The effect of adsorbent-containing nanoparticles on the efficiency of porous concrete

Abstract

For the past decade, porous concrete has been applied to surface pavements and sidewalks to control urban runoff. The effects of including mineral adsorbents and nanoparticles in porous concrete for improving structural properties were investigated in this study. The porous concrete mixture had two levels of nanoparticles (2 and 5 % w/w) as well as zeolite, travertine, scoria, and pumice in amounts of 5, 10, and 15 %. The permeability, compressive strength, and porosity of porous concrete samples were measured. According to the findings, adding nanoparticles to porous concrete increased the compressive strength but reduced the permeability and porosity. On the other hand, samples without nanoparticles did not show a consistent trend. The incorporation of additives up to a particular limit decreased the compressive strength and then increased it as the pores filled. The applied additives performed almost identically regarding the compressive strength; however, the samples containing pumice and zeolite performed better in terms of permeability and porosity. The results also revealed that employing nanoparticles in conjunction with adsorbents increased the physical characteristics of porous concrete, with 5 % nanoparticles that increased the compressive strength by 84 % in the control sample. Furthermore, this sample's permeability and porosity were reduced by 50 % and 13 %, respectively. The sample containing 15 % travertine and 5 % nanoparticles had the most significant effect on the compressive strength with a 122 % improvement. Furthermore, by increasing the concentration of nanoparticles in the concrete, its compressive strength also increased. However, the inclusion of nanoparticles reduced permeability and porosity, so that the sample containing 15 % pumice and 5 % nanoparticles exhibited the highest change, with a 44 % reduction compared to the sample without adsorbent and nanoparticles.