https://hdl.handle.net/10259/6172 Mon, 04 May 2026 18:36:16 GMT 2026-05-04T18:36:16Z https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11529 Low‐Carbon Composite Cement Mortar Incorporating Local Raw Materials as SCMs: Performance and Life Cycle Analysis Adediran, Adeolu; Asaam, Nana; Manso Morato, Javier; Perumal, Priyadharshini Performance and life cycle analysis of composite cement mortars developed using local conventional (blast furnace slag and fly ash) and novel non-conventional (stone wool, glass wool, calcined Finnish clay, volcanic pozzolan Iceland, and ladle slag) raw materials as supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) was investigated. The SCMs and the prepared mortars were characterized using x-ray diffraction, FTIR, TG-DTG, SEM-EDS, flowability, compressive strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), water absorption, permeable porosity, and life cycle analysis (LCA). Experimental results showed a difference in the physical, chemical, and mineralogical composition of the SCMs, which in turn influenced the properties of the composite cement mortars developed. Ladle slag (30 wt.%) as SCM performed better, resulting in mortars with comparable mechanical, UPV, water absorption, permeable porosity, and microstructural properties but lower flowability values compared with reference mortars. In contrast, the use of other SCMs resulted in mortars with slightly lower mechanical properties, increased workability, and higher water absorption and permeable porosity than the reference mortars. The better performance of ladle slag may be attributed to the increased amount of precipitated hydration phases and formation of supplemental pore-filling hydration products, such as C3AH6 and Al (OH)3, attributed to the dissolution and participation of alumina from the SCM in gel formation. LCA results revealed a reduction in the environmental impact of the composite cement mortars (except those containing Finnish clay as SCM) when compared to PC-based mortars. Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11529 2026-04-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11484 Effectiveness of Temporal Survey-Based Programs for Teaching Critical Thinking Skills in Engineering Courses: Analysis of Final Assessments Revilla Cuesta, Víctor; Hernando Revenga, Manuel; Martín Para, Ismael; Skaf Revenga, Marta; Ortega López, Vanesa Peer- and self-critical skills are key to properly performing engineering work, as they allow engineering students to develop critical thinking regarding the quality standards required in this professional field. This research aimed to determine whether educational experiences based on temporal survey-based programs enabled the successful development of these skills in students enrolled in six courses in the final years of their engineering degrees. To this end, an educational experience of such a nature was implemented throughout a complete academic year, aimed at fostering peer- and self-critical skills through continuous formative assessment. The experience involved six student presentations evaluated by both teachers and peers using a Likert-scale survey encompassing four dimensions: explanatory ability, file quality, attitude, and overall assessment. Subsequently, these assessments were provided to students to encourage reflection on the scores assigned and their own work. The results revealed strong alignment between teacher and peer evaluations, with average deviations below 7%, demonstrating effective development of peer-critical competences. These results were also verified by means of analyses of variance. The greatest consistency was found in “explanatory ability” and “overall assessment,” while “file quality” and “attitude” showed wider variability, experience playing a key role in their precise evaluation. Peer evaluations tended to be more uniform than teachers’, reflecting students’ limited experience in discerning subtle performance differences. Additionally, 30% of students expressed willingness to repeat their final presentation to achieve a higher grade, evidencing substantial self-critical reflection. Qualitative analysis conducted through deductive cross-coding indicated that this motivation stemmed from both intrinsic self-improvement and peer-related responsibility. Overall, the results confirm that sustained peer- and self-assessment activities can effectively cultivate critical thinking skills among engineering students, although continuous practice is required to consolidate these competences. Future research could explore the more adequate course types, and students’ ages to perform such kind of educational experiences. Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11484 2026-02-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11483 Durability analysis of concrete mixes with raw-crushed wind-turbine blade and recycled concrete aggregate: A modeling approach Hurtado Alonso, Nerea; Manso Morato, Javier; Revilla Cuesta, Víctor; Skaf Revenga, Marta Residues from the wind energy sector represent a potential source of raw materials for incorporation into concrete. Specifically, Recycled Concrete Aggregate (RCA) and Raw-Crushed Wind-Turbine Blade (RCWTB) have shown promise in improving the environmental eco-efficiency of concrete, without compromising its mechanical performance. This study focuses on the durability properties of concrete mixes incorporating RCA at levels ranging from 0 % to 100 %, and between 0 % and 10 % of RCWTB. The properties evaluated included porosity, Water Absorption (WA) rate, and abrasion resistance. A modeling approach through Response Surface Method (RSM) was employed to optimize the mix design based on these durability parameters. The results indicated that the inclusion of both RCA and RCWTB overall increased porosity and WA rate, although the glass fiber-reinforced polymer fibers in RCWTB partly mitigated this effect, probably acting as barriers to water penetration. Thus, the presence of these fibers also improved abrasion resistance values when added in intermediate contents. Optimal combinations of up to around 5 % RCWTB and about 10 % RCA were identified following numerical and graphical RSM optimization aimed at minimizing all durability indicators simultaneously. Finally, global numerical optimization, considering mechanical, durability, and eco-efficiency criteria, and following normalization of all concrete properties, identified an optimal mixture containing 3.1 % RCWTB and 46.7 % RCA, in which higher waste contents were yielded, as durability performance accounted for only one-third of the optimization weight. Overall, sustainable concrete containing from low to medium contents of wind-industry-derived residual materials can be developed, yielding a balanced mechanical, durability, and environmental performance. Sun, 01 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11483 2026-03-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11480 Suitability assessment of non-destructive testing for mechanical property estimation of concrete with wind turbine wastes Revilla Cuesta, Víctor; Hernando Revenga, Manuel; Skaf Revenga, Marta; Espinosa González, Ana Belén The simultaneous use of Coarse Recycled Aggregate (CRA) and Raw-Crushed Wind-Turbine Blade (RCWTB) in concrete enables the recycling and revaluation of two wastes from wind-farm decommissioning. Verification of the validity of Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) for field control of the concrete mixes produced with these wastes is key to extending its possibilities of use, as is the application of NDT in concrete monitoring. This research evaluates the suitability of Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) and rebound index to estimate the mechanical properties of concrete made with up to 100% CRA and 10% RCWTB. From an experimental approach, both NDT properties decreased when adding both wastes, although rebound index exhibited a higher experimental variability. These experimental results were subsequently analyzed through two statistical procedures. First, an analysis through response surface methodology was conducted, whose models revealed that the directions of maximum variation (gradients) for UPV, modulus of elasticity, compressive strength and tensile splitting strength were aligned, especially for high waste contents. Second, a regression analysis determined that only these three mechanical properties could be properly estimated using these NDT properties, since Poisson’s coefficient and flexural strength largely depended on the stitching of the cementitious matrix, influenced by the fibers from glass fiber-reinforced polymer contained in RCWTB. UPV was always the NDT property that yielded more accurate estimations, while rebound index only improved the estimation quality of compressive strength, although a reduction of its measured value is recommended to avoid strength overestimations. In general, non-linear multiple regression models provided accurate and reliable predictions. Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11480 2026-02-01T00:00:00Z