NANOTECHNOLOGY IN CIVIL ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION: A REVIEW ON STATE OF THE ART AND FUTURE PROSPECTS

Nanotechnology is the science of engineering that deals with particle which are less than 100 nm in size. It is the study of manipulating matter on molecular and atomic scale. In recent years, nanotechnology showed its potential in the field of biomedical, electronics, robotics. In civil engineering and construction, the nanotechnology is applied in (i) concrete for reducing segregation in self compacted concrete, (ii) the use of copper nano-particles in low carbon HPS is remarkable, (iii) the use of nano sensors in construction phase to know the early age properties of concrete is very useful, and (iv) its use in water purification system by replacing the use of granulated particles of carbon in filtration with purifiers like Nano Ceram-Pac (NCP). The present paper reviews the state of the art on the use of nanotechnology in the field of civil engineering and construction and also discusses its future prospect. Also, special emphasis is placed on the future application of nanotechnology in the field of geotechnical engineering.