GOVERNMENT COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

SALEM 11

NANOMATERIALS IN CONCRETE NANOSILICA

Presented by
SIVARAMAKRISHNAN P
II Year
Department of Civil Engineering

ABSTRACT
The
principle
of
sustainable development and green
building has penetrated the construction
industry at an accelerating rate in the
recent years. The use of large quantities of
cement produces increased carbon dioxide
emissions and as a consequence,
greenhouse effect. A method to reduce
cement content in the concrete mixes is the
use of NANOMATERIALS in it. Partial
replacement of cement with nS can reduce
the carbon dioxide emission into the
atmosphere to a considerable extent
without affecting the strength of the
structures. One of the silica fines with
high potential as cement replacement and
as concrete additive is nano-silica (nS). In
this regard, the idea of using by-product
such as nano-silica as partial replacement
of cement in concrete, due to its great
environment effect, became popular for
producing
infrastructures.
The
improvement in compressive and flexure
strength increased, compared with the
conventional mortar, the nano silica filled
the cement
paste
pores,
more
homogeneity for cement paste and
interfacial zone, by reacting with
calcium hydroxide crystals forming more
calcium
silicate hydration. Using
pozzolanic material such as silica fume
(SF) is necessary for improving the
properties of both concrete and cement
mortar,
because
the
significant
improvement occurred in the inter. A
stable gel structure can be formed and the
mechanical properties of hardened cement
paste can be improved when a smaller

amount of nano-silica is added. The

microstructure of the mortar containing
nano-silica (nS) was denser and more
uniform than that of the conventional
mortar containing silica fume. Thus,
Nanosilica can lead us to a better greener
environment without loss of stability of the
structures around us.

INTRODUCTION
The construction industry was the
only industry to identify nanotechnology as
a promising emerging technology in the
early 1990s However, construction has
lagged behind other industrial sectors, such
as automotive, chemicals, electronics and
biotech sectors, where nanotechnology
R&D has attracted significant interest and
investment
from
large
industrial
corporations and venture capitalists.
Nanotechnology has great effects on
different areas of science and industry. The
main reason behind the spread of
nanotechnology is that it provides
improvement for system reliability, extend
functionality
beyond
traditional
applications and decrease cost, size and
energy
consumption.
Incorporating
nanotechnology in the field of materials
facilitates increasing materials durability
and provides materials with ultra-high
performance. It also enables better usage of
natural resources and getting the required
materials properties with minimal usage.
Nano silica plays a vital role in this field,
especially in the field of construction.

1. NANO SILICA
Nano silica is a form of porous silicon. It
is an allotropic form of silicon with para
crystalline
structureis
similar
to amorphous silicon, in that it has
an amorphous phase. Where they differ is
that nano silica has small grains of
crystalline silicon within the amorphous
phase. This is in contrast to polycrystalline
silicon which consists solely of crystalline
silicon grains, separated by grain
boundaries. The difference comes solely
from the grain size of the crystalline grains.
Most materials with grains in the
micrometre range are actually fine-grained
polysilicon, so nano silica is a better term.
Figure shows the TEM structure of Nano
silica.

Nanosilica is stirred with 1.0%

super plasticizer and 25% of mixing
water at a high speed of 120 rpm for
2 min,
The cement and the residual amount
of mixing water are added to the
mixer at medium speed (80 rpm) for
1 min,
The mixture is allowed to rest for
90 s and then mixed for 1 min at
high speed.
For preparation of the mortars, the sand is
added gradually and mixed at a medium
speed for an additional 30 s after step 2. The
mortars are prepared by mixing 1 part of
cement and 2.75 parts of standard sand
proportion with standard water content.

NANOSILICA MECHANISM:

Nanosilica under TEM

METHOD OF MIXING
The cement blends are mixed in a rotary
mixer according to the following sequence:

Different effects are produced by the

addition of nano-Silica powder to concrete.
Adding micro-silica decreases the amount
of cement required an effect that is more
pronounced for nS. The main mechanism
of this working principle is the high surface

area of nS, which acts as a nucleation site

for the precipitation of CSH gel, that it is
unclear whether the more rapid hydration of
cement in the presence of nS is caused by
its chemical reactivity upon dissolution
(pozzolanic activity) or increased surface
activity. Viscosity test results have shown
that cement paste and mortar with nS
require more water to maintain the
workability of the mixtures.
Moreover, nS exhibits a stronger
tendency for adsorption of ionic species in
the aqueous medium, thus, the formation of
agglomerates is expected. In the latter case,
a dispersing additive or plasticizer is
required to minimize this effect .At high nS
concentration, autogenously shrinkage
occurs
as
selfdesiccation increases, resulting in higher cr
acking
potential.
To
avoid
this
effect,
researchers
have
added
high concentrations of superplasticizer and
water and applied appropriate curing
methods. The super plasticizer
was
applied at 2.64.2% of binder mass
depending
on
the
ratio
of
nS.Microstructural analysis of concrete usi
ng electronic micro-scope techniques
(SEM, ESEM, TEM) has revealed that the
microstructure of nS concrete is more unif
orm and compact than normal concrete.
Particles of nS ll the voids of the CSH gel
structure and function as nuclei to tightly
bond with CSH gel particles. This means
that the application of nS decreases the
calcium leaching rate of cement paste and
increases its durability. These improve the
mechanical properties of mortars with
nano-particles and showed that nano-scale
SiO2 behaved as a ller to improve the
microstructure and as an activator to
promote the pozzolanic reaction. The water
permeability tests revealed that, for

concretes having similar 28-day strength,

the incorporation of nS improved resistance
to
water
penetration.
The
most
reported effect of nS is its impact on the
mechanical properties of concrete and mor
tars. The addition of nS increases the densi
ty, decreases porosity, and increases the
bond between the cement matrix and aggre
gates .The presence of nS also
produces concrete that exhibits higher
compressive and exural strength .
It has also been determined that an increas
e in nS increases the strength of mortars
over the strength of mortars with silica
fume.

TEST RESULTS
1. Mortar Flow:
The flowability test of different cement
mortars were carried out. Results refer to a
flow reduction are proportional with the
increasing of NS percentages in cement
mortar up to 7 %, as apart of mixing
water was exhausted in the activation of
NS particles due to the large specific
surface area of NS particles as seen in
Fig . However, this behaviour is changed
when using 10 % of NS particles, the flow
started to re-increase due to the remaining
of the excess NS particles without
activation. So nano-silica absorbs amount
of the mixing water, reducing workability.
However, the excess of nano-silica up to
the interactive amount
work as
lubrication so reincrease the flow of the
mortar.

Effect on Compressive Strength

Mortar Flow

(Nano conference 2013, Brno, Czech

Republic, EU)

(Nano conference 2013, Brno, Czech

Republic, EU)

3. Flexural Strength:
2. Compressive Strength:
The optimum percentage adding nanosilica as a replacement of cement content
is 7%, which improves compressive
strength by 55.7% at 28 days. Nano-silica
up to 10 % Nanosilica can improve
compressive strength by 86.9 %.When
nano-silica
is
added
by different
percentages, both the effect and the
amount of improvement of compressive
strength of mortar can be enhanced. This
result is due to the increasing of the bond
strength of cement paste-fine aggregate
interface by means of the filling. The
admixture of nano silicon powder leads to
brittleness reducing and flexibleness
enhancing.

Results showed that the improvement

for flexural strength for nano-silica cement
mortar, which replaced by cement content
equal 7 % gives optimum percentage in
improvement. All results showed that,
when nano particles (nano-silica) is added
as a replacement of cement content, but by
different percentage, the effect and
amount of improvement of flexural
strength of mortar can be enhanced. This
result is attributed to increasing the bond
strength of cement paste-fine aggregate
interfacial zone.

Effect on Flexural Strength

(Nano conference 2013, Brno, Czech
Republic, EU)

OVER
CONVENTIONAL
CONCRETES...
Compared to the conventional cement
mortars and concrete, concrete containing
nanosilica as cement replacement has far
more advantages. The reason for this is due
to the smaller size and the larger surface
area which provides a better way of
bonding with the aggregate molecules. This
eliminates the presence of pores and cracks
in the concrete mixture, enhances adhesion
between molecules and develops a
homogenous mixture. The nano silica
particles are filled in the minute pores of the
mortar in which conventional particles of
silica, microsilica or silica fumes cannot be
occupied. The figure below shows the
difference between both at nano scale level.

SEM of Conventional Concrete

SEM of Nanosilica Concrete

DRYING SHRINKAGE:
Shrinkage is a common phenomenon
generally encountered in almost every
cementitious product due to contraction of
total mass upon loss of moisture. It is
sometimes accompanied by development of
cracks especially in such members whose
surface area to volume ratio is large. These
cracks serve as conduits for salt and water.
The saline solution comes in contact with
reinforcing steel and promotes corrosion.
Corrosion causes expansion of steel and
inevitably pop-outs occur in the concrete
cover, thereby reducing the strength and
service life of the concrete. In our case, due
to the need of excess of water for the
activation of nS, shrinkage occurs
inevitably, but it can be nearly eliminated
by the addition of superplasticizers about
3.5% to 4.5% in the concrete mix.

CO2 REDUCTION:
With the right balance between added
water, 1 kg of nano-silica could replace 5
kg of CEM I 52.5 R (60% less) and13 kg/m3
of the total binder should be decreased
(CEM I + CEM IIIB), while maintaining
the required properties (in fresh and
hardened state). As a result a more
ecological Self Compacting Concrete could
be manufactured Co2 (foot print 18% less)

APPLICATIONS:
A new nano-silica (nS) can be produced
in high quantities and for low prices that
allows for a mass application in concrete. It
may replace cement in the mix, which is the
most costly and environmentally unfriendly
component in concrete. The use of nS
makes concrete financially more attractive
and reduces the CO2 footprint of the
produced concrete products. The nS will
also increase the product properties of
the concrete: the workability and the
properties in hardened state, enabling the
development
of high performance
concretes for extreme constructions. That
means that a concrete with better
performance, lower costs and an
improved ecological footprint can be
designed.

DRAWBACKS:
A further research is required to modify
the production methods of nS in order to
avoid the formation of agglomerates
(such as the development of nS products
in liquid state, application of surfactants,
ultrasonification and microwave drying),
and to achieve better dispersionof

developed nS from olivine dissolution.

Additional work is necessary to investigate
the effect of synthesized nS on the
hydration of Portland cement
based
systems, as differential calorimetric
analysis,
adiabatic
temperature
measurements, pore solution analysis and
mathematical modeling.

CONCLUSION:
From the above observations, it can be
made clear that nanosilica can be made a
day to day usable material for developing
and enhancing the performance of concrete
in real time. The durability, strength and
quality of the structure using nanosilica
concrete
makes
its
usage
very
compromising when compared to its
drawbacks.
Sustainability
of
the
environment is also increased which could
lead the future generations in a better way.

REFERENCES:
1. Applications of Nanosilica in
concrete mixtures- G.Quercia and
H.J.H.Brouwers.
2. Influence of nano-silica addition on
properties of fresh and hardened
cement mortar- Sayed, Saheb and
Ibrahim
3. The use of Olivine nano-silica
James Baker.
4. Strength and Shrinkage Property of
Nano Silica Powder Concrete Hongxia Yang.
5. Influence of Nano-SiO2 and
Microsilica
on
Concrete
Performance M. Nili, A.Ehsani and
K. Shabani.
6. International
Journal
of
Engineering
and
Technical
Research (IJETR) ISSN: 23210869,
Volume-1,
Issue-7,
September 2013