This book delves into the cutting-edge field of lightweight high-performance steel-concrete composites, tailored for research and applications in marine structures. Such marine structures may be subjected to static sustained heavy loads, dynamic ice-contact pressure, ship impact, and other demanding conditions, which require lightweight design, high resilience, and superior durability. Through an intricate fusion of experimental, numerical, and analytical methods, it provides a comprehensive understanding of the material and structural behavior of these composites under various loading scenarios, including flexural and shear response under dynamic impact and punching loads. The content covers the development of lightweight high-ductility cement composites, lightweight rubberized cement composites, and sustainable LC3-based ultra-lightweight cement composites, as well as mild steel/stainless steel single-/double-layered steel-concrete sandwich composites filled with lightweight high-ductility cementitious materials. Furthermore, the dynamic behavior of fiber-reinforced ultra-lightweight high-ductility cement composites under high-strain-rate compression and tension is examined to reveal the material's failure mechanisms, alongside providing numerical modeling and data-driven predictions of the dynamic increase factor. The structural performance of sandwich wall, beam, and shell elements under marine-relevant loading conditions--including flexural, punching shear, beam shear, compression, combined compression-bending, impact, multi-impact, and residual resistance--is comprehensively investigated. Additionally, the load-transfer mechanism of novel double-layer steel-concrete sandwich composites under various loading conditions (static, impact, repeated impact, etc.) is revealed. Analytical methodologies, numerical studies, and design approaches are provided for practical application. A new type of slotted perforated plate connector for steel-concrete sandwich composites is also introduced, with its flexural and shear behavior thoroughly explored. Tailored for researchers, academics, postgraduate students, and professionals in materials and structural engineering specializing in high-performance steel-concrete composite structures, this book offers invaluable insights into innovative lightweight, high-performance steel-concrete sandwich composites for marine applications.
Dr. Zhenyu HUANG is a Professor at the Key Laboratory of Marine Civil Engineering Materials and Structures (Ministry of Education), the Research Institute of Near-Zero Carbon Coastal Infrastructure and Intelligent Operation and Maintenance Technology, and the School of Mechanics and Construction Engineering at Jinan University in Guangzhou, P.R. China. He has been consistently listed in the "World's Top 2% Scientists" ranking jointly published by Stanford University and Elsevier and is a recipient of the Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation for Outstanding Youth Award. He received his PhD from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2015 and subsequently worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Center for Offshore Research and Engineering (CORE) and the SembCorp-NUS Corporate Lab at NUS. He currently serves as the Deputy Director of the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Durability for Marine Civil Engineering. In addition, Dr. Huang is a board member of the Steel-Concrete Composite Structure Branch of the China Steel Structure Association and a board member of the China Steel Structure Association. Dr. Huang's research focuses on marine engineering materials and structures, including lightweight high-performance concrete, marine floating structures, modular prefabricated structural systems (such as MiC and PPVC), dynamic protection and resilience enhancement of composite structures, and AI-driven data prediction. He has published 82 academic papers, including 66 SCI/core journal papers (58 of which as first or corresponding author in journals such as ASCE-Journal of Structural Engineering, Engineering Structures, and Composite Structures). He holds 2 authorized U.S. patents and 23 authorized Chinese invention patents. Dr. Huang has led or participated in more than 10 national, provincial, and municipal research projects, serving as Principal Investigator for projects including the NSFC General Program and Youth Program, the Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation Outstanding Youth Program, and General Programs. His research accomplishments have been honored with the First and Second Prizes of the Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award, Gold and Silver Awards in the ACI (Singapore Chapter) High-Performance Concrete Project Competition, the Best Composite Structure Paper Award at the 8th International Conference on Steel and Aluminum Structures, and the Best Paper Award at the inaugural International Conference on Engineering Research and Practice for Steel Construction. He also serves as a Youth Editorial Board Member for journals such as Sustainable Structures, Progress in Steel Building Structures, Bulletin of the Chinese Ceramic Society, and Materials Reports, and acts as a reviewer for more than 50 renowned journals in the fields of civil and marine engineering. Dr. Yingwu Zhou is a distinguished professor and doctoral supervisor, a recipient of the National Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars and the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars. He has been recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher by Elsevier and consistently listed among the "World's Top 2% Scientists" from 2020 to 2025. He serves as the Director of the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Durability for Marine Civil Engineering and holds editorial board positions in several prestigious journals, including Construction and Building Materials and Advances in Structural Engineering. He is also a board member of the Guangdong Society of Mechanics, a member of the International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems and Structures (RILEM), and a member of the International Federation for Structural Concrete (fib). Dr. Zhou obtained his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in Structural Engineering from Dalian University of Technology. Prior to his current appointment, he worked as a Research Fellow at the City University of Hong Kong (2007-2010) and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2011-2013). His long-term research focuses on novel high-performance low-carbon cement-based composites, innovative composite structures, and structural strengthening. In the past five years, he has led eight national-level projects and nine provincial/municipal-level projects. He has published over 227 academic papers, including 170 SCI-indexed papers. His publications have garnered over 7,157 citations in the Web of Science Core Collection, with an h-index of 51. He holds 50 authorized invention patents, including five U.S. patents and one Australian patent. Among his accolades are the First and Second Prizes of the Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award and the Second Prize of the Shenzhen Natural Science Award.
