Effect of nano silica on the properties of concrete and mortar – A state of art

Abstract

Construction industry is one of the biggest sectors globally and a wide variety of materials are used to carry out various works. Particularly, cement is a material that is used in the construction of various structures and it is also the major source of emission of CO2 gas into the atmosphere which results in global warming. Many researchers have identified various replacement materials for cement as a partial substitution and carried out experiments successfully. Nano silica is widely utilized as a partial replacement for cement and a lot of research is carried out. This paper reviews the past studies in which nano silica is utilized in various building materials such as cement mortars, normal concrete and special concretes. The fresh concrete properties, strength and durability of the material are the parameters reviewed and it is apparent that by incorporating nano silica in cement it absorbs more water, which makes the mix less workable and it imparts additional strength to the concrete and also provides better durability when compared with the control specimen. Hence it has been revealed that nano silica will be a good replacement for cement as it is pozzolanic in nature and also possessing good microstructure.