The effects of fly ash, sodium carbonate content, foaming temperature and foaming time on foam glass aperture sizes and their distribution were analyzed by the orthogonal experimental design. Results from the steady-state method showed a normal distribution of the number of apertures with change in average aperture, which ranges from 0.1 to 2.0 mm for more than 93% of apertures. For a given porosity, the thermal conductivity decreases with the increase of the aperture size. The apertures in the sample have obvious effects in blocking the heat flow transmission: heat flow is quickly diverted to both sides when encountered with the aperture. When the thickness of the sample is constant, the thermal resistance of the foam glass sample increases with increasing porosity, leading to better thermal insulation. Furthermore, our results suggest that the more evenly distributed and orderly arranged the apertures are in the foam glass material, the larger the thermal resistance of the material and hence, the better the thermal insulation.

The incorporation of desert sand-mineral admixture improves the abrasion resistance of concrete. To prolong the service life of assembled concrete channels and mitigate the depletion of river sand resources, the effects of fly ash (FA), silica fume (SF), desert sand (DS), and basalt fiber (BF) on the mechanical properties and the abrasion resistance of concrete were examined, alongside an analysis of their microstructures to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of influence. The results indicated that the abrasion resistance strength of concrete mixed with 10% FA and 0.05% BF alone increased by 80.19% and 81.59%, respectively, compared with ordinary concrete (OC). When SF was added to the concrete at a dosage of 10%, it improved the mechanical properties and the abrasion resistance of the concrete. Furthermore, adding SF resulted in a 12.50% increase in compressive strength and a 12.27% increase in abrasion resistance strength compared to OC. The addition of DS did not significantly enhance the concrete’s abrasion resistance. The combination of ingredients for desert sand concrete (DSC) that provides excellent abrasion resistance was determined using an orthogonal experiment. The optimal mixture consisted of 10% FA content, 10% SF content, 40% DS content, and 0.05% BF content, which increased the abrasion resistance strength by 112.95% compared to OC. Through microscopic analysis, it is found that the width of the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) is an important factor in determining the abrasion resistance of concrete, and a narrower ITZ enhances the concrete’s abrasion resistance. The study’s findings could function as a theoretical reference for the engineering design of DSC.

Concrete durability in saline soil areas is a global problem. Both SO₄²⁻ and Cl⁻ in saline soil seriously affect the durability of concrete and restrict the sustainable development of engineering construction. Soil samples were collected from Tumushuke city, Xinjiang, and the concentrations of SO₄²⁻ and Cl⁻ in the soil were measured. Classical statistics and geostatistics methods were combined to analyze the distribution characteristics of the soil salts. Additionally, the kriging interpolation method was used to draw a salt distribution map. The results showed that the average contents of SO₄²⁻ and Cl⁻ in the soil of this area were 7037.08 and 6018.94 mg/kg, respectively. SO₄²⁻ exhibited moderate variability at depths of 30–60 and 60–100 cm in the soil and strong variability in the surface layer; Cl⁻ exhibited strong variability at depths of 0–30, 30–60, and 60–100 cm in the soil. The SO₄²⁻ and Cl⁻ concentrations exhibited high spatial correlation and showed regular changes. The horizontal distribution patterns of “low in the south and high in the north” and “high in the east and low in the west” were observed. Regarding the vertical distribution, the profiles of the SO₄²⁻ and Cl⁻ contents in the soils primarily exhibited “surface aggregation” distribution characteristics. Therefore, according to the spatial distribution characteristics of SO₄²⁻ and Cl⁻, local concrete engineering construction can adopt different anti-erosion measures to enhance the safety and durability of concrete structures.

Tumushuke, a significant node of “the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor” and “the Silk Road Economic Belt”, is strategically located in the southern region of Xinjiang. Due to the widespread distribution of its salty soils, concrete construction safety is significantly compromised. The construction of this project used sulfate-resistant cement, which was costly to construct. Six groups with varying sulfate immersion concentrations were set up to perform sulfate erosion tests and sulfate freeze–thaw coupling tests, respectively, based on the survey of the distribution of sulfate concentration in the area. The Tumushuke area’s concrete erosion kinds were classified using a microanalysis of the degraded concrete. The findings indicate that the concrete primarily exhibits gypsum-type erosion when the sulfate concentration is greater than 20,000 mg/kg, ettringite–gypsum-type erosion when the sulfate concentration is between 15,000 and 20,000 mg/kg, and ettringite-gypsum-type erosion when the sulfate concentration is less than 15,000 mg/kg. The erosion product, carbon–sulfur silica-calcite, also occurs under sulfate freeze–thaw coupling. In the Tumushuke area, ettringite-type erosion damage is primarily found in low-sulfate areas in the southwest and a small portion of the northeast. In contrast, higher-sulfate areas in the central northward area are primarily affected by ettringite–gypsum and gypsum-type erosion damage. The results of this study can provide a basis for adopting different anti-sulfate erosion measures for engineering construction in different regions.

Chloride erodes steel bars through concrete pores, seriously affecting the durability of reinforced concrete structures. Improving the binding ability to chloride is an important measure. We explored the effects of W/C, curing age, and premixed Cl⁻ concentration on the compressive strength and Cl⁻ binding capacity in cement pastes. The results indicate that a premixed 5% concentration of Cl⁻ can improve the compressive strength, whereas an excessive Cl⁻ negatively impacts the mechanical properties. The total Cl⁻ content in cement pastes is a crucial factor that influences the binding ability of Cl⁻. When the total Cl⁻ content is within 2% (i.e., the premixed Cl⁻ concentration is 5%), the cement paste has a strong binding ability of Cl⁻. W/C and curing age indirectly affect the binding ability by affecting the total Cl⁻ content. Furthermore, with the increase in content of Cl⁻, the adsorption content of Cl⁻ by C-S-H increased, while the proportion of Cl⁻ bound by Fs to the total bound Cl⁻ initially declines and then tends to stabilize. It is worth noting that a premixed concentration of 5% is a “safety limit” for cement paste, but for reinforced concrete, the presence of free Cl⁻ above normative thresholds should not be underestimated.