Carbon Nanotubes in Portland cement concrete: Influence of dispersion on mechanical properties and water absorption

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are carbon structures which take the shape of cylinders in nanometric scale. This work presents an evaluation in regard to the addition of CNTs in concrete made with Portland cement, focused on the importance of performing the CNTs dispersion in water ultrasound before its incorporation to the concrete mass. Therefore, three concrete mixtures were performed, one without CNT (reference series) and two with CNTs (one mixture with previous dispersion in water and additive using ultrasound and the other without dispersion). Then properties of fluidity, compressive and tensile strength and water absorption were analyzed. The amount of CNT added was 0.30% with respect to cement mass. In all cases, the previous dispersion of CNTs using ultrasound increased the effect of CNTs addition, evidencing the importance of the efficiency of such material when added to cement.

Keywords:Carbon nanotubes; concrete; strength; water absorption.