“PIONEER” 2009 KIT’S COE KOLHAPUR, NATIONAL LEVEL PAPER PRESENTATION.

“APPLICATION OF NANOTECHNOLOGY
IN CONCRETE TECHNOLPGY”
BY: AWATE DHANANJAY SHRIKANT
dhananjay_awate@rediffmai l.com Mob:9970342496 (B.E.CIVIL) COE MALEGAON(BK), BAR
AMATI, PUNE, MAHARASHTRA. PIN:413115
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ABSTRACT:
Albert Einstein first proved that each molecule measures about a nanometer (a bi
llion of a meter) in diameter. And in 1959, it was Richard P. Feynman who predic
ted a technological world composed of self-replicating molecules whose purpose w
ould be the production of nano-sized objects. Nanotechnology is one of the most
active research areas that encompass a number of disciplines including civil eng
ineering and construction materials. Interest in nanotechnology concept for Port
land cement composites is steadily growing. Currently, the most active research
areas dealing with cement and concrete are: understanding of the hydration of ce
ment particles and the use of nano-size ingredients such as alumina and silica p
articles. Nanotechnology broadly refers to the manipulation of matter on the ato
mic and molecular scales. This technology enables creation of things one atom or
molecule at a time. The possibilities with nanotechnology are enormous and are
of great benefit to us. Concrete is at something of a crossroads: there are many
opportunities and some threats. For those opportunities to change into benefici
al practice, engineers, material scientists, architects manufacturers and suppli
ers must focus on the changes that are required to champion concrete and maintai
n its dominance within the global construction industry. Recent research has sho
wn that a state-of-the-art process for high-performance cement adds a new dimens
ion to ‘classical’ cement technology, similarly this is the time to work on “NANOTECHN
OLOGY” for development of construction industry by innovations in concrete teqniqu
es and also some new materials for the concrete technology. As concrete is most
usable material in construction industry it’s been require to improve its quality.
The main objective of this paper is to outline promising research areas. Basic
background information on nanotechnology research, state of the art on use of th
is technology as “ADVANCED CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY”.
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WHAT IS NANOTECHNOLOGY ?
“Nanotechnology is defined as fabrication of devices or materials with atomic or m
olecular scale precision”
OR Nanotechnology is the science of the small’. Nanotechnology is usually associa
ted with study of materials of micro size i.e. one billionth of a meter (a Nanom
etre) or 10^-9m.
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WHY NANOTECHNOLOGY FOR CONCRETE?
The mechanical behavior of concrete materials depends on structural elements and
phenomena that occur on a micro and a nano scale. As a result, nanotechnology c
an: modify the molecular structure of concrete material to improve the material

s bulk properties; improve significantly the mechanical performance, volume stab
ility, durability, and sustainability of concrete; and have revolutionary effect
s, allowing the development of costeffective, high-performance, and long- lastin
g products and processes for cement and concrete, within the ideals of sustainab
le development. In addition, nano-engineering and the modification of concrete m
aterials can lead to unprecedented uses of concrete materials, as well as new cl
assifications of concrete, with extensive applications for the concrete infrastr
ucture of transportation. Average size of Portland cement particle is about 50 m
icrons. In applications that require thinner final products and faster setting t
ime, micro cement with a maximum particle size of about 5 microns is being used.
Therefore the particle size has to be reduced by an order of magnitude to obtai
n nano-portland cement. If these nano-cement particles can be processed with nan
otubes and reactive nano-size silica particles; conductive, strong, tough and ro
om temperature processed ceramics can be developed both for electronic applicati
ons
and coatings. Since carbon oxidizes at temperatures above 400 °C, room temperature
processing will be a boon to retain the mechanical properties of carbon nano-tu
bes. Since
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most ceramics are processed at temperatures much higher than 400 °C, carbon fibers
can not be used with these processes. At the micro level, there is also a very
good analogy between reinforced concrete and fiber composites. The lessons learn
ed on fiber reinforced concrete can also be effectively used for composites made
using short discrete fibers, both at micro and nano-level. For example, conside
rable amount of fiber reinforced concrete containing 0.5% of steel fibers are be
ing used in actual construction. The enhancement of properties provided by this
0.5% of steel fibers to concrete matrix are not that much different from the enh
ancement provided by 0.5% of carbon nano-tubes in high performance composites. N
ote that carbon fibers provide enhancement to both mechanical and electrical pro
perties. Concrete, even of high quality, contains Capillaries and Micro Cracks.
This allows water to pass through its structure. The passage of water and moistu
re by this method is called capillary absorption. Even dense concrete of high st
andard does not eliminate absorption of water through capillary and permeability
. Concrete inherently absorbs moisture and soluble contaminates from its surroun
ding environment.
DEFINITION OF NANO-CONCRETE
For discussions presented in this paper, nano-concrete is defined as “A concrete m
ade with Portland cement particles that are less than 500 nano-meters as the cem
enting agent”. Currently cement particle sizes range from a few nano-meters to a m
aximum of about100 micro meters. In the case of micro-cement the average particl
e size is reduced to 5 micro meters. An order of magnitude reduction is needed t
o produce nano-cement.
CONCRETE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY
One can claim that concrete utilizes nanotechnology because it contains nanopart
icles as ingredients including nano-water particles and nano-air voids. However,
to claim the use of nanotechnology, we should be able to control the amount and
the locations of these nano- ingredients inside the final products. The scales
of various constituent materials of concrete are shown in Fig c. If we can creat
e chemical or mechanical tools to control nanoscale pores and the placement of c
alcium-silicate hydration products then concrete becomes a product of nanotechno
logy.
Fig-c
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NANOSCALE CONCRETE:
•
•
• •
Fundamental research into the interactions between fly ash and the nanostructure
of Portland cement gel is under way, using neutron scattering technology. Nanot
echnology is providing a close-up look at the hydration of cement grains and the
nanostructure of cement reactivity as hydrated surfaces develop on individual c
ement grains. The feasibility of Cyberliths, or Smart Aggregates, as wireless se
nsors embedded in concrete or soil is under examination. Concrete ills such as a
lkali-silica reactivity (ASR) and delayed ettringite formation, the bane of conc
rete highways and bridges, are being explored at the molecular level using neutr
on-scattering technology and other processes.
CEMET REACTIVITY AT NANOSCALE:
“We need to better know how to control the timing of concrete setting.” The evolutio
n of the hydrogen profile shows the timing of the surface layer
s breakdown. Thi
s information can be used to study the concrete setting process as a function of
time, temperature, cement chemistry, and other factors. For example, researcher
s used NRRA to determine that in cement hydrating at 30°C, the breakdown occurs at
1.5 hours. The surface disintegration then releases accumulated silicate into t
he surrounding solution, where it reacts with calcium ions to form a calcium-sil
icate hydrate gel, which binds cement grains together and sets the concrete. “This
resolves a scientific debate that has been going on for more than a century.” The
20-nanometer-thick surface layer acts as a semi permeable barrier that allows w
ater to enter the cement grain and calcium ions to leach out. However, the large
r silicate ions in the cement are trapped behind this layer. As the reaction con
tinues, a silicate gel forms there, causing swelling within the cement.
NANOSCALE ATTACK ON ASR (ALKALI SILICATE REACTION):
ASR occurs upon contact between cement alkalis and a reactive form of silica fro
m particular aggregates, which can result in an alkali/silica gel. If enough moi
sture is present, the gel will expand, causing significant material damage. Beca
use ASR weakens concrete to the point that it becomes especially vulnerable to e
xternal forces, it
s been dubbed the “AIDS of concrete.”The chemical and physical pr
ocesses causing damage attributed to ASR gel. The ASR gel expansion mechanism ap
pears to involve a phase transformation from amorphous gel to layered structure
on the nanoscale.Accordingly, research includes the application of neutron scatt
ering and positron annihilation spectroscopy to measure nano- and subnanoscale c
hanges in gel microstructure as a function of gel chemistry, temperature and rel
ative humidity.
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SYNTHESIS OF CEMENT USING NANO-PARTICLES:
In a project supported by National Science Foundation, it has been synthesized t
he components of Portland cement Type I using nano-particles and compared their
properties with that of commercial cement. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) an
d Xray diffraction (XRD) equipment were used to evaluate the morphology and stru
cture of synthesized tricalcium silicate (C3S) components. Conglomerated nano-pa
rticles with crystalline structures containing quantities of tri- and di- calciu
m silicate compounds as well as copper oxide were found to be present in the syn
thesized cement. Hydration tests indicated that the nano-cement had a more rapid
hydration rate than Portland cement.
NANO CEMENT COMPOSITES:
Nano-tubes can be used to fabricate fiber composites that can inherit some of th
e outstanding properties of the nano-tubes. For example, carbon nano-tubes can b
e mixed with alumino-silicates to produce very thin wafers that are very strong
and highly conductive. The composite can also be used as a tough, durable, high
temperature and low-friction coating. Current alumino-silicate formulations cons
ist of silica particles in the range of 50 to 100 nm. It is possible to refine t
he process to reduce the maximum particle size in the matrix to 5 or 10 nm. Thes
e matrices can be reinforced with as low as 0.5% of nano-tubes and still produce
extraordinary strength and electrical conductivity improvements.
CARBON NANOTUBES
SOME COMPOSITES: Admixtures
• •
Mineral, Chemical,Water reducers For nano cement, nano silica fume, nano glass p
article.
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Fillers
• • • Reduce shrinkage Larger/smaller than cement particles Larger- more volume fracti
on
Fibers
• •
Nano carbon tubes, Metallic fibers Silicon carbide whiskers, Glass fibers Woolla
stinite, Polymeric fibers, flexible membrane Ceramic fibers (Nextel) - high temp
erature applications
• • •
POSSIBLE PERFORMANCE AND FABRICATION TECHNIQUES:
A careful review of the aforementioned facts and figures on Portland cement can
be used to envision the performance of nano-cement: • Only nano-size pozzolans and
fillers should be used for nano-cement composites. (Note that silica fume and t
itanium oxide are readily available in nano-sizes.) • Irrespective of the mode of
manufacturing, the gypsum content has to be engineered to control the heat of hy
dration and strength development. • It is possible to mix nano-carbon tube bundles
in nano-cement slurry. For certain applications even regular carbon whiskers ca
n be used.
NANO-SCALE SILICA FUME FOR IMPROVING CONCRETE PERFORMANCE:
• Ultra-fine amorphous colloidal silica was found to be much more efficient than m
icron sized silica for improving the performance such as permeability, and subse
quently, durability. In addition, reduced amount of about 15 to 20 kg of nanosil
ica was found to provide same strength as 60 kg of regular or micro silica.
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OPPORTUNITIES:
If Portland cement can be formulated with nano-size cement particles, it will op
en up a large number of opportunities. For example, the cement can be used as an
inorganic adhesive with carbon fibers. Currently the micron size cement particl
es are not conducive for use with 7 micron diameter carbon fibers. The cement wi
ll not only be more economical than organic polymers but also will be fire resis
tant. In addition it will not emit any volatile organic compounds (voc) and the
composites can be attached to parent concrete substrate using a compatible adhes
ive. It will be also very competitive with current inorganic composites because
they have to be processed at high temperature. A number of investigations have b
een carried out for developing smart concrete using carbon fibers. This will bec
ome a reality with nano-cement because nano-carbontubes are much more effective
than carbon fibers. The thickness of the composite can be reduced to microns and
hence flexible and smart cement composite can be manufactured.
CONCLUSION:
Large amount of funds and effort are being utilized to develop nano technology.
Even though cement and concrete may constitute only a small part of this overall
effort, it could pay enormous dividends in the areas of technological breakthro
ughs and economic benefits. Current efforts are focused on understanding cement
particle hydration, nano size silica and super plasticizer additions and sensors
. Unique opportunity exists for the development of nano-concrete that can lead t
o major long standing contributions in the “CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY” , thus in construct
ion industry.
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REFERANCES:
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Approximate Solution Methods in Engineering Mechanics, John Wiley, New York, 200
2, 280 pp. [3] Balaguru, P.; and Shah, S.P. Fiber Reinforced Cement Composites,
McGraw-Hill, New York, 1992, 530 pp. [4] “Concrete”, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.
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G. Properties of high-volume fly ash concrete incorporating nano-SiO2. Cement a
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