Application of Nanotechnology in Self-Compacting Concrete Design

In this study, first, different mix design of four types of Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC), 1. SCC consisted of only nanosilica, 2. SCC included only microsilica, 3. SCC consisted of both microsilica and nanosilica and 4. SCC without microsilica and nanosilica called as control mix, were casted and tested to find out the values of the Slump Flow, L-Box and 7 and 28 days compressive strength. Then, based on the results obtained and as yet there is no universally accepted standard for characterizing of SCC, the most suitable four concrete mixes were selected for further investigation of fresh and hardened concrete. For selected mixes, the fresh concrete properties such as values of the Slump Flow, L-Box, V-Funnel, J-Ring and hardened engineering properties such as compressive and flexural strength, shrinkage and swelling values were investigated for three curing conditions at short and long term. The results showed that the engineering properties of SCC mixes could not be improved by adding only nanosilica. However, a satisfactory behavior can be achieved using microsilica in the SCC mixes. However, by adding both microsilica and nanosilica to the SCC mixtures, the best effect on the engineering properties was reported while comparing to the control mixes.