This research direction is an applied fundamental research field oriented toward the construction needs of major national infrastructure, targeting the core engineering challenges of rapid deterioration, short service life, and high maintenance costs of concrete structures in harsh environments — including marine, high-altitude cold regions, saline soil, and heavy-traffic conditions prevalent across China. It is dedicated to elucidating the damage evolution mechanisms of concrete materials under multi-factor coupled actions, developing long-life, high-performance concrete preparation and protection technologies, and providing theoretical foundations and technical support for the durability design and full life-cycle safety assurance of major infrastructure.

Core Research Areas

1. Multi-Factor Coupled Damage Evolution Mechanisms

The damage processes of concrete under single and coupled actions — including chloride ion ingress, sulfate attack, freeze-thaw cycling, carbonation, alkali-silica reaction, and mechanical loading — are systematically investigated. Multi-scale experimental characterization and numerical simulation techniques are combined to reveal the intrinsic relationships among microstructural deterioration, interfacial transition zone damage, and macroscopic performance degradation, thereby clarifying the fundamental mechanisms of material failure.

2. Full Life-Cycle Performance Prediction and Assessment of Concrete

Damage evolution constitutive models for concrete that account for environment–material–structure interactions are established. A concrete service life prediction platform based on big data and artificial intelligence is developed. Durability assessment methods and residual life prediction techniques for concrete structures under various harsh environmental conditions are proposed.

3. Concrete Performance Enhancement and Modification Technologies

High-performance supplementary cementitious material systems based on industrial solid wastes are developed. Concrete mix design is optimized to enhance the material's inherent resistance to permeation, cracking, and chemical attack. Composite enhancement technologies — including fiber reinforcement, nano-modification, and surface protection — are investigated to address the durability challenges of concrete in extreme environments.

4. Engineering Application and Durability Design Technologies

Durability design guidelines for concrete structures in different harsh environments are formulated. High-performance concrete preparation and construction processes compatible with on-site construction conditions are developed. Engineering demonstration projects are carried out, and a full life-cycle quality control system is established.

Representative Research Foundation and Achievements

• Principal Investigator of multiple related research projects, including NSFC and Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation grants; participant in National Key R&D Program projects of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

• Published more than 40 SCI papers in leading international journals such as Cement and Concrete Research and Corrosion Science, with a total citation count exceeding 1,500.

Research Outlook

Future work will further address extreme environments — including deep-sea and offshore conditions, high-altitude cold regions, and nuclear waste disposal sites — by advancing integrated material-structure durability design technologies for concrete. Intelligent monitoring and digital twin technologies will be incorporated to enable dynamic performance regulation and safety early-warning systems for concrete structures throughout their full life cycle, providing core technical assurance for the long-term safe operation of infrastructure in China.