Abstract
Due to the new challenges posed to engineering constructions, as well as the principles of sustainable development, many laboratories around the world are carrying out works to improve the basic structural material that is concrete. There has recently been a lot of interest in modifying concrete with nano-sized particles. Literature reviews indicate that their addition significantly improves the physical and mechanical properties of the concrete that was obtained with their use. Until now, there is no knowledge of the effect of nano-additives on the process of destroying temporarily compressed concrete. One test method that enables the parameters that describe the stress failure of concrete to be determined is the acoustic emission method. This work fills the gap in the literature and presents the results of the author's own research on the impact of the use of different amounts of nano-additive TiO2 on the failure process of selfcompacting concrete that was made solely on the basis of granite aggregate. The stress failure of the tested concrete was described using the stress levels (determined using the acoustic emission method) that initiate the cracking σi and critical stresses σcr that delimit the tested process. The descriptors that were used for this purpose are the rate of counts and the average effective value of the acoustic emission signal.
Highlights
Self-compacting concrete (SCC) is widely used in the construction industry
Compared to traditional concrete i.e. ordinary concrete, self-compacting concrete offers many advantages, among others: a lack of the need for mechanical compaction of the concrete mix, a low level of noise during concrete works, a lack of segregation effect of a concrete mix, the ability to tightly fill in a formwork, the exact coverage of a reinforcement, compaction under selfweight, a fast concreting process, high quality and durability of elements made of it, and a less demand for physical work [1,2,3]
These factors are related to, among others, the composition of a concrete mix [8] and include the type of additive used in the concrete, which was shown in [9] using an example of fly ash and silica dust
Summary
Self-compacting concrete (SCC) is widely used in the construction industry. Compared to traditional concrete i.e. ordinary concrete, self-compacting concrete offers many advantages, among others: a lack of the need for mechanical compaction of the concrete mix, a low level of noise during concrete works, a lack of segregation effect of a concrete mix, the ability to tightly fill in a formwork, the exact coverage of a reinforcement, compaction under selfweight, a fast concreting process, high quality and durability of elements made of it, and a less demand for physical work [1,2,3].The stress failure of temporarily compressed concrete is an important issue from both the point of view of durability and the safety of constructions made of cement composites [4,5,6]. There is a relationship between the above-mentioned stress levels and the technological factors affecting the concrete. These factors are related to, among others, the composition of a concrete mix [8] and include the type of additive used in the concrete, which was shown in [9] using an example of fly ash and silica dust. It is proven that the level of stress that initiates cracking σi is identified with the fatigue strength of concrete, and the level of critical stresses σcr is related to the long-term compressive strength of concrete [7, 10]
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