Characterization of the interfacial transition zone of CNF-Reinforced cementitious composites

Yuan Gao; Xingyi Zhu; David J. Corr; Maria S. Konsta-Gdoutos; Surendra P. Shah

doi:10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2019.03.002

Characterization of the interfacial transition zone of CNF-Reinforced cementitious composites

Yuan Gao^*, Xingyi Zhu, David J. Corr, Maria S. Konsta-Gdoutos, Surendra P. Shah

^*Corresponding author for this work

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

77 Scopus citations

Abstract

Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) has become one of the most promising nanomaterials as an additive to cementitious composites, due to the improvements that can be seen in mechanical, electrical and thermal properties. Mechanical characterization has been conducted with cement paste, mortar and concrete with 0.1 wt% well-dispersed CNFs, and the modulus of elasticity is found to be improved by 21%, 34% and 29%, respectively. The improvement is more significant in mortar and concrete in spite of the presence of aggregate which reduces the volume fraction of CNFs, indicating a potential enhancement in the interfacial transitional zone (ITZ). The nano-characterization of the ITZ is performed in CNF-modified mortars and concrete using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results show the ITZ is enhanced mechanically (elastic modulus is increased) and chemically (Ca/Si ratio is reduced) due to the addition of CNFs. The characterization of the ITZ in the presence of CNFs offers an explanation for the different behaviors seen in nanomodified cement paste, mortar and concrete and facilitates the use of CNF in concrete in field applications.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	130-139
Number of pages	10
Journal	Cement and Concrete Composites
Volume	99
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2019.03.002
State	Published - May 2019

Funding

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support for this study from Australia Research Council Nanocomm Hub . This work made use of the EPIC and SPID facilities of Northwestern University's Nuance Center, which has received support from the Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource ( NSF ECCS-1542205 ); the MRSE program ( NSF DMR-1121262 ) at the Materials Research Center ; the International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN) ; the Keck Foundation ; and the State of Illinois , through the IIN. The work described in this paper is also supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U1633116 ), Shanghai Pujiang Program , and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities .

Keywords

AFM
Carbon nanofibers
Concrete
EDX
Interfacial transition zone
SEM

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Building and Construction
General Materials Science

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10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2019.03.002

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title = "Characterization of the interfacial transition zone of CNF-Reinforced cementitious composites",

abstract = "Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) has become one of the most promising nanomaterials as an additive to cementitious composites, due to the improvements that can be seen in mechanical, electrical and thermal properties. Mechanical characterization has been conducted with cement paste, mortar and concrete with 0.1 wt\% well-dispersed CNFs, and the modulus of elasticity is found to be improved by 21\%, 34\% and 29\%, respectively. The improvement is more significant in mortar and concrete in spite of the presence of aggregate which reduces the volume fraction of CNFs, indicating a potential enhancement in the interfacial transitional zone (ITZ). The nano-characterization of the ITZ is performed in CNF-modified mortars and concrete using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results show the ITZ is enhanced mechanically (elastic modulus is increased) and chemically (Ca/Si ratio is reduced) due to the addition of CNFs. The characterization of the ITZ in the presence of CNFs offers an explanation for the different behaviors seen in nanomodified cement paste, mortar and concrete and facilitates the use of CNF in concrete in field applications.",

keywords = "AFM, Carbon nanofibers, Concrete, EDX, Interfacial transition zone, SEM",

author = "Yuan Gao and Xingyi Zhu and Corr, \{David J.\} and Konsta-Gdoutos, \{Maria S.\} and Shah, \{Surendra P.\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 Elsevier Ltd",

year = "2019",

month = may,

doi = "10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2019.03.002",

language = "English (US)",

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AU - Gao, Yuan

AU - Zhu, Xingyi

AU - Corr, David J.

AU - Konsta-Gdoutos, Maria S.

AU - Shah, Surendra P.

PY - 2019/5

Y1 - 2019/5

N2 - Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) has become one of the most promising nanomaterials as an additive to cementitious composites, due to the improvements that can be seen in mechanical, electrical and thermal properties. Mechanical characterization has been conducted with cement paste, mortar and concrete with 0.1 wt% well-dispersed CNFs, and the modulus of elasticity is found to be improved by 21%, 34% and 29%, respectively. The improvement is more significant in mortar and concrete in spite of the presence of aggregate which reduces the volume fraction of CNFs, indicating a potential enhancement in the interfacial transitional zone (ITZ). The nano-characterization of the ITZ is performed in CNF-modified mortars and concrete using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results show the ITZ is enhanced mechanically (elastic modulus is increased) and chemically (Ca/Si ratio is reduced) due to the addition of CNFs. The characterization of the ITZ in the presence of CNFs offers an explanation for the different behaviors seen in nanomodified cement paste, mortar and concrete and facilitates the use of CNF in concrete in field applications.

AB - Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) has become one of the most promising nanomaterials as an additive to cementitious composites, due to the improvements that can be seen in mechanical, electrical and thermal properties. Mechanical characterization has been conducted with cement paste, mortar and concrete with 0.1 wt% well-dispersed CNFs, and the modulus of elasticity is found to be improved by 21%, 34% and 29%, respectively. The improvement is more significant in mortar and concrete in spite of the presence of aggregate which reduces the volume fraction of CNFs, indicating a potential enhancement in the interfacial transitional zone (ITZ). The nano-characterization of the ITZ is performed in CNF-modified mortars and concrete using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results show the ITZ is enhanced mechanically (elastic modulus is increased) and chemically (Ca/Si ratio is reduced) due to the addition of CNFs. The characterization of the ITZ in the presence of CNFs offers an explanation for the different behaviors seen in nanomodified cement paste, mortar and concrete and facilitates the use of CNF in concrete in field applications.

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KW - Carbon nanofibers

KW - Concrete

KW - EDX

KW - Interfacial transition zone

KW - SEM

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Characterization of the interfacial transition zone of CNF-Reinforced cementitious composites

Abstract

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Keywords

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