Investigation of the Mechanical, Microstructure and 3D Fractal Analysis of Nanocalcite-Modified Environmentally Friendly and Sustainable Cementitious Composites

Mahmoud Ziada,Yosra Tammam,Savaş Erdem,Roberto Alonso González Lezcano

doi:10.3390/buildings12010036

Abstract

Unlike conventional concrete materials, Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) use a micromechanics-based design theory in the material design process. Recently, the use of nanoparticles in various concretes and mortars has increased. This study used nanocalcite to investigate the mechanical, microstructural fractal analysis of environmentally friendly nanocalcite-doped ECC (NCa-ECC). This paper investigated the effects of nanocalcite (NCa) with different contents (0.5, 1, and 1.5% by mass of binder) on the mechanical properties of engineered cementitious composites (ECC). For this purpose, compressive strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), and flexural strength tests were conducted to investigate the mechanical properties of the ECC series. In addition, SEM analyses were carried out to investigate the microstructural properties of the ECC series. The content of nanocalcite improved the mechanical and microstructural properties of the nanocalcite-modified ECC series. In addition, the 1 NCa series (1% nanocalcite modified to the mass of the binder) had the best performance among the series used in this study.

Highlights

Cementitious materials perform a necessary part in the construction sector and are of paramount importance to improve their durability and mechanical characteristics [1,2,3,4,5]
The Portland cement (PC), fly ash (FA), and silica sand were dry blended for 3 min in a mixer
This R coefficient indicates a strong relationship between ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) and the compressive strength of the specimens

Summary

Introduction

Cementitious materials perform a necessary part in the construction sector and are of paramount importance to improve their durability and mechanical characteristics [1,2,3,4,5]. The addition of nanoparticles generally increase the matrix fracture toughness due to the shielding effect on the crack tip and improves the multiple cracking behavior of engineered cementitious composites by making the fiber distribution more homogenous [25]. Research conducted far is still less to comprehensively evaluate the microstructure-associated mechanical and fracture characterization of engineered cementitious mixes modified with nanocalcite and 3D fractal characterization. This leads to the aim of this study, which is to analyze the mechanical performance and micro-structural damage characteristics of nano-modified ECC mixes and to improve the toughness, the multiple cracking behavior and the strength of the strain. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and 3D fractal analysis were performed to examine the microstructural and crack analysis of the samples

Materials and Mixing Procedures

N1 CNaCa

Findings

Conclusions