Physical Properties of Concrete Containing Graphene Oxide Nanosheets

Abstract

Concrete made from ordinary Portland cement is one of the most widely used construction materials due to its excellent compressive strength. However, concrete lacks ductility resulting in low tensile strength and flexural strength, and poor resistance to crack formation. Studies have demonstrated that the addition of graphene oxide (GO) nanosheet can effectively enhance the compressive and flexural properties of ordinary Portland cement paste, confirming GO nanosheet as an excellent candidate for using as nano-reinforcement in cement-based composites. To date, the majority of studies have focused on cement pastes and mortars. Only limited investigations into concretes incorporating GO nanosheets have been reported. This paper presents an experimental investigation on the slump and physical properties of concrete reinforced with GO nanosheets at additions from 0.00% to 0.08% by weight of cement and a water–cement ratio of 0.5. The study demonstrates that the addition of GO nanosheets improves the compressive strength, flexural strength, and split tensile strength of concrete, whereas the slump of concrete decreases with increasing GO nanosheet content. The results also demonstrate that 0.03% by weight of cement is the optimum value of GO nanosheet dosage for improving the split tensile strength of concrete.

Effect of Graphene Oxide Nanosheets on Physical Properties of Ultra-High-Performance Concrete with High Volume Supplementary Cementitious Materials

“…The results have demonstrated that the addition of GO nanosheet reduced the flowability of UHPC mixture with high volume SCMs and thus its workability. Similar results were also reported in previous studies on NC [20,21], UHSC [22], self-compacting ultra-high-performance cement-based composites with high cement content [24], all containing GO nanosheets. Elsewhere, a previous study regarding UHPC enhanced with the graphite nanoplatelet (GNP), which is another…”

“…The results have demonstrated that the addition of GO nanosheet reduced the flowability of UHPC mixture with high volume SCMs and thus its workability. Similar results were also reported in previous studies on NC [20,21], UHSC [22], self-compacting ultra-high-performance cement-based composites with high cement content [24], all containing GO nanosheets. Elsewhere, a previous study regarding UHPC enhanced with the graphite nanoplatelet (GNP), which is another type of graphene-based nanosheet (GNS), indicated that when GNP content was less than 0.05%, the flowability of the UHPC increased, whereas it decreased when the GNP content was greater than 0.05%, suggesting the flowability of the UHPC is affected by the dosages of both the high range water reducer and the GNP [30].…”

“…Based on the current literature and the results from this study, some mechanical properties of NC, UHSC, and UHPC with the addition of graphene nanosheets, GO nanosheets, and GNP are summarized in Table 4. Standard curing was employed for specimens in previous studies [20][21][22]24,34] and UHPC2 in present study while specimens prepared by Wang et al [35] were cured in 25 • C water for 3 months and followed by the air curing (room temperature) for 7 days. Steam curing was used for UHPC4 (see Table 3) in the present study.…”

“…Compared to GO nanosheet applications in pastes and mortars, it was employed somewhat later for improving the properties of concrete. Wu et al [20] reported that the compressive strength, flexural strength and split tensile strength of normal concrete (NC) were enhanced by an increase at the level of GO nanosheets from 0.02% to 0.08%, whereas the slump of concrete decreases with increasing GO nanosheet content. Moreover, the authors also found that 0.03% is the optimum value of GO nanosheet dosage for improving the split tensile strength of the concrete specimens with a water-cement ratio of 0.5.…”

Effect of Graphene Oxide on Mechanical Properties of Cement Mortar and its Strengthening Mechanism

“…Mokhtar et al [18] reported that the addition of GO nanoplatelets (0.02% bwoc) to cement pastes increased the compressive strength by about 13%, and the addition of GO nanoplatelets (0.03% bwoc) to cement pastes increased the splitting tensile strength by 41%. Wu et al [19] reported that the compressive strength of the concrete curing for 28 days increased from 12.84% to 34.08%, while the content of the GO nanosheets increased from 0.02% to 0.08% with a water–binder ratio of 0.5. The addition of GO nanosheets improved the flexural strength of concrete from 2.77% to 15.60% at 28 days when the content of GO nanosheets increased from 0.02% to 0.08%.…”