Comparative analysis of the flexural tensile strength and compression of mortar enriched with carbon nanotubes

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18830/1679-09442025v18e53203

Keywords:

Carbon nanotubes, Flexural strength, Compressive strength, Nanostructured mortar

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of untreated carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the consistency, compressive strength, and flexural tensile strength of cylindrical (NBR 7215:2019) and prismatic (NBR 13279:2005) test specimens produced with CNT-enriched mortar. It also analyzes the compatibility of compressive strength results obtained using two distinct testing methodologies. Morphological analyses of the CNTs and mortars were performed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The incorporation of CNTs reduced the consistency of the fresh product and the compressive strength of the prismatic test specimens. However, the flexural tensile strength of the prismatic specimens and the compressive strength of the cylindrical specimens did not show significant changes. The high variability in the strength values of the specimens with CNTs suggests a non-homogeneous dispersion of the nanotubes. The variability in the compressive strength of the prismatic specimens was also attributed to the procedure specified by the standard, which requires testing after the specimen's bending failure.

Author Biographies

  • Alaíde Marta dos Santos, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto; Escola de Minas; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia das Construções

    Alaíde is graduated in Mobility Engineering from the Federal University of Itajubá, Itabira Campus, in 2016. She holds a Master's degree in Construction Engineering from the Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP), awarded in 2024. Her interests lie in the field of Civil Engineering, particularly in the study and research related to construction waste and innovation in nano-structured mortars. She is currently a PhD candidate in the Civil Engineering Graduate Program (PROPEC).

  • Claudio Ernani Martins Oliveira, Universidade Federal de Itajubá; Campus de Itabira; Instituto de Engenharias Integradas

    Claudio holds a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering (2005), a Master's degree in Metallic Constructions (2009) from the Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP), and a PhD in Metallic Constructions (2015) from the same institution. Currently, he is an associate professor at the Integrated Engineering Institute of the Federal University of Itajubá, Itabira Campus. He has expertise in Civil Engineering, with a focus on Steel, Concrete, and Timber Structures, working mainly on the following topics: Material Strength, Structural Theory, Structural Analysis, Bridges, Computer Programming, and Numerical Calculus.

  • Viviany Geraldo, Universidade Federal de Itajubá; Campus de Itabira; Instituto de Engenharias Integradas

    Viviany holds a Bachelor's degree in Physics from the São Paulo State University Júlio de Mesquita Filho (UNESP) (1998), a Master's degree in Materials Science and Engineering (2001), and a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of São Paulo (USP) (2005). She conducted postdoctoral research in Physics at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). She is currently a professor at the Integrated Engineering Institute of the Federal University of Itajubá, Itabira Campus. Her research focuses on tin dioxide, semiconductors, carbon nanotubes, and the synthesis of nanomaterials. She has teaching experience in undergraduate programs in various engineering fields. Currently, she is dedicated to the production and purification of carbon nanotubes, with a focus on scale and production quality for applications in various areas, particularly in Civil Construction. She is the coordinator of the Professional Master's Program in Materials Engineering (PPGEMT).

  • Evandro Augusto de Morais, Universidade Federal de Itajubá; Campus de Itabira; Instituto de Ciências Puras e Aplicadas

    Evandro holds a Bachelor's degree in Physics from the São Paulo State University Júlio de Mesquita Filho (2000), a Master's degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of São Paulo (2002), and a PhD in Materials Science and Technology from the São Paulo State University Júlio de Mesquita Filho (2008). He is currently an associate professor at the Institute of Pure and Applied Sciences of the Federal University of Itajubá, Advanced Campus of Itabira. He has expertise in Physics, with a focus on Condensed Matter Physics, working primarily on the following topics: electrical and optical properties of rare-earth doped oxide semiconductors, electrical transport in two-dimensional materials (graphene), large-scale synthesis of carbon nanotubes, and applications in Civil Construction.

  • Jordânio Samuel Siqueira, Universidade Federal de Itajubá; Instituto de Física e Química; Curso de Pós-Graduação em Materiais para Engenharia

    Jordânio holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering (2015) and a Master's degree in Materials for Engineering (2018) from the Federal University of Itajubá. He is currently a laboratory technician in mechanics and a PhD candidate in the Materials Science and Engineering Graduate Program at the Federal University of Itajubá. As a technician, he works in the field of metallography and the operation of optical and scanning electron microscopes.

  • Rovadávia Aline de Jesus Ribas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto; Escola de Minas; Depart. de Engenharia Civil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Civil

    Rovadávia holds a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering (1987), a Master's degree in Metallic Constructions (2006), and a PhD in Metallic Constructions (2013) from the Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP). She is currently a tenured professor in the field of Structures at the Department of Civil Engineering, School of Mines, UFOP. She was involved in the Postgraduate Program in Metallic Construction (2014-2018) and currently participates in the Postgraduate Program in Construction Engineering (since 2019). She teaches courses related to material strength and reinforced concrete construction. Her research interests include industrialized closure systems, building performance, and pathological manifestations in steel and reinforced concrete structures. She is the coordinator of the Postgraduate Program in Construction Engineering.

References

ABNT – ASSOCIAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE NORMAS TÉCNICAS. NBR 13276: Argamassa para assentamento e revestimento de paredes e tetos – Determinação do índice de consistência. Rio de Janeiro, 2016.

ABNT – ASSOCIAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE NORMAS TÉCNICAS. NBR 13279: Argamassa para assentamento e revestimento de paredes e tetos – Determinação da resistência à tração na flexão e à compressão. Rio de Janeiro, 2005.

ABNT – ASSOCIAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE NORMAS TÉCNICAS. NBR 7215: Cimento Portland – Determinação da resistência à compressão de corpos de prova cilíndricos. Rio de Janeiro, 2019.

BAI, S.; JIANG, L.; Xu N.; JIN M.; JIANG, S. Improvement of Mechanical and Electrical Properties of Graphene/Cement Composite due to Enhanced Graphene Dispersion through the Addition of Silica Fume, Construction and Building Materials, v. 164, p. 433-441, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.12.176.

CARVALHO, J. C .L.; COSTAL, G. Z.; DE MORAIS, E. A.; OLIVEIRA, C. E. M.; SIQUEIRA, J. S.; DA SILVA, E. E.; OLIVEIRA, C. A. S.; FILHO, F. M.; SILVA, G. J. B.; GERALDO, V. Synthesis and application of carbon nanotubes grown directly on pozzolanic clay. Journal of Nanoparticle Research, v. 25, n. 186, 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-023-05822-2.

CHAIPANICH, A.; NOCHAIVA, T.; WONGKEO, W.; TORKITTIKUL, P. Compressive strength and microstructure of carbon nanotubes–fly ash cement composites. Materials Science and Engineering: A, v. 527, n. 4-5, p. 1063–1067, 2010. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2009.09.039.

CHANG, C.; HSU, I.; AYKOL, M.; HUNG, W.; CHEN, C.; CRONIN, S. B. A New Lower Limit for the Ultimate Breaking Strain of Carbon Nanotubes, ACS Nano, v. 4, n. 9, p. 5095-5100, 2010. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/nn100946q.

COSTAL, G. Z.; CALDERÓN-MORALES, B. R. S.; CARVALHO, J. C. L.; SILVA, E. E.; MORAIS, E. A.; MACHADO, L. F.; OLIVEIRA, C. A. S.; MOURA FILHO, F.; GERALDO, V. CNT grown in situ from iron ore tailings: simple dispersion and environmental sustainability, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, v. 25, n. 199, 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-023-05846-8.

DANOGLIDIS, P. A.; KONSTA-GDOUTOS, M. S.; GDOUTOS, E. E.; SHAH, S. P. Strength, energy absorption capability and self-sensing properties of multifunctional carbon nanotube reinforced mortars, Construction and Building Materials, v. 120, p. 265-274, 2016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.05.049.

GERALDO, V.; OLIVEIRA, S.; SILVA, E. E.; OLIVEIRA, C. A. S.; CUNHA, R. M. A.; OLIVEIRA, R. F. P.; OLIVEIRA, C. E. M.; MORAIS, E. A. Synthesis of carbon nanotubes on sand grains for mortar reinforcement, Construction and Building Materials, v. 252, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.119044.

HAWREEN, A.; BOGAS, J. A.; DIAS, A. P. S. On the mechanical and shrinkage behavior of cement mortars reinforced with carbon nanotubes. Construction and Building Materials, v. 168, p. 459-470, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.02.146.

IIJIMA, S. Helical microtubules of graphitic carbon. Nature, v. 354, n. 6348, p. 56-58, 1991. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/354056a0.

JANG, S.H.; KAWASHIMA, S.; YIN, H. Influence of carbon nanotube clustering on mechanical and electrical properties of cement pastes. Materials, v. 9(4), n. 220, 2016 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9040220.

KANG, S. T. K.; SEO, J. Y.; PARK, S. H. The characteristics of CNT/Cement composites with acid-treated MWCNTs, Advances in Materials Science and Engineering, v. 2015, n. 1, 2015. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/308725.

LI, G.; WANG, P.; ZHAO, X. Pressure-sensitive and microstructure of carbon nanotube reinforced cement composites, Cement Concrete Comp. v. 29, n. 5, p. 377-382, 2007. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2006.12.011.

LIU, Y.; ZHONG, X.; REZA MOHAMMADIAN, H. Role of carbon nanotubes in reinforcing the interfacial transition zone and impermeability of concrete under different water-to-cement ratios. Construction and Building Materials, v. 272, p. 649-656, 2023; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aej.2023.04.025.

MACLEOD, A. J. N.; FEHERVARI, A.; GATES, W. P.; GARCEZ, E. O.; ALDRIDGE, L. P. COLLINS, F. Enhancing fresh properties and strength of concrete with a pre-dispersed carbon nanotube liquid admixture. Construction and Building Materials, v.247, n. 118524, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.118524.

MANZUR, T.; YAZDANI, N.; EMON, M.; BASHAR, A. Potential of carbon nanotube reinforced cement composites as concrete repair material, Journal of Nanomaterials, v. 2016, n.1, p. 1–10, 2016.DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/1421959

MAKAR, J.; MARGESON, J.; LUH, J. Carbon nanotube/cement composites-early results and potential application. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Construction Materials: Performance, Innovations and Structural Implications, p. 1-10, Vancouver, 2005.

MARCONDES, C. G. N.; MEDEIROS, M. H. F.; MARQUES FILHO, J.; HELENE, P. Nanotubos de carbono em concreto de cimento Portland: Influência da dispersão nas propriedades mecânicas e na absorção de água. Alconpat, v. 5, n. 2., p. 97-114, 2015. Disponível em: http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2007-68352015000200097&lng=es&tlng=pt. Acesso em 29 set. 2024.

MONTEIRO, A. R. Dispersão mecânica de NTCs de carbono com cimento Portland. 2018. f. 156. Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico. Florianópolis, 2018.

NEVILLE, A. M.; BROOKS, J. J. Tecnologia do concreto, Porto Alegre: Bookman, 2ª ed, 2013.

RASHAD, A. M. Effect of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the properties of traditional cementitious materials, Construction. Building. Materials, v. 153, pp. 81–101, 2017 DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.07.089.

RIBEIRO, A. V. S.; SILVA, J. M.; GLEIZE, P. J. P. Análise da dispersão de NTCs de carbono de paredes múltiplas com diferentes aditivos dispersantes, Revista Matéria, v.27, n.3, 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/1517-7076-RMAT-2022-0063

RIBEIRO, A. V. S.; GUINDANI, E. N.; GLEIZE, P. J. P. Analysis of Portland cement consumption reduction by using functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes in mortars. Structures and Materials Journal, v.17, n.2, 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/S1983-41952024000200004.

SONG, C.; HONG, G.; CHOI, S. Effect of dispersibility of carbon nanotubes by silica fume on material properties of cement mortars: Hydration, pore structure, mechanical properties, self-desiccation, and autogenous shrinkage. Construction and Building Materials, v. 265, p. 120318, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.120318.

SOUSA, I. P. S. Obtenção de nanossílica funcionalizada visando o uso como aditivo em misturas cimentícias. Dissertação (mestrado) – Universidade Federal de Goiás. Goiânia, 2017.

XIE, X.; MAI, Y.; ZHOU, X. Dispersion and alignment of carbon nanotubes in polymer matrix: A review. Materials Science and Engineering R, v. 49, n. 4, p. 89 – 112, 2005. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mser.2005.04.002.

Downloads

Published

2025-03-07

Issue

Vol. 18 (2025): January/December Edition

Section

Technology, Environment and Sustainability

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Paranoá

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Autores que publicam nesta revista concordam com os seguintes termos:

    1. Autores mantém os direitos autorais e concedem à revista o direito de primeira publicação, com o trabalho simultaneamente licenciado sob a Licença Creative Commons Attribution que permite o compartilhamento do trabalho com reconhecimento da autoria e publicação inicial nesta revista. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
    2. Autores têm autorização para assumir contratos adicionais separadamente, para distribuição não-exclusiva da versão do trabalho publicada nesta revista (ex.: publicar em repositório institucional ou como capítulo de livro), com reconhecimento de autoria e publicação inicial nesta revista.
    3. Autores têm permissão e são estimulados a publicar e distribuir seu trabalho online (ex.: em repositórios institucionais ou na sua página pessoal) a qualquer ponto antes ou durante o processo editorial, já que isso pode gerar alterações produtivas, bem como aumentar o impacto e a citação do trabalho publicado (Veja O Efeito do Acesso Livre).