW relationship for the short slabs’ design. The sustainable and accessible approach adopted in the proposal represents a paradigm shift compared to the traditional methods, which are limited to laboratories with sufficient resources to perform real-scale testing. The results show that it is possible to develop the LTE–CW relation in a sustainable manner. Furthermore, the aggregates that fulfill the technical specifications for pavements provide enough LTE when most of the joints are activated. When that happens, short slab pavements reduce environmental and human health impacts by 33% and 26%, respectively.

Traditional thermal insulation panels consume large amounts of energy during production and emits pollutants into the environment. To mitigate this impact, the development of bio-based materials is an attractive alternative. In this context, the characteristics of the Eucalyptus fiber bark (EGFB) make it a candidate for insulation applications. However, more knowledge about the manufacturing process and in-service performance is needed. The present study characterized the properties that determine the in-service behavior of the EGFB insulation panel. The assessment involved two different manufacturing processes. The results indicated that the hot plates and the saturated steam injection manufacturing system can produce panels with similar target and bulk density. The thermal conductivity fluctuated between 0.064 and 0.077 W/m·K, which indicated good insulation, and the values obtained for thermal diffusivity (0.10–0.37 m mm²/s) and water vapor permeability (0.032–0.055 m kg/GN s) are comparable with other commercially available panels. To guarantee a good in-service performance, the panels need to be treated with flame retardant and antifungal additive. The good performance of the panel is relevant because bio-based Eucalyptus bark panels generate less CO₂ eq and require less energy consumption compared to traditional alternatives, contributing to the sustainability of the forestry and the construction industry.

An end-of-Life Tyre (ELT) is a type of waste that can generate negative social and environmental impacts due to its disposal. Considering that rubber can improve concrete properties and the massive use of concrete as construction material, the addition of ELT rubber in concrete mixes is attractive. However, concrete mechanical properties are negatively affected due to the rubber-cementitious matrix interaction. Although rubber treatments have been developed to minimise the negative effects, the geo-dependency of the mix makes necessary to find cost-effective and practical solutions that will allow a real use of the ELT waste. Therefore, the objective of the present study is to characterise the properties of cement mortars with the addition of ELT rubber under three surface treatments: hydration, oxidation-sulphonation, and hydrogen peroxide. The results show that hydration is the most favourable treatment from a technical, practical, and economical point of view. In fact, with this treatment, it is possible to add up to 5% ELT rubber, with respect to the aggregate weight, and still exceed the design strength without adding more cement or additives as other investigations. The use of Portland Pozzolana Cement, with local fly ash waste, contributes as well to the promissory results obtained.

The cracks in concrete pavements are formed at early-age as consequence of internal stresses in the concrete. Therefore, the stress relaxation has an essential influence on the cracking process. To model this process allows to identify, for instance, the time for saw-cutting the joints or the cracks width that affects load transfer. Previously, the authors proposed a new equation of the relaxation factor, based on a theoretical and practical analysis of the transversal cracking in jointed plain concrete pavements. The objective of the present paper is to analyze the utility of this new equation of relaxation in the design and construction of jointed plain concrete pavements. For that, other cracking processes in plain concrete pavements (jointed and non-jointed) were modelled with the proposed equation. Wherever is possible the modelling results were compared with observations of the real behaviour of pavements. From the design point of view, with the modelling results of transverse crack width (>1.0 mm) is possible to considerate in the design, optimal slabs length with thinner cracks for better aggregate interlock. And for the longitudinal cracking in jointed plain concrete pavements, the modelling and the field observations, yield cracks width that provide load transfer (0.1 mm). From the construction point of view, the cracking process in non-jointed plain concrete pavements, shows is possible to construct pavements of 7 m width in one gang without cracks risk, and adjustments can be made to a better prediction of the time of occurrence of the 1st transverse cracks.