Effects of Nanomaterial on Concrete

Nanotechnology has made a vast progress in the field of construction as it has improved the characteristics of concrete such as mechanical properties and resistance to acidic and chloride attack. Nanotechnology is the use of nano sized particle of material to create a new material with improved properties. This experimental research compares the mechanical properties and durability of different nanomaterial concrete. Nanomaterial can be defined as those physical substances with at least one dimension between 1-150 nanometers. The nanomaterial properties can be very different from the properties of the same materials at micro or macro scale. Nanomaterial provides an exceptional surface area to volume ratio and changes the basic property and reactivity of the material. This in turn enhances the mechanical properties and durability of concrete. The effects of nano silica and nano alumina on M60 high performance concrete were discussed in this paper. The cement was replaced with 40% ground granulated blast furnace slag and different percentage of nanomaterial like 2% to 5% for preparing the concrete. Mechanical Properties like compressive strength, split tensile strength and flexural strength of these nanomaterial concrete were compared. Accelerated corrosion test in saline and acidic conditions was conducted to check the durability of concrete. From these test results the best nanomaterial concrete was determined.