Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Investigating pore structure of nano-engineered concrete with low-field nuclear magnetic resonance

  • Ceramics
  • Published:
Journal of Materials Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Pore structure, the most important structural feature of reactive powder concrete (RPC) with nanofillers, is closely related to the dispersion quality, content level and internal structure of nanofillers. In order to characterize the pore structure of RPC and comprehensively understand the effect of nanofillers on the microscopic behavior of concrete, this paper studies the pore structure of RPC containing different types (including zero-dimensional nanoparticles, one-dimensional nanotubes and two-dimensional nanosheets) and content (0.25–3%) of nanofillers by using low-field nuclear magnetic resonance. The experimental results show that incorporation of all types of nanofillers reduces the porosity of RPC and causes shrinkage of gel pores and fine capillary pores. Among different types of nanofillers, one-dimensional nanotubes are most beneficial to reduce porosity, and zero-dimensional nanoparticles have a more pronounced effect on reducing pore size. The effect of nanofillers on the pore structure of RPC is mainly attributed to the conversion of pore water inside C–S–H gel, inducing reorganization of gel structure. Specifically, nanoparticles cause the gel layer surrounding the pore water to shrink or even partially collapse, while nanotubes and nanosheets fill the collapsed gel layers with pore water, in turn, producing a slight swell between gel layers. It is the slight changes in the microstructure of C–S–H gel that cause shrinkage and deformation of concrete materials at the macroscopic scale, which, in turn, greatly affects the overall performances of RPC with nanofillers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9
Figure 10
Figure 11
Figure 12

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Han BG, Zhang LQ, Ou JP (2017) Smart and multifunctional concrete toward sustainable infrastructures”. Springer, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  2. Yoo DY, Kang ST, Lee JH, Yoon YS (2013) Effect of shrinkage reducing admixture on tensile and flexural behaviors of UHPFRC considering fiber distribution characteristics. Cem Concr Res 54:180–190

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Richard P, Cheyrezy MH (1995) Composition of reactive powder concrete. Cem Concr Res 25(7):1501–1511

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Doroud K, Moshaii A, Pezeshkian Y, Rahighi J, Afarideh H (2009) Simulation of temperature dependence of RPC operation. Nucl Instrum Methods Phys Res Sect A 602(3):723–726

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Lee M, Wang GYC, Chiu CA (2007) Preliminary study of reactive powder concrete as a new repair material. Constr Build Mater 21(1):182–189

    Google Scholar 

  6. Plassais A, Pomiès MP, Lequeux N, Boch P, Korb J-P, Petit D, Barberon F (2003) Micropore size analysis by NMR in hydrated cement. Magn Reson Imag 21(3–4):369–371

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Zhao H, Xiao Q, Huang D, Zhang S (2014) “Influence of pore structure on compressive strength of cement mortar. Sci World J 2014:1–12

    Google Scholar 

  8. Laskar MAI, Kuma RR, Bhattacha RJECB (1997) Some Aspects of evaluation of concrete through mercury intrusion porosimetry. Cem Concr Res 27(1):93–105

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Odler I (2003) The bet-specific surface arca of hydrated Portland cement and related materials. Cem Concr Res 33(12):2049–2056

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Diamond S (2000) Mercury porosimetry: an inappropriate method for the measurement of pore size distributions in cement-based materials. Cem Concr Res 30(10):1517–1525

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Luo M, Zeng Q, Pang X (2013) Characterization of pore structure of cement-based materials by water vapor sorption Isotherms. J Chin Ceram Soc 10:1401–1408

    Google Scholar 

  12. Bhattacharja S, Moukwa M, Dorazio F, Jehng JY, Halperin WP (1993) Microstructure determination of cement pastes by NMR and conventional techniques. Adv Cem Based Mater 1(2):67–76

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Zhang J, Scherer GW (2011) Comparison of methods for arresting hydration of cement. Cem Concr Res 41(10):1024–1036

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Powers TC (1958) Structure and physical properties of hardened Portland cement paste. J Am Ceram Soc 41(1):1–6

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Jennings HM, Kumar A, Sant G (2015) Quantitative discrimination of the nano-pore structure of cement paste during drying: new insights from water sorption isotherms. Cem Concr Res 76:27–36

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Yao W, She AM, Yang PQ (2009) 1H-NMR relaxation and state evolvement of evaporable water in cement pastes. J Chin Ceram Soc 37(10):1602–1606

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Han BG, Ding SQ, Wang JL, Ou JP (2019) Nano-engineered cementitious composites: principles and practices. Springer, Singapore

    Google Scholar 

  18. Du H, Gao HJ, Pang SD (2016) Improvement in concrete resistance against water and chloride ingress by adding graphene nanoplatelet. Cem Concr Res 83:114–123

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Liew KM, Kai MF, Zhang LW (2017) Mechanical and damping properties of CNT-reinforced cementitious composites. Compos Struct 160:81–88

    Google Scholar 

  20. Han BG, Sun SW, Ding SQ, Zhang LQ, Yu X, Ou JP (2015) Review of nanocarbon-engineered multifunctional cementitious composites. Compos A Appl Sci Manuf 70(70):69–81

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Zhou C, Li F, Hu J, Ren M, Wei J (2017) Enhanced mechanical properties of cement paste by hybrid graphene oxide/carbon nanotubes. Constr Build Mater 134:336–345

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Yousefi N, Gudarzi MM, Zheng QB, Lin XY, Shen X, Jia K, Sharif F, Kim JK (2013) Highly aligned, ultralarge-size reduced graphene oxide/polyurethane nanocomposites: mechanical properties and moisture permeability. Compos A Appl Sci Manuf 49:42–50

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Gao Y, Liu LQ, Zu SZ, Peng K, Zhou D, Han BH, Zhang Z (2011) The effect of interlayer adhesion on the mechanical behaviors of macroscopic graphene oxide papers. ACS Nano 5:2134–2141

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Ma WJ, Liu LQ, Zhang Z, Yang R, Liu G, Zhang TH, An XF, Yi XS, Ren Y, Niu Z, Li J, Dong H, Zhou W, Ajayan PM, Xie S-S (2009) High-strength composite fibres: Realizing true potential of carbon nanotubes in polymer matrix through continuous reticulate architecture and molecular level coupling. Nano Lett 9:2855–2861

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Ubertini F, Laflamme S, Ceylan H, Materazzi AL, Cerni G, Saleem H, D'Alessandro A, Corradini A (2014) Novel nanocomposite technologies for dynamic monitoring of structures: a comparison between cement-based embeddable and soft elastomeric surface sensors. Smart Mater Struct 23(4):045123

    Google Scholar 

  26. Guo FM, Shen X, Zhou JM, Liu D, Zheng QB, Yang JL, Jia BH, Lau KTA, Kim JK (2020) Highly thermally conductive dielectric nanocomposites with synergistic alignments of graphene and boron nitride nanosheets. Adv Funct Mater 30(19):1910826

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Rana S, Fangueiro RA (2013) A review on nanomaterial dispersion, microstructure, and mechanical properties of carbon nanotube and nanofiber reinforced cementitious composites. J Nanomater 80(7):1–19

    Google Scholar 

  28. Han BG, Zhang LQ, Zeng SZ, Dong SF, Yu X, Yang RW, Ou JP (2017) Nano-core effect in nano-engineered cementitious composites. Compos A Appl Sci Manuf 95:100–109

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Li W, Li X, Chen SJ, Liu YM, Duan WH (2017) Effects of graphene oxide on early-age hydration and electrical resistivity of Portland cement paste. Constr Build Mater 136:506–514

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Meng W, Khayat KH (2016) Mechanical properties of ultra-high-performance concrete enhanced with graphite nanoplatelets and carbon nanofibers. Compos B Eng 107:113–122

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Carmichael MJ, Arulrah GP (2012) Influence of nano materials on consistency, setting time and compressive strength of cement mortar. J Eng Sci Technol Rev 2(1):158–162

    Google Scholar 

  32. Sabdono P, Sustiawan F, Fadlillah DA (2014) The effect of nano-cement content to the compressive strength of mortar. Procedia Eng 95:386–395

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Wang JL, Dong SF, Wang DN, Yu X, Han BG, Ou JP (2019) Enhanced impact properties of concrete modified with nanofiller inclusions. J Mater Civil Eng 31(5):04019030

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Meng W, Khayat KH (2018) Effect of graphite nanoplatelets and carbon nanofibers on rheology, hydration, shrinkage, mechanical properties, and microstructure of UHPC. Cem Concr Res 105:64–71

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Sasmal S, Ravivarman N, Sindu BS, Vignesh K (2017) Electrical conductivity and piezo-resistive characteristics of CNT and CNF incorporated cementitious nanocomposites under static and dynamic loading. Compos A Appl Sci Manuf 100:227–243

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Wang JL, Han BG, Li Z, Yu X, Dong XF (2019) Effect investigation of nanofillers on C–S–H gel structure with Si NMR. J Mater Civil Eng 31(1):04018352

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Han NM, Wang ZY, Shen X, Wu Y, Liu X, Zheng QB, Kim TH, Yang JL, Kim JK (2018) Graphene size-dependent multifunctional properties of unidirectional graphene aerogel/epoxy nanocomposites. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 10(7):6580–6592

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Du H, Pang SD (2015) Enhancement of barrier properties of cement mortar with graphene nanoplatelet. Cem Concr Res 76:10–19

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Wang JL, Dong SF, Yu X, Han BG (2020) Mechanical properties of graphene-reinforced reactive powder concrete at different strain rates. J Mater Sci 55(8):3369–3387. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-019-04246-5

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Tamtsla BT, Beaudoin JJ (2000) Basic creep of hardened cement paste: A re-examination of the role of water. Cem Concr Res 30:1467–1475

    Google Scholar 

  41. Halperin WP, Bhattacharja S, Dorazio F (1991) Relaxation and dynamical properties of water in partially filled porous materials using NMR techniques. Magn Reson Imaging 9(5):733–737

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Brownstein KR, Tarr CE (1977) Spin-lattice relaxation in a system governed by diffusion. J Magn Reson 26(1):17–24

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Lowden BD, Porter MJ, Powrie LS (1998) T2 relaxation time versus mercury injection capillary pressure: implications for NMR logging and reservoir characterization. In: European Petroleum Conference, Society of Petroleum Engineers, pp 323–334

  44. D’Orazio F, Bhattacharja S, Halperin WP, Eguchi K, Mizusaki T (1990) Molecular diffusion and nuclear-magnetic-resonance relaxation of water in unsaturated porous silica glass. Phys Rev B 42(6):9810–9818

    Google Scholar 

  45. Halperin WP, Jehng JY, Song YQ (1994) Application of spin-spin relaxation to measurement of surface area and pore size distribution in a hydrating cement paste. Magn Reson Imaging 12(2):169–173

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Roychand R, Silva SD, Law D, Setunge S (2016) High volume fly ash cement composite modified with nano silica, hydrated lime and set accelerator. Mater Struct 49(5):1997–2008

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Shen W (1991) Cement technology. Wuhan University of Technology Press, Wuhan

    Google Scholar 

  48. Maruyama I, Igarashi G, Nishioka Y (2015) Bimodal behavior of C–S–H interpreted from short-term length change and water vapor sorption isotherms of hardened cement paste. Cem Concr Res 73:158–168

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Chen J, Kou SC, Poon CS (2012) Hydration and properties of nano-TiO2 blended cement composites. Cem Concr Res 34(5):642–649

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. Li Q, Deacon AD, Coleman NJ (2013) The impact of zirconium oxide nanoparticles on the hydration chemistry and biocompatibility of white Portland cement. Dent Mater J 32(5):808–815

    Google Scholar 

  51. Zhou CS, Ren FZ, Zeng Q, Xiao LZ, Wang W (2018) Pore-size resolved water vapor adsorption kinetics of white cement mortars as viewed from proton NMR relaxation. Cem Concr Res 105:31–43

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  52. Song YQ (2007) Novel NMR techniques for porous media research. Cem Concr Res 37(3):325–328

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  53. Pel L, Kopinga K, Brocken H (1995) Moisture transport in porous building materials. Eindhoven University of Technology, Ph. D. thesis

  54. Li Z, Ding SQ, Yu X, Han BG, Ou JP (2018) Multifunctional cementitious composites modified with nano titanium dioxide: a review. Compos A Appl Sci Manuf 111:115–137

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  55. Li X, Korayem A, Li C, Liu Y, He H, Sanjayan J, Duan W (2016) Incorporation of graphene oxide and silica fume into cement paste: a study of dispersion and compressive strength. Constr Build Mater 123:327–335

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. Zhu Y, Murali S, Cai W, Li X, Suk JW, Potts JR, Ruoff RS (2010) Graphene and graphene oxide: synthesis, properties, and applications. Adv Mater 22(35):3906–3924

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. Jennings HM, Bullard JW, Thomas JJ, Andrade JE, Chen JJ, Scherer GW (2008) Characterization and modeling of pores and surfaces in cement paste: correlations to processing and properties. J Adv Concr Technol 6(1):5–29

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  58. Wang GR, Dai ZH, Wang YL, Tan PH, Liu LQ, Xu ZP, Wei YG, Huang R, Zhang Z (2017) Measuring interlayer shear stress in bilayer graphene. Phys Rev Lett 119:036101

    Google Scholar 

  59. Aligizaki KK (2005) Pore structure of cement-based materials. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This study was funded by the National Science Foundation of China (51978127 and 51908103) and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2019M651116).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China

    Jialiang Wang & Baoguo Han

  2. School of Material Science and Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China

    Sufen Dong

  3. School of Civil Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China

    Chunsheng Zhou

  4. Faculty of Engineering and Informatics, University of Bradford, Bradford, BD7 1DP, UK

    Ashraf Ashour

Authors
  1. Jialiang Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sufen Dong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Chunsheng Zhou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ashraf Ashour
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Baoguo Han
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Sufen Dong or Baoguo Han.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Handling Editor: M. Grant Norton.

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, J., Dong, S., Zhou, C. et al. Investigating pore structure of nano-engineered concrete with low-field nuclear magnetic resonance. J Mater Sci 56, 243–259 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-020-05268-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-020-05268-0

Search

Navigation