Nanomaterials of Fe, Al and Ti, in the reduction of potentially reactive basalt aggregate in Portland cement dosages: deposition of coatings by plasma

Abstract

The mitigation of the effects of the alkali aggregate reaction (AAR) in cement mortars and concretes, with the addition of nanomaterial based on Fe, Al and Ti, on reactive aggregates was investigated. The coatings were prepared by the plasma technique. For this purpose, a rotational system was designed to obtain continuous nanometric films. The addition of metal-based nanomaterials and their metallic oxides (Fe, Al and Ti) helped in the reduction of the AAR process, by the formation of nanoclusters with potential reduction of the effects of the aggregated alkali reaction. This occurs by the modification of the degree of wettability of the interface or even a possible chemical interaction of the deposited films with the reactive components of the rock, eliminating the contact of the alkalis of the cementitious paste with the reactive silica of the aggregates.