Volume 13, No. 4, 2019
Received: 2020/01/05, Accepted:
Authors:
Mohd Moonis Zaheer;
Abstract:
This paper studies the behaviour of a flexural specimen reinforced with two types of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) based on outer diameter (OD), viz., Type I- CNT (OD: 10-20 nm) and Type II- CNT (OD: 30-50 nm) to explore the strength aspects for structural use. Flexural specimens were made by varying the MWCNT content from 0.1 to 0.5 wt.% of cement. For evaluating mechanical properties, such as loaddeflection, tests were performed on CNT- admixed specimens under flexure. An attempt has also been made to explore the optimum concentration of MWCNT additions that gave ideal performance with respect to mechanical properties. Reinforcement of mortar flexural specimens with Type II- CNTs revealed improved outcomes as compared to Type I- CNT counterparts. Flexural and compressive strengths are enhanced by 22% and 33%, respectively, compared to control specimens when Type II- CNT was used in the cementitious matrix. Based on the parametric study, a tentative optimum CNT concentration (0.3% by weight of cement) has been proposed.
Keywords:
Carbon nano-tubes, Nano-materials, Flexural strength, Load-deflection curves, Porosity, Water absorption