Concrete nanoscience and nanotechnology: Definitions and applications

Published

February 10, 2010

Author(s)

Edward Garboczi

Abstract

There are many improvements needed in concrete, especially for use in renewal and expansion of the world's infrastructure, e.g. increased durability, decreased brittleness and increased tensile strength, and use of non-traditional materials like fly ash. Nanomodification can help solve many of these problems. However, concrete has been slow to catch on to the revolution in the nanotechnology that is ongoing in many materials. There are several reasons for this lag in the nanoscience and nanotechnology of concrete (NNC). First is obtaining a basic understanding of chemical and physical mechanisms and structure at the nanometer length scale, which has not yet been achieved, without which any attempted modifications at this length scale are only empirically-based and cannot be fully successful. Another reason for the lag in NNC is the lack of a broad understanding of what nanomodification means to concrete, which is a liquid-solid composite. Concrete is a material that is quite different from many other materials, and so NNC ideas need to profit from, but not be bound by, experience with other materials. Simply trying to duplicate advances made in other materials without adaptation to concrete is hampering the field of NNC. As an illustration of these ideas, a specific application will be given of using nano-size molecules in solution to affect the viscosity of the concrete pore solution so that ionic diffusion is slowed, thus increasing service life under diffusion-controlled scenarios (e.g. chloride penetration). The success of this application is an example of what can be done based on the understanding gained by years of fundamental research on transport in concrete pore solution. But a molecular-level understanding, which would lead to more intelligent material selection, is still elusive. A final section of this paper lists some possibly fruitful focus areas for the nanoscience and nanotechnology of concrete.

Volume

3

Conference Dates

May 31-June 2, 2009

Conference Location

Prague, CZ

Conference Title

NICOM3 Nanotechnology in Construction

Pub Type

Conferences

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-00980-8_9

Local Download

Keywords

Concrete, nanotechnology, nanoscience, definitions, applications, service life, composite, liquid, solid, interface, model

Citation

Garboczi, E. (2010), Concrete nanoscience and nanotechnology: Definitions and applications, NICOM3 Nanotechnology in Construction, Prague, CZ, [online], https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-00980-8_9, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=901497 (Accessed December 13, 2024)