Wang, Qinghua ， Xu, Jinggang ， Zhao, Yizhe ， Wang, Li ， Wang, Miaomiao ， Kang, Bo ， Wang, Qiao
2026-07-01 JOURNAL OF MATERIALS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING 2026 38(卷), 7(期), (null页)
The overexploitation of natural sands has become a pressing issue that must be addressed urgently. Aeolian sand (AS) has drawngreat attention as a promising alternative material. However, their concentrated gradation, small particle size, and poor adhesion with ce-mentitious materials pose scientific and technological challenges to fully exploit AS resources as the sole fine aggregate. Herein, the lowmolecular weight hyperbranched polyvinylimide (HPEI) was adopted as a crosslinker to create an AS-HPEI-hydration product network in theaeolian sand concrete (ASC), leading to significant enhancements in both flexural and compressive properties. Furthermore, profiting fromthe robust crosslinking reaction and film-filling effect, ASC reinforced by 1% HPEI possessed a more compact microstructure and interfacialtransition zone, which was beneficial to enhance the pore structures. This innovative approach has significant potential to enhance themechanical properties of ASC and effectively boost the utilization rate of AS in construction materials, which offers a cost-effective andeco-friendly alternative solution.