Abstract
Carbon nano-materials, especially Carbon Nanotubes (CNT) and Carbon Nanofibers (CNF), are two of the most prospective advanced materials for application in cement based products for the construction industry, due to their excellent material properties. In this study, their application in cement mortar was comparatively studied. Two mechanical properties, 28-day compressive strength and flexural strength, of CNT and CNF cement composites were investigated herein. The flow value of fresh mortar composites and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images of hardened mortar samples were also explored. Composites with 0.1% and 0.2% of CNT and CNF and water/cement ratios of 0.35 to 0.5 were utilized, together with appropriate sonication techniques, based on the results from a previous study. Both CNT and CNF composites demonstrated significant increase in compressive strengths, as compared to plain mortar control samples (maximum 154% for CNT and 217% for CNF samples). The flexural strengths were also enhanced, although not at the same level as compressive strengths (maximum 53% for CNT and 50% for CNF samples). Water/cement ratios in the range of 0.35-0.4 were found to produce the higher strengths, together with a 0.1% dosage rate for the CNT/CNF. Statistical analysis of the test results showed the significance of the enhanced strengths. It seemed that the CNT was better dispersed in the cement matrix than the CNF, because a correlation between the flow test results and the compressive strengths was detected for the CNT samples. SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) images showed fair to good dispersion of CNT/CNF in the hardened samples.
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