Performance of Cement Systems with Nano-SiO2 Particles Produced Using Sol-gel Method

Abstract

AbstractThe reported research examines the effect of 5–70 nm SiO2 nanoparticles on the mechani-cal properties of nanocement materials. The strength development of portland cement with nano-SiO2 and superplasticizing admixture is investigated. Experimental results demonstrate an in-crease in the compressive strength of mortars with SiO2nanoparticles. The distribution of nano-SiO2 particles within the cement paste plays an essential role and governs the overall perfor-mance of these products. Therefore, the addition of a superplasticizer is proposed to facilitate the distribution of nano-SiO2 particles. The application of effective superplasticizer and high-speed dispergation are found to be very effective dispersion techniques that improve the strength of su-perplasticized portland cement mortars, reaching up to 63.9 MPa and 95.9 MPa after aging dur-ing 1 and 28 days, respectively. These values compare favorably with the observed compressive strengths of reference portland cement mortars of 53.3 MPa and 86.1 MPa. It is concluded that the effective dispersion of nanoparticles is essential to obtain the composite materials with im-proved performance.