Effect of Nano-Particle on Durability of Polyvinyl Alcohol Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Composite

Abstract

In this study, the influence of nano-particle on flowability and durability of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers reinforced cementitious composite containing fly ash was evaluated. In the cementitious composite, Portland cement was replaced with 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0% and 2.5% (by weight) of nano-particles. Two kinds of nano-particle of SiO2 and CaCO3 nano-particles were adopted in this study. PVA fibers were incorporated to the composite at a dosage of 0.9% (by volume). The flowability of the fresh cementitious composite was assessed using slump flow measurements. The durability of hardened cementitious composite includes carbonation resistance, permeability resistance, cracking resistance as well as freezing-thawing resistance, which were evaluated by the depth of carbonation, the water permeability height, cracking resistance ratio of the specimens, and relative dynamic elastic modulus of samples after freeze-thaw cycles, respectively. Our results showed incorporation of nano-particles had a little disadvantageous effect on flowability of PVA fiber reinforced cementitious composite, and the flowability of the fresh mixtures decreased with increases in the nano-particles content. The decrease in flowability of cementitious composite resulted by nano-SiO2 particles is more remarkable than nano-CaCO3 particles. The addition of both nano-SiO2 and nano-CaCO3 particles significantly improved the durability of PVA fiber reinforced cementitious composite. However, the improvement of nano-SiO2 on durability is much better than that of nano-CaCO3. When the amount of SiO2 nano-particle was less than 2.5%, the durability of cementitious composites increased with nano-SiO2 content. The microstructure of PVA fiber reinforced cementitious composite becomes much denser due to filler effect of nano-particle and generation of particles of hydrated products C–S–H gels. Both of SiO2 and CaCO3 nano-particle improved the microstructure of PVA fiber reinforced cementitious composite, and nano-SiO2 particles might be more beneficial for PVA fibers to play the role of reinforcement than nano-CaCO3 particles in the composites.