Mechanical behavior and toughening mechanism of polycarboxylate superplasticizer modified graphene oxide reinforced cement composites

Abstract Graphene oxide (GO) has attracted increasing interests for the use as nano-reinforcement in cement composites. However, the dispersion problem of GO nanosheets in alkaline cement matrix has been restricting its real application. In this paper, polycarboxylate superplasticizer (PC) modified GO (PC@GO) 1 was used to improve the dispersion of GO and the mechanical behavior of cement composites. The results show that PC@GO disperses uniformly in alkaline cement matrix and exhibits reinforcing effects on mechanical behavior of cement composites. With the addition of ∼0.242 wt% PC@GO (PC 0.22 wt%, GO 0.022 wt%) of cement, the compressive strength, flexural strength, Young's modulus and flexural toughness can be increased to 34.10%, 30.37%, 32.37% and 33%, respectively at early days. The toughening mechanism of PC@GO is attributed to its resistance to the formation and growth of cracks based on the characterization of cracks in scanning electron microscope images. This work has opened an effective way to use GO as a nano-reinforcing material for cement composites.

[1]  V. Corinaldesi,et al.  Mechanical characterization of Engineered Cement-based Composites prepared with hybrid fibres and expansive agent , 2016 .

[2]  Hassani Abolfazl,et al.  Preparation and Mechanical Properties of Graphene Oxide: Cement Nanocomposites , 2014, TheScientificWorldJournal.

[3]  Jay G. Sanjayan,et al.  Nano reinforced cement and concrete composites and new perspective from graphene oxide , 2014 .

[4]  Florence Sanchez,et al.  Nanotechnology in concrete – A review , 2010 .

[5]  N. Gucunski,et al.  Assessment of flexural toughness and impact resistance of bundle-type polyamide fiber-reinforced concrete , 2015 .

[6]  A. Yahia.  Shear-thickening behavior of high-performance cement grouts — Influencing mix-design parameters , 2011 .

[7]  S. S. Kumar,et al.  An experimental study on cracking evolution in concrete and cement mortar by the b-value analysis of acoustic emission technique , 2012 .

[8]  Dan Li,et al.  Reinforcing effects of graphene oxide on portland cement paste , 2015 .

[9]  Yujuan Ma,et al.  Effect of graphene oxide nanosheets of microstructure and mechanical properties of cement composites , 2013 .

[10]  N. Banthia,et al.  Effect of shrinkage reducing admixture on flexural behaviors of fiber reinforced cementitious composites , 2012 .

[11]  Kejin Wang,et al.  Influence of bleeding on properties and microstructure of fresh and hydrated Portland cement paste , 2016 .

[12]  Jiaping Liu,et al.  Investigation of the effectiveness of PC@GO on the reinforcement for cement composites , 2016 .

[13]  C. Anagnostopoulos.  Effect of different superplasticisers on the physical and mechanical properties of cement grouts , 2014 .

[14]  A. Ateş.  Mechanical properties of sandy soils reinforced with cement and randomly distributed glass fibers (GRC) , 2016 .

[15]  Riadh Al-Mahaidi,et al.  Detection of cracks in concrete strengthened with CFRP systems using infra-red thermography , 2014 .

[16]  Young Soo Yoon,et al.  Material and bond properties of ultra high performance fiber reinforced concrete with micro steel fibers , 2014 .

[17]  Xiaohua Zhao,et al.  Mechanical behavior and microstructure of cement composites incorporating surface-treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes , 2005 .

[18]  Hongjian Du,et al.  Enhancement of barrier properties of cement mortar with graphene nanoplatelet , 2015 .

[19]  M. Abbasi,et al.  A study on mechanical and physical properties of monocalcium aluminate cement reinforced with nano-SiO2 particles , 2014 .

[20]  R. Ruoff,et al.  Graphene and Graphene Oxide: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications , 2010, Advanced materials.

[21]  Wei Wei,et al.  Catalytic behavior of graphene oxide for cement hydration process , 2016 .

[22]  Jia-Liang Le,et al.  Use of 2D Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNP) in cement composites for structural health evaluation , 2014 .

[23]  G. Ramanath,et al.  Multishell Carrier Transport in Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology.

[24]  Zeyu Lu,et al.  Mechanism of cement paste reinforced by graphene oxide/carbon nanotubes composites with enhanced mechanical properties , 2015 .

[25]  Mohd Zamin Jumaat,et al.  Graphene nanoplatelet-fly ash based geopolymer composites , 2015 .

[26]  Fernando Fraternali,et al.  On the reinforcement of cement mortars through 3D printed polymeric and metallic fibers , 2016 .

[27]  Snigdha Sharma,et al.  Influence of graphene oxide as dispersed phase in cement mortar matrix in defining the crystal patterns of cement hydrates and its effect on mechanical, microstructural and crystallization properties , 2015 .

[28]  Jian Wang,et al.  Influence of graphene oxide additions on the microstructure and mechanical strength of cement , 2015 .

[29]  D. Volkmer,et al.  Carbon fibre reinforced cement-based composites as smart floor heating materials , 2016 .