2026-01-22

The paper "Multiscale investigation of ternary precursor proportioning in engineered geopolymer composites: Effects of silica fume replacement ratio and GGBS content" has been published in the journal Construction and Building Materials. 

To reduce cement consumption and promote eco-friendly construction materials, engineered geopolymer composites (EGC) have been developed as sustainable alternatives to engineered cementitious composites (ECC). This study systematically investigates the effects of precursor tailoring, specifically silica fume (SF) replacement ratio (5–15 %) and ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) content (20–80 %), on the mechanical properties, microstructure, and sustainability of EGC. The results show that appropriate precursor composition enables a wide strength coverage, with compressive strengths ranging from 48 to 117 MPa, meeting the requirements of different structural applications. Digital image correlation (DIC) and in-situ crack analysis reveal stable multiple cracking behavior, with ultimate tensile strains consistently exceeding 8 % and effective crack width control within 120 μm. These findings confirm the achievement of multiple cracking and high tensile ductility through coordinated fibre/matrix interaction and tailored precursor design. Additionally, microstructural characterizations (XRD, FTIR, TGA) show that higher GGBS contents promote C-(N)-A-S-H gel formation and a degree of geopolymerization, leading to matrix densification and enhanced mechanical properties. Moderate SF replacement also contributes to pore filling, further increasing the matrix compactness. From a sustainability perspective, a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA), using typical M45-ECC as a benchmark, shows that the developed EGC achieve approximately 50 % lower embodied carbon while maintaining comparable manufacturing feasibility. Overall, this study demonstrates that precursor-tailored EGC can simultaneously satisfy structural performance criteria and sustainability targets, highlighting their potential for low-carbon practical applications.

Note: Construction and Building Materials is a top journal in the field of engineering and technology in Q1, with an impact factor of 8.0 in 2025. The first author of the paper is doctoral student Wan Feihong, and Professor Guo Yutao is the corresponding author. The research results were funded by the Shenzhen Science and Technology Program and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

2026-01-10

The paper "Low-carbon remediation of contaminated marine mud sediment for efficient in-situ recycling and application" has been published in the journal ENGINEERING Environment. 

This study addresses the issue of difficult disposal of contaminated marine sediment and its constraints on waste management by proposing a low-carbon solidification treatment using aluminosilicate raw materials to achieve in-situ resource utilization as engineering backfill material. By incorporating a mixture of 25% ordinary Portland cement, fly ash, slag, and 5% river sand, the unconfined compressive strength of the solidified body can reach up to 8.69 MPa, and it can efficiently stabilize heavy metals, making the product comply with environmental safety standards in both China and the United States. XRD analysis reveals that the material is mainly composed of SiO₂, with the formation of secondary phases such as calcium carbonate, iron-manganese oxides, and complex silicates, which collectively endow it with excellent structural mechanical properties. This technology not only provides a feasible path for the large-scale recycling and utilization of contaminated marine silt but also helps improve resource efficiency, protect the environment, and support the realization of carbon reduction and carbon neutrality goals. 

Note: ENGINEERING Environment, formerly known as Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering, is a journal in the Q1 zone of the field of environmental science and ecology, with an impact factor of 6.4 in 2025. Dr. Dassekpo is the corresponding author. The research results were supported by the  Guangdong  Basic and  Applied  Basic  Research  Foundation.

2026-01-15

The rule-based information extraction for mechanical-electrical-plumbing-specific semantic web has been cited 100 times in Google Scholar.

In view of the strong professionalism and scarcity of labeled data in the building mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) field, which makes it difficult to effectively apply traditional deep learning information extraction methods, this paper proposes a rule-based MEP information extraction method. This method builds a large-scale corpus through a "snowball" strategy and uses suffix matching and dependency path matching algorithms to achieve efficient entity recognition and relationship extraction, respectively. At the same time, the "meta-link" and "path filtering" mechanisms are introduced to mine information beyond complex patterns. Experimental results show that the constructed MEP semantic network achieves good results in terms of entity and relationship extraction accuracy, and significantly outperforms several classic deep learning models in extraction precision. 

Note: Automation in Construction is the most influential journal in the field of civil engineering information technology, classified as a Q1 SCI journal with an impact factor of 11.5 in 2025. The first author of the paper is Wu Langtao, a master's student from the Department of Civil Engineering at Tsinghua University, and I am the corresponding author.

2025-12-31

Congratulations to Li Yanyue on successfully defending her Master of Engineering Management professional degree thesis at Tsinghua University!

Li Yanyue's paper is titled "Research on Progress Management of Existing Public Building Renovation Projects Based on PDCA-CCPM". This research addresses the challenges in progress management of existing public building renovation projects by innovatively integrating key chain technology (CCPM) with the PDCA cycle, and has established a PDCA-CCPM progress management mechanism. Key influencing factors were identified through multiple methods, and a two-layer architecture of "project layer - organization layer" was designed. Empirical verification shows that this mechanism has effectively addressed the issue of progress, achieving both an earlier construction period and a simultaneous improvement in quality and safety. This research not only offers a new theoretical integration paradigm, providing a systematic solution for transformation projects, but also aims to drive the improvement of organizational management maturity through project accumulation, possessing both theoretical innovation value and practical guiding significance.

2025-12-12

Recently, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) released the list of highly cited researchers for 2025. I have been selected as one of the "Top 1% Highly Cited Researchers of CNKI" for two consecutive years.

This selection is mainly based on the numerous high-impact academic papers he/she has published in the past decade. Representative achievements include "Multi-Level Knowledge Extraction and Application Methods for Highway engineering Specifications", "Research Prospect of BIM-Based Information Technologies for Engineering Management", and "Discharge of treated Fukushima nuclear accident contaminated water: macroscopic and microscopic simulations", "BIM-based, data-driven method for intelligent operation and maintenance", "RESEARCH ON MODEL CONVERSION APPROACH TOWARDS STRUCTURAL FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS", "Key-value cache based IFC model implementation for web environments", "BIM-based design method for prefabricated pipeline components", "A Review for Researches and Applications of BIM-Based Operation and Maintenance Management", etc.