Influence of Nanoparticles from Waste Materials on Mechanical Properties, Durability and Microstructure of UHPC

Sahar A Mostafa; Ahmed S Faried; Ahmed A Farghali; Mohamed M El-Deeb; Taher A Tawfik; Stanisław Majer; Mohamed Abd Elrahman

doi:10.3390/ma13204530

Influence of Nanoparticles from Waste Materials on Mechanical Properties, Durability and Microstructure of UHPC

Materials (Basel). 2020 Oct 13;13(20):4530. doi: 10.3390/ma13204530.

Authors

Sahar A Mostafa¹, Ahmed S Faried², Ahmed A Farghali³, Mohamed M El-Deeb⁴, Taher A Tawfik⁵, Stanisław Majer⁶, Mohamed Abd Elrahman⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef 62511, Egypt.
² Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Fayoum University, Fayoum 63514, Egypt.
³ Materials Science and Nanotechnology Department, Faculty of Postgraduate Studies for Advanced Sciences (PSAS), Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef 62511, Egypt.
⁴ Applied Electrochemistry Laboratory, Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-suef 62511, Egypt.
⁵ Construction and Building Department, Higher Institute of Engineering on 6th of October City, Giza 12592, Egypt.
⁶ Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin, Al. Piastow 50, 70-311 Szczecin, Poland.
⁷ Structural Engineering Department, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt.

Abstract

This investigation presents the influence of various types of nanoparticles on the performance of ultra high performance concrete (UHPC). Three nanoparticles from waste materials include nano-crushed glass, nano-metakaolin, nano-rice husk ash were prepared using the milling technique. In addition, nano-silica prepared using chemical method at the laboratory is implemented to compare the performance. Several UHPC mixes incorporating different dosages of nanoparticles up to 5% are prepared and tested. Mechanical properties, durability as well as the microstructure of UHPC mixes have been evaluated in order to study the influence of nanoparticles on the hardened characteristics of UHPC. The experimental results showed that early strength is increased by the incorporation of nanomaterials, as compared to the reference UHPC mix. The incorporation of 3% nano-rice husk ash produced the highest compressive strength at 91 day. Microstructural measurements using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDX), and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) confirm the role of nanomaterials in densifying the microstructure, reducing calcium hydroxide content as well as producing more C-S-H, which improves the strength and reduces the absorption of UHPC. Nanoparticles prepared from waste materials by the milling technique are comparable to chemically prepared nanosilica in improving mechanical properties, refining the microstructure and reducing the absorption of UHPC.

Keywords: mechanical properties; microstructure; milling technique; nanoparticles; ultra high performance concrete; waste materials; water absorption.