Nanomaterials in concrete: Enhancing strength and durability

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have received great attention for their applications in concrete due to their unique properties such as high strength, flexibility, and electrical conductivity. This study aims to investigate the effect of adding carbon nanotubes on the energy combination of the material. Concrete samples were prepared with different concentrations of carbon nanotubes and their mechanical properties were measured and compared with control samples without carbon nanotubes. The results show that the addition of carbon nanotubes increases the compressive and flexural strength of concrete. The findings suggest that incorporating carbon nanotubes into concrete could be a good way to improve concrete's mechanical properties and improve its performance in construction. Compared with white cement M20 samples aged 7, 14 and 28 days. The 28day maximum strength is stated below for 0.0045 wt.% SWCNT and MWCNT and 0.0030 wt.% SWCNT and MWCNT. It was determined that nanocomposites containing a lower proportion of long MWCNTs had properties comparable to nanocomposites containing a higher proportion of short MWCNTs. Many of the walls of the carbon nanotubes reach microcracks, indicating that the carbon nanotubes are cracked and pulled out. Besides the compression test, we also calculated the slit tensile strength by adding different percentages of carbon nanotubes. The usage percentage increased for 0.0015% MWCNTs and 0.0030% and 0.0045% SWNTs.