Mechanical Properties and Durability of CNT Cement Composites

María Del Carmen Camacho; Oscar Galao; Francisco Javier Baeza; Emilio Zornoza; Pedro Garcés

doi:10.3390/ma7031640

Mechanical Properties and Durability of CNT Cement Composites

Materials (Basel). 2014 Feb 28;7(3):1640-1651. doi: 10.3390/ma7031640.

Authors

María Del Carmen Camacho¹, Oscar Galao², Francisco Javier Baeza³, Emilio Zornoza⁴, Pedro Garcés⁵

Affiliations

¹ Civil Engineering Department, Universidad de Alicante, Ctra San Vicente s/n, San Vicente del Raspeig 03690, Spain. mc.camacho@ua.es.
² Civil Engineering Department, Universidad de Alicante, Ctra San Vicente s/n, San Vicente del Raspeig 03690, Spain. oscar.galao@ua.es.
³ Civil Engineering Department, Universidad de Alicante, Ctra San Vicente s/n, San Vicente del Raspeig 03690, Spain. fj.baeza@ua.es.
⁴ Civil Engineering Department, Universidad de Alicante, Ctra San Vicente s/n, San Vicente del Raspeig 03690, Spain. emilio.zornoza@ua.es.
⁵ Civil Engineering Department, Universidad de Alicante, Ctra San Vicente s/n, San Vicente del Raspeig 03690, Spain. pedro.garces@ua.es.

Abstract

In the present paper, changes in mechanical properties of Portland cement-based mortars due to the addition of carbon nanotubes (CNT) and corrosion of embedded steel rebars in CNT cement pastes are reported. Bending strength, compression strength, porosity and density of mortars were determined and related to the CNT dosages. CNT cement paste specimens were exposed to carbonation and chloride attacks, and results on steel corrosion rate tests were related to CNT dosages. The increase in CNT content implies no significant variations of mechanical properties but higher steel corrosion intensities were observed.

Keywords: CNT; cement; durability; mechanical properties; multifunctional composites.