ABSTRACT

This paper reviews the state of the field of Nanotechnology in the field concrete. Definitions of
Nanotechnology, including Nano science and Nano-engineering in concrete, are provided.
Every year about 600 millions of fly ash is produced by coal burning and over 80% among them
are gone for land fill. In order to reduce the carbon emission due to the cement manufacturing the
fly ash is partially replaced in ordinary Portland cement and termed as Portland pozzolana
cement (PPC) it not only reduces the environmental impact ,improves the workability ,corrosion
strength and long term strength of concrete but this replacement of fly ash in the ordinary
Portland cement deviating its strength consequently. Hence here we added Nano silica as an
additive to fill up the deviation, and it is possible because the silica( S ) in the sand reacts with
calcium hydrate in (CH) the cement at Nanoscale to form C-S-H bond and its improve the
strengthening factor of concrete. Hence, regarding the former and the recent progress in Nano-
engineering and Nano modification of cement concrete is presented. In fact the Nano technology
is it in recent advancement hence we adopt such technology in our field of concrete to enhance
its performance.

Keywords- Nanotechnology, Calcium hydrate, Fly ash

Note:
Opc= Ordinary concrete.
Opc + Fly ash = Fly ash concrete.
Opc + Fly ash + Nano silica = Nano concrete

1
 LIST OF TABLES

4.1 Physical Properties of 43 Grade Ordinary Portland cement

4.2 Physical Properties of fine aggregate

4.3 Sieve analysis of fine aggregate

4.4 Physical properties of coarse aggregate

4.5 According to IS 10262-2009 concrete mix design (M40)

4.6 Table shows the specimen details of fly ash replaced concrete cubes

4.7 Table shows the specimen details of fly ash replaced concrete cubes

5.1 Compressive strength of concrete at different percentage of replacement of

cement with fly ash (M40) 7 days.

5.2Compressive strength of concrete at different percentage of replacement of

cement with fly ash (M40) 14 days.

5.3Compressive strength of concrete at different percentage of replacement of

cement with fly ash with Nano silica as additive (M40) 7 days.

5.4Compressive strength of concrete at different percentage of replacement of

cement with fly ash with Nano silica as additive (M40) 14 days.

2
 LIST OF FIGURES

1.1Nano scale description on Nano size particles

1.2SEM graph showing fly ash at 20 Nano meters.

1.3SEM graph showing ordinary Portland cement at 50 Nano meters.

1.4Calcium Silicate Hydrate Reaction

1.5SEM graphs showing the formation of calcium silica hydrate.

4.1Image showing Nano silica at 200 Nano meters

3
 LIST OF SYMBOLS

1. F.A - FINE AGGREGATE

2. C.A - COARSE AGGREGATE

3. C - CEMENT

4. W/C - WATER CEMENT RATIO

5. CU.M - CUBIC METER

6. TMS - TARGET MEAN STRENGTH

7. nS- NANO SILICA

4
 LIST OF GRAPHS

1. Comparative study of 7 days cured concrete cubes.

2. Comparative study of 14 days cured concrete cubes.

5
 CONTENTS
CHAPTER [Link]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ABSTRACT I
LIST OF TABLESII
LIST OF FIGURESIII
LIST OF SYMBOLSIV
LIST OF GRAPHS V

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 General. 1
1.2 What is Nano technology?2
1.3 Definition of Nano concrete.2
1.4 Nano scale concrete.2
1.5 Cement reactivity at Nano scale5

2. OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROJECT 7

3. A SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW.8

4. EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS.11
6
 4.1 MATERIALS11
4.1.1 Cement11
4.1.2Fine aggregate11
4.1.3 Coarse aggregate11
4.1.4 Fly ash13
4.1.5 Nano silica 14
4.1.6 Super plasticizer 14
4.1.7Water 15
4.2 DESIGN OF CONCRETE MIX 17

4.3 SPECIMEN DETAILS18

4.3.1For fly ash replaced concrete cubes18
4.3.2 For fly ash replaced + Nano silica added concrete cubes19

4.4 SPECIMEN CASTING AND CURING20

4.5 COMPRESSION TEST SETUP20
5. ANALYSIS OF RESULTS21
5.1 GRAPH ANALYSIS.
6. CONCLUSION28
7. REFERENCES30

8. SNAPS

7
1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 GENERAL

Nano silica and clinker, as well as Nano fibers, used to increase

mechanical properties and durability of cementations materials. Service life can be doubled
through the use of [Link] workability of concrete get increased by Nano
particles

Recently, Nano particles have been gaining increasing attention and have been applied in
many fields to fabricate new materials with novel functions due to their unique physical and
chemical properties. In this paper the influence of Nano silica particles on the mechanical
properties and durability of concrete has been studied through measurement of compressive
and tensile strength, water absorption, and the depth of chloride penetration. The
experimental results show that the mechanical properties measured, and the durability of the
concrete mixed with the Nano particles were better than that of a plain concrete, also the
SEM study of the microstructures showed that the nano particles filled the cement paste
pores and, by reacting with calcium hydroxide crystals from calcium silicate hydration,
decreased the size and amount of these crystals. Therefore the results indicate that nano scale

8
silica behaves not only as a filler to improve microstructure, but also as an activator to
promote pozzolanic reaction.
In a recent research project a new nano-silica is produced from olivine. This nS, aswell as
commercially available nS, will be applied and tested. In addition, a mix design tool used for
self-compacting concrete (SCC) will be modified to take into account particles in the size
range of 10 to 50 nm. This paper aims to present the state of the art of nS application in
concrete, focusing on the nS properties to render it suitable to be applicable in concrete. It
includes the nS production process, their addition effect and their application in Concrete.
Also an overview of the experimental setup and further research is presented.

1.2

9
 2. A SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW

3.1 Application of Nano-silica (nS) in concrete mixtures

G.QUERCIA1,2ANDH.J.H. BROUWERS2

1MaterialsInnovation Institute – M2i and 2Eindhoven University of Technology

Building and Physics, P.O. box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
[Link]-bianchi@[Link], [Link]@[Link]

Concrete is the most common used material for construction and their design consumes
almost the total cement production in the world. The use of large quantities of cement
produces increasing CO2 emissions, and as a consequence the greenhouse effect. A method to
reduce the cement content in concrete mixes is the use of silica fines. One of the silica fines
with high potential as cement replacement and as concrete additive is Nano-silica (nS).
However, the commercial nS is synthesized in a rather complex way, resulting in high purity
and complex processes that make them non-feasible for the construction industry.
Furthermore, the application of nS and its effect in concrete is not fully understood yet.
In a recent research project a new Nano-silica is produced from olivine. This nS, as
well as commercially available nS, will be applied and tested. In addition, a mix design tool
used for self-compacting concrete (SCC) will be modified to take into account particles
in the size range of 10 to 50 nm.
Application in concrete, focusing on the nS properties to render it suitable to be
applicable in Concrete. It includes the nS production process, their addition effect and their
application in Concrete.

10
 3.2 Optimization of Silica Fume, Fly Ash and Amorphous Nano-Silica in
Superplasticized High-Performance Concretes
By M. Collepardi, S. Collepardi, [Link] and R. Troli

The influence of some pozzolanic additions – such as silica fume,fly ash and ultra-fine
amorphous colloidal silica (UFACS) – on the performance of superplasticized concrete was
studied. Superplasticizedmixtures in form of flowing (slump of 230 mm) or self-compacting
concretes (slump flow of 735 mm) were manufactured all with a water-cement ratio as
low as 0.44, in order to produce high-performance concretes (HPC). They were cured at room
temperature (20°C) or steam-cured at 65°C in order to simulate the manufacturing of pre-cast
members. Concretes with ternary combinations of silica fume (15-20 kg/m3), fly ash (30-40
kg/m3) and UFACS(5-8 kg/m3) perform better – in terms of strength and durability – than those
with fly ash alone (60 kg/m3) and approximately as those with silica fume alone (60 kg/m3).
Due to the reduced availability of silica fume on the market, these ternary combinations can
reduce by 60-70% the needed amount of silica fume for each pre-cast HPC element at a given
performance level.
Moreover, at later ages the strength reduction in steam-cured concretes with respect to the
corresponding concretes cured at room temperature, is negligible or much lower in mixtures with
the ternary combinations of pozzolanic additions.

3.3 Influence of Nano-Silica Particles on Mechanical Properties and

Permeability of Concrete
Mostafa.Khanzadi1 Mohsen.Tadayon2 Hamed.Sepehri3 and Mohammad.Sepehri4

4B.S. Student ,Dept of civil Engineering Islamic Azad university of Kermanshah, Iran

Nano particles have been gaining increasing attention and have been applied in many
fields to fabricate new materials with novel functions due to their unique physical and chemical
properties. In this paper the influence of nano silica particles on the mechanical properties and

11
durability of concrete has been studied through measurement of compressive and tensile
strength, water absorption, and the depth of chloride penetration. The experimental results show
that the mechanical properties measured, and the durability of the concrete mixed with the nano
particles were better than that of a plain concrete, also the SEM study of the microstructures
showed that the nano particles filled the cement paste pores and, byreacting with calcium
hydroxide crystals from calcium silicate hydration, decreased the size and amount of these
crystals. Therefore the results indicate that nano scale silica behaves not only as a filler to
improve microstructure, but also as an activator to promote pozzolanic reaction.

3.4 AN INVESTIGATION OF NANO SILICA IN THE CEMENT

HYDRATION PROCESS
Jonathan S. BelkowitzandDr Daniel Armentrout

With the advent of nano technology, materials have been developed that can be applied to high
performance concrete mix designs. Nano silica reacts with calcium hydroxide (CH) to develop
more of the strength carrying structure of cement: calcium silica hydrate (CSH). In this paper,
relationships have been developed to distinguish thebenefits when using different sizes of nano
silica in cement paste. An extensive regime of experimental analysis was carried out to
determine the effect of nano silica. Through these experiments the heat of hydration of multiple
cement mix designs was measured. After that, the concentration of CH was recorded through X-
ray diffraction. Then, the grain structures were examined through Scanning Electron
Microscopy. Finally, the compressive strength was determined for each cement paste mixture.
Through these experiments it was found that as the silica particles decreased in size and their size
distribution broadened, the CSHs became more rigid; this increased the compressive strength.

12
 3. EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS
4.1. MATERIALS

The materials used in this investigation were: ordinary Portland cement, coarse aggregate of
crushed rock with a maximum size of 20 mm, fine aggregate of clean river
sand, Nano silica, Super plasticizer and portable water. The detailed properties are given in

subsequent contents.

3.1.1 CEMENT

Ordinary Portland cement of 43 grades conforming to IS 8112-1989was

used. Tests were carried out on various physical properties of cement and the results are
shown in Table 4.1

4.1.2 FINE AGGREGATE

Natural river sand was used as fine aggregate. The properties of sand
were determined by conducting tests as per IS:2386 (Part- I).The results are shown in Table
4.2. The results obtained from sieve analysis are furnished in Table 4.3. The results indicate
that the sand conforms to Zone II of IS: 383 – 1970

4.1.3COARSE AGGREGATE

Crushed granite stones obtained from local quarries were used as coarse
aggregate. The maximum size of coarse aggregate used was 20 mm. The properties of coarse
aggregate were determined by conducting tests as per IS: 2386 (Part – III).

13
 Requirement as per
Physical properties Values of OPC used IS 8112 – 1989

Standard Consistency 29.2% -

Initial Setting Time 45 Minutes Minimum of 30 minutes

Maximum of 600
Final Setting Time 265 Minutes
minutes

Specific gravity 3.15 -

Compressive strength in
29 Not less than
N/mm2 at 3 days

Compressive strength in
38.5 Not less than
N/mm2 at 7 days

Compressive strength in
48 Not less than
N/mm2 at 28 days

Table.4.1 Physical Properties of 43 Grade Ordinary Portland Cement

14
 Physical properties Values

2.6
Specific gravity

Fineness Modulus 2.83

0.75%
Water Absorption

Bulk density (kg/m3) 1654

Free moisture content 0.1%

Table.4.2 Physical Properties of fine aggregate

4.1.4 FLY ASH

Fly ash is a fine, glassy powder recovered from the gases of burning coal during the

production of electricity. These micron-sized earth elements consist primarily of silica,

alumina and iron. Fly ash not only reduces but also helps to reduce impact on

environment by consuming the material generally considered as a waste product with few

applications. The properties of fly ash based on experiments are conducted in the

laboratory and its properties are determined as

Specific gravity - 2.20

4.1.5. NANO SILICA

15
The Nano silica is arrived from grinding the highly silica content sand in the BALL MIL
apparatus continuously for 40 hours and the particle size of the Nano silica is as follow
 Range of size = 35 nm to 46 nm.
 Average size = 41 nm.

 Diameter of Nano silica = 42 nm

Fig.4.1 image showing Nano silica at 200 Nano meters

4.1.6 WATER

Portable water free from salts was used for casting and curing of concrete as per IS: 456
– 2000recommendation

16
 Cumulative Cumulative
Weight Cumulative
Weight Percentage
Retained Percentage
I.S. Sieve Size Retained Weight
Weight
(gms) Retained
(gms) Passing

10 mm
2 2 0.4 99.6
4.75 mm
6 8 1.6 98.4
2.36 mm
20 28 5.6 94.4
1.18 mm
76 104 20.8 79.2
600 microns
224 328 65.6 34.4
300 microns
114 442 88.4 11.6
150 microns
54 496 99.2 20.8
<150 microns Table.4.3 Sieve analysis of fine aggregate
4 500 100 0

17
 Physical properties Values

Specific gravity 2.6

Fineness Modulus 2.73

Water Absorption 0.5%

Bulk density (kg/m3 1590

Free moisture content (%) 0.2

AggregateTable.4.4 Physical
Impact value (%)properties of coarse aggregate
11.2

Aggregate Crushing value (%) 25.12

Flakiness index 6

Elongation index 24

3.2DESIGN OF CONCRETE MIX

The concrete mix are designed as per IS 10262-2009,and the table below
enumerates the summary of design results which fulfil the requirements as per
standards

STEP NO. PARAMETER M40

1. Target mean strength(N/mm2) 48.25
2. Water/cement ratio 0.45

18
 Water content(lit/m3) 140
3. Quantities
Sand (%) 38
4. Final water content(kg/m3) 140
5. Actual cement content(kg/m3) 350
6. Check for minimum cement content(kg/m3) 320
Fine aggregate(kg/m3) 862
7. Aggregate Quantity Coarse
1097
aggregate(kg/m3)
8. Mix proportion 0.45:1:1.65:2.92

Table 4.5:According to IS 10262-2009 concrete mix design (M40)

3.3 SPECIMEN DETAILS

This experimental program consists of casting and testing of 162 concrete cubes of
standard size of 150 mm x 150 mm x 150 mm.
And the number of cubes casted, their id, descriptions and their curing period are
summarized below.

Table 4.6: Table shows the specimen details of partially replaced fly ash
concrete.

19
 NO OF CUBES FOR
FLY ASH
CUBE ID 7 Days 14 Days 28 Days
REPLACEMENT
curing curing curing

C 0% 3 3 3

F1 10% 3 3 3

F2 20% 3 3 3

F3 30% 3 3 3

F4 40% 3 3 3

F5 50% 3 3 3

F6 60% 3 3 3

F7 70% 3 3 3

3
F8 80% 3 3

Table 4.6: Table shows the specimen details of Nano concrete cubes

NANO NO OF CUBES FOR

CUBE FLY ASH
SILICA AS 7 14 28
ID REPLACEMENT
ADDITIVE Days Days Days

20
 curing curing curing

C 0% 2.5% 3 3 3

F1 10% 2.5% 3 3 3

F2 20% 2.5% 3 3 3

F3 30% 2.5% 3 3 3

F4 40% 2.5% 3 3 3

F5 50% 2.5% 3 3 3

F6 60% 2.5% 3 3 3

F7 70% 2.5% 3 3 3

F8 80% 2.5% 3 3 3

4.4 SPECIMEN CASTING AND CURING

A laboratory type concrete mixer machine was used to mix the ingredients of concrete.
The following procedure was followed in mixing.
1. First cement, fly ash and Nano silica were mixed for one minute and after that the fine
aggregate was also included and mixed and coarse aggregate was mixed thoroughly in
dry state and cement were mixed for one minute.

21
 2. Super plasticizer is mixed with water and it being added within two minutes now
concrete was allowed to mix for three minutes.
3. All the specimens were well compacted using table vibrator, and cured for 7, 14 and 28
days respectively.

4.5 COMPRESSION TEST SETUP

The test is carried out on 150 x 150 x 150 mm size cubes, as per IS: 516-1959. The test
specimens are marked and removed from the moulds and unless required for test within 24
hours, immediately submerged clean fresh water and kept there until taken out just prior to
test. A 2000kN capacity Compression Testing Machine (CTM) is used to conduct the test.
The specimen is placed between the steel plates of CTM and totalload is applied at the rate
of 140kg/m3/min and the failure load in kN is observed from the digital gauge.

4. ANALYSIS OF RESULTS
The results obtained from the above elaborative experiments are discussed in this chapter.
The results of mechanical strength properties such as cube compressive strength have
discussed and the compression strength variations for 7, 14 and 28 days cured concrete cubes
of only fly ash replacement and fly ash replacement with Nano silica as additive are also
analyzed.

22
Table 5.1.: Compressive strength of partially replaced fly ash concrete (M40)
7 days.

Weight of Avg.
Size of Optimized Compressive
replacement optimized
cube load strength
Sl. No of fly load
(mm) (kN) (MPa)
ash(%) (kN)
292

1. 0 150x150x150 293 290 12.88

289
490

2. 10 150x150x150 465 548 24

570
333

3. 20 150x150x150 370 370 16.44

230
476

4. 30 150x150x150 498 476 21.15

456
356
5.
40 150x150x150 365 357 15.86

23
 345
220

6. 50 150x150x150 210 225 10

230
190

7. 60 150x150x150 185 190 8.49

210
100

8. 70 150x150x150 110 110 4.88

122
97

9. 80 65 80 2.85
150x150x150
72

Table 5.2: Compressive strength of partially replaced fly ash concrete (M40)
14 days.

Weight of Size of cube Optimized Avg. Compressive

24
Sl. No replacement (mm) load optimized strength
of fly (kN) load (MPa)
ash(%) (kN)
292

1 0 150x150x150 293 291 12.93

289
490

2. 465 470 20.89

10 150x150x150
570
533

3. 570 559 24.84

20 150x150x150
430
376

4. 398 358 15.91

30 150x150x150
356
356

5. 265 300 13.33

40 150x150x150
445
220

6. 210 225 10
50 150x150x150
230
190

7. 60 285 230 10.22

150x150x150
210

8. 70 200 209 9.28

25
 150x150x150 210
220
150

9. 80 100 132 5.64

150x150x150
135

26
Table 5.3: Compressive strength of Nano concrete (M40) 7 days.

Weight of Size of Optimized Avg. Compressive

Sl. No replacement cube load optimized strength
of fly (mm) (kN) load (MPa)
ash(%) (kN)
293

1. 0 150x150x150 290 290 12.88

296
773

2. 10 150x150x150 775 773 34.35

770
530

3. 20 150x150x150 525 530 23.55

535
518

4. 30 150x150x150 516 516 22.93

512
390

5. 40 150x150x150 385 390 17.33

395
288

6. 50 150x150x150 280 280 12.80

296

27
 210

7. 60 150x150x150 200 220 9.77

220
180

8. 70 150x150x150 175 179 7.75

185
97

9. 80 150x150x150 95 97 4.31
99

Table 5.5: Compressive strength of Nano concrete (M40) 14 days.

Weight of Size of cube Optimized Avg. Compressive

Sl. No replacement (mm) load optimized strength
of fly (kN) load (MPa)
ash(%) (kN)
495
1.
0 150x150x150 500 495 22
490
490
2.
10 150x150x150 470 470 22
460

28
 590

3. 20 150x150x150 580 589 26

570
357

4. 30 150x150x150 362 357 18

352
300

5. 40 150x150x150 310 300 17

305
240

6. 50 150x150x150 230 235 14

235
235

7. 60 150x150x150 230 230 14

225
209

8. 70 150x150x150 215 208 12

202
130

9. 80 150x150x150 125 125 9

120

29
 5. CONCLUSION
From the above experiments and results we safely conclude the points as
follow
 Nano concrete could control the carbon di oxide emission from the earth which is shown
by using fly ash concrete products instead of cement concrete.
 Thus the nano particles which is in the form of silica can easily react with cement
particles which are normally in nano scale initiate the CSH reaction and hence its tend to
accelerate the compressive strength of concrete.
 Nano-silica consumes calcium hydroxide crystals, reduces the size of the crystals at the interface
ezone and transmute the calcium hydroxide feeble crystals to the C-S-H crystals, and improves
the interface zone and cement paste structures .
 Compressive strength of the concrete increases with adding the nano-silica, especially at early
ages. However the early strength of the concrete decreases slightly with adding the fly ash , but
decreases at later ages. These results indicate that the nano silica may adopt for higher strength
green concrete technologies.
 At all the constraints of fly ash replacing hierarchy we found out that the Nano silica
which was added as additive will always remain and possess some significantly higher
compressive stress than ordinary partially replaced fly ash concrete.
 It’s also highly recommended that the replacement of fly ash above fifty per cent to the
weight of the cement will cause abrupt recession in the compressive stress; hence the
replacement scenario should be limited with in the fifty percentages.
 The graph shows above clearly enumerates that the seven days cured concrete cubes with
an additive of Nano silica causes the average increases in compressive strength up to
twenty nine per cent than the compressive strength ordinary partially replaced fly ash
concrete.
 But in the fourteen days cured cubes the increase in compressive strength is
incrementally up twenty eight percentages compared to the ordinary partially replaced fly
ash concrete.

30
 We hope that the compressive stress may attain eighty five percentage increments than
compressive stress of ordinary partially replaced fly ash concrete after twenty eight days
curing.

 For any special concrete structures such as petrol tanks, bunkers and silos, oil well we
can use this type of special concrete to get more strength and performance

31
6. REFERENCES
 Berger, R. and McGregor, J. Influence of Admixtures on the Morphology of
CaliumHydroxide Formed During Tricalcium Silicate Hydration. Cement and
ConcreteResearch. 1972.
 Green, B. “Development of a High-Density Cementitious Rock-Matching Grout
using Nano-Particles. SP-254—8.” Nanotechnology of Concrete: Recent
Developments and Future Perspectives. ACI. K. Sobolev and S.P. Shah. [Link].
121 – 132.
 [Link], [Link], [Link], 2004. Microstructure of cement mortar with nano-
Particles. Composites, part B 185-189.
 [Link], [Link], 2002. Research on Comparison of Properties of Harddened Cement
Paste Between Nano sio2 and Silica Fume add. Concrete research 1, 7-10.
 [Link], [Link], [Link], 2007. Influence of Nano-SiO2 Addition on
Properties of Hardened Cement Paste as Compared With Silica Fume. Construction
and Building Materials 21, 539-545.
 K. Sobolev, I. Flores and R. Hermosillo, “Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology for
higher Performance.
 Cement composites, “Proceedings of ACI Session on “Nanotechnology of Concrete:
Recent Developments and Future Perspectives”, November 7, Denver, USA(2006),
pp 91-118.
 K. Sobolev and M. Ferrara, “How nanotechnology can change the concrete word”-
Part 1,American Ceramic Bulletin, Vol. 84, N°10, (2005), pp 15-17.
 R.K. Iler, “The Colloid Chemistry of Silica and Silicate”. Edit. Ithaca, New York
(1955),pp 1-250.
 N. Thuadaij and A. Nuntiya, “Synthesis and Characterization of Nanosilica from Rice
Husk Ash Prepared by Precipitation Method”, [Link]. Special Issue
onNanotechnology (2008), Vol. 7(1), pp 59-65.

 L. Senff, J.A. Labrincha, V.M. Ferreira, D. Hotza, and W.L. Repette, “Effect of
nanosilica on rheology and fresh properties of cement pastes and mortars”,
Construction andBuilding Materials 23 (2009), pp 2487–2491

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33