17-Application of Nanotechnology in Understanding Concrete

Profile of Ananth Ramaswamy

Ananth Ramaswamy is Professor in the Department of Civil
Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. He has
obtained his B. Tech in Civil Engineering from Indian Institute of
Technology, Madras (IITM) in 1985. He has completed his MS in
Engineering from University of California at Davis in 1986 and obtained
his doctorate in Engineering from Louisiana State University in 1992.
Prior to joining as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil
Engineering, IISc, he served as a lecturer in the Department of Civil
Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.
Prof. Ananth Ramaswamys research interests comprises various
interdisciplinary subjects, namely, 'Analysis and design of reinforced
concrete structures', 'pre-stressed and fiber reinforced concrete';
'Bridge Engineering'; 'Structural and Shape Optimization'; 'FRP
Composites'; 'Smart Materials and Vibration Control'.
He has
published more than 35 research papers in various international
journals, 2 book chapters and more than 45 national and international
conference papers. He has served as a reviewer for various prestigious
national and international journals.

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17-Application of Nanotechnology in Understanding Concrete

Application of Nanotechnology in Understanding

Concrete: An Overview
Prof. Ananth Ramaswamy
Civil Engineering Department
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
ananth@civil.iisc.ernet.in
Abstract:
Cement based composites are the most commonly used construction
material primarily because it is cheaper than other materials such as steel
and more readily available. While the strength properties of concrete are
less than steel, the former has the ability to flow as a suspension, take
the shape of the formwork employed and develop into a rigid solid
without external energy inputs. However, the process of hydration is a
complex multistage process comprising several chemical reactions
resulting in many intermediary hydrated products and takes place over a
long time scale. Consequently, understanding and development of
cementitious materials at the macroscopic scale has been one of trial and
error. Nanotechnology or the investigation of physio-chemical processes
at the nanometer scale has opened up the possibility of developing
Cementitious composite construction materials that are durable, and
sustainable, besides offering strength properties that are comparable to
that of steel. Presently, there is a need to control CO2 emissions
(produced by the cement industry) to retard global warming, while
meeting the pressures of rapid infrastructural development offered
effectively only by cement based composite materials. While modest
inroads on global warming have been made by changes in the cement
production process and through the use of cement substitutes like silica
fume and fly ash and recycled aggregates that may partially replace
cement demand, improved understanding of materials at smaller scales is
essential. Development of technologies like Scanning Electron Microscopy
(SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and micro
/ nano-indentation in the last three decades have made small scale
investigations a reality. Use of micro and nano fibers including carbon
nano tubes (CNTs) in cement based composites has opened new vistas in
the development of alternate materials. The present study will provide a
survey of developments both experimental and analytical covering
aspects of concrete technology.
Overview:
Nanotechnology is the creation of materials and devices by controlling of
matter at the levels of atoms, molecules, and supra-molecular
(nanoscale) structures. In other words, it is the use of every small particle
of material to create new large scale materials (Mann, 2006, Sobolov and
Gutierrez, 2005). The essence of nanotechnology is the size of particles
being manipulated because the properties of materials are dramatically
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17-Application of Nanotechnology in Understanding Concrete

altered under a scale of the nanometer (nm), 10-9 meter (m).

Nanotechnology can be used for design and construction processes in
many areas since nanotechnology generated products have many unique
characteristics. These characteristics can, again, significantly fix current
construction problems, and may change the requirement and organization
of construction process resulting in products that are lighter and stronger
structural composites. These products include low maintenance coatings;
improved pipe joining materials and techniques; improved properties of
Cementitious materials; reduced thermal transfer rate of fire retardants
and insulations; enhanced sound absorption of acoustic absorbers; and
increased reflectivity of glass, controlling mechanical properties of
concrete, etc.
Concrete is one of the most common and widely used construction
materials. Its properties have been well studied at macro or structural
level without fully understanding the properties of the cementitious
materials at the micro level. The rapid development of new experimental
techniques makes it possible to study the properties of cementitious
materials at micro / nano-scale. These developments offer an opportunity
to understand the chemistry of hydration, evolve admixtures that result in
accelerating or retarding the set time of concrete, improve the flow ability
while inhibiting segregation of concrete, identify reasons for alkali
aggregate reactions, shrinkage and creep process at atomic / molecular
scale. Use of micro and nano silica in concrete has been observed to
control bleeding in self compacting concrete (Bigley and Greenwood,
2003; Li, 2004). While concrete cracking has been observed and studied
at macro scale extensively, healing technologies are under development
at the nano / micro scale. Similarly the use of rebars and chopped fibers
to enhance the tensile properties of concrete has been well researched at
macro scale. Developments of material at nano scale such as nano fibers,
carbon nano tubes, etc, have opened up the possibility of controlling /
arresting cracking and offer self healing features improving the tensile
characteristics of concrete to the extent of making it more ductile.
Zaki and Ragab (2009) have studied the influence of nano silica and
super-plasticizers on concrete. This study found that the properties of
concrete were improved by the use of nano powders, since nano particles
filled the voids between cement grains and also consumed a part of
calcium hydroxide that resulted in additional formation of calcium silicate
hydrate (C.S.H.) and improvements of interface structure. The study
found that the application of nano SiO2 particles with newly developed
super plasticizer (poly-carboxylic ether polymer based PCE sky) improved
the workability and strength of high performance and self-compacted
concrete since nano-SiO2 interpenetrates polymer network, and causes
the above improvements. The progress from sulphonated polymer to
polycarboxylate resulted in higher water reduction at a given workability,
lower slump loss and (43-48) % higher compressive strengths, according

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to the indicated results. The study indicated that the efficiency of nano
particles such as nano-Si02 depends on their morphology as well as the
application of effective super plasticizers which help to disperse formation
of agglomerates and improve concrete strength. Nan particles, such as
nano silica dioxide (Nano-SiO2) were found to be very effective when
mixed separately with super plasticizer (polycarboxylate base) and then
added to the 20 % remained of mixing water as mentioned in mixing
procedure. Nano-Silica concrete requires additional amount of water or
super plasticizer to maintain the same workability level. Nano-Silica
addition results in significant increase in concrete compressive strength
after 28-days up to one year and the optimum amount of nano silica is
0.5% by weight of cementitious material. Korpa and Trettin (2008) have
also shown the advantages of using nano pozzolans in concrete when
accompanied by microwave curing.
The fundamental causes of concrete creep are still an unresolved
question, and have deceived many attempts, both experimental and
theoretical in nature. While it is widely accepted that the complex creep
behavior of concrete materials is largely related to the visco-elastic
response of the primary hydration product and binding phase of hardened
Portland cement paste, the calciumsilicatehydrate (CSH), the creep
properties of CSH have never been measured directly. CSH
precipitates when cement and water are mixed, as clusters of nanoscale
colloidal particles that cannot be extracted in bulk form suitable for
macroscopic testing. Thus concrete creep properties have been probed on
the composite scale of mortar and concrete and it has been inferred that
it comprises of a short-term volumetric creep and a long-term creep
associated with shear deformation with a creep rate evolving as a power
function t_n of exponent n between 0.9 and 1 (Bazant, 1995). After years
of testing, basic questions persist regarding the physical origin of this
logarithmic creep and its link with microstructure and composition remain.
Statistical nanoindentation technique (SNT) is most suitable for the in situ
investigation of mechanical phase properties and microstructure of highly
heterogeneous hydrated composite materials. An indenter tip (e.g., 3sided pyramid Berkovich tip) is pushed orthogonally to the surface of the
cement paste, and both the load applied to the tip, and the displacement
of the tip with respect to the surface are recorded. By applying
continuum-based constitutive models to the resulting load displacement
curve, mechanical properties of the indented material are determined.
Applied to heterogeneous and multiphase materials, the SNT then
consists of carrying out a large array of such nanoindentation tests, and
by applying statistical deconvolution techniques and micromechanical
models to link microstructure to phase properties. Details of such studies
have been discussed in Constantinides et al 2006, 2007; Cheng 2004;
Famy et al. 2002, Jennings 2004, Jennings et al 2007, Mondol and Shah,
2007, Ulm et al 2004, 2007, and Vandamme et al 2007.

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Nano and micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS) sensors have been

developed and their use in construction to monitor and/or control the
environment condition and the materials/structure performance. One
advantage of these sensors is their dimension. Nanosensor ranges from
10-9 m to 10-5m. The micro sensor ranges from 10-4 to 10-2 m. These
sensors could be embedded into the structure during the construction
process. Smart aggregate, a low cost piezo-ceramic-based multifunctional device, has been applied to monitor early age concrete
properties such as moisture, temperature, relative humidity and early age
strength development (Saafi and Romine, 2005; Song, Gu and Mo, 2008).
The sensors can also be used to monitor concrete corrosion and cracking.
The smart aggregate can also be used for structure health monitoring.
Use of nano fibers and carbon nano tubes (CNTs) to both monitor the
structure and to alter properties of the structure are also being explored.
The disclosed system can monitor internal stresses, cracks and other
physical forces in the structures during the structures' life. It is capable of
providing an early indication of the health of the structure before a failure
of the structure can occur.
Closing remarks
Nanotechnology is an emerging area with much to offer by way of
advancements across a wide spectrum of applications. It has great
potential in the understanding and development of concrete products.
This includes characterization at material level covering cement and its
substitution at nano-size and scale, super-plasticizers and other
admixtures, and in the identification of short and long term mechanical
properties of concrete. Nano-sensor technology through development of
smart aggregates, nanofibers and CNTs for health monitoring is yet
another promising area.
References
Bazant ZP, et al. (1995) Creep and shrinkage prediction model for
analysis and design of concrete structuresModel B-3. Mater Struct
28:357365
Bigley C. and Greenwood, P, (2003). Using Silica to Control Bleed and
Segregation in Self-Compacting Concrete Concrete, vol. 37, no. 2, p.4345
Constantinides G, Ravi Chandran KS, Ulm F-J, Van Vliet KJ (2006) Grid
indentation analysis of composite microstructure and mechanics:
Principles and validation. Mat Sc Eng A 430(12):189202.
Constantinides G, Ulm F-J (2007) The nano-granular nature of CSH,
Journal of Mechanics of Physics of Solids, 55:6490
Cheng YT, Cheng CM (2004) Scaling, dimensional analysis, and
indentation measurements, Mater Sci Eng R 44(45):91149.
Korpa and Trettin (2008) Very high early strength of ultra-high
performance concrete containing nano-scale pozzolans using the

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microwave heat curing method, Advances in Cement Research, 20(4)

175-184.
Famy C, Scrivener KL, Atkinson A, Brough AR (2002) Effects of an early
or a late heat treatment on the microstructure and composition of inner
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Nano-SiO2, Cement and Concrete Research, vol.34, pp.1043-1049
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Industry, SBEIDCO 1st International Conference on Sustainable Built
Environment Infrastructures in Developing Countries ENSET Oran
(Algeria) - October 12-14, 2009

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