An Experimental Investigation of Environmentally Friendly Concrete Reinforced With Graphene Nanoplatelets

Abstract

Carbon Dioxide (𝐶𝑂 2 ) is the principal greenhouse gas that contributes to increasing the greenhouse effect, which has a significant adverse impact on the environment. There are large quantities of carbon dioxide emissions associated with cement production. Production of cement is estimated to be responsible for approximately 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Besides its environmental impact, concrete also exhibits low tensile and ductility, which can result in cracks. In recent years, carbon nanomaterials, such as Carbon Nanotubes (CNT), Carbon Nanofibers (CNFs), Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNPs), Graphene Oxide (GO), and Reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO), have gained increasing attention from the building industry and scientific community due to their exceptional mechanical and physical properties. In fact, the use of carbon nanomaterials is considered an environmentally friendly method of enhancing the mechanical properties of concrete. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of GNPs on the mechanical properties of concrete using the wet dispersion method. In addition to using ultrasonic treatment to prepare GNP dispersions, a superplasticizer is also used to facilitate the dispersion of GNPs in water. Concrete specimens were prepared with 0.25 wt% GNPs. Compressive, flexural and tensile strength of concrete at age of 7 days were assessed. As a result of adding GNPs, strength of concrete specimens was enhanced. Furthermore, when GNPs were incorporated into concrete specimens, compressive, flexural and tensile strength was increased by 19, 8.7 and 9.1 % respectively.