StudyofCivilEngineeringandArchitecture(SCEA)Volume3,2014www.seipub.

org/scea

ExperimentalInvestigationofNano
PolymercementComposite
WailN.AlRifaie*1,WaleedK.Ahmed2,OmarM.Mahdi3
CivilEngineeringDepartment,PhiladilphyaUniversity,Amman,Jordan

ERU,CollegeofEngineering,UnitedArabEmiratesUniversity,UAE
ResearchScholar,CollegeofEngineering,UniversityofTikrit,Iraq

2
3

*1

wnrifaie@yahoo.com;2w.ahmed@uaeu.ac.ae

Received1May2014;Accepted9June2014;Published8July2014
2014ScienceandEngineeringPublishingCompany

Abstract
The present research program was carried out to develop a
new composite material to be considered for different
applications. Hence, the present work concern with the
developmentofaverythinstructuralelementtobeusedfor
example, strengthening or rehabilitation of pipe lines for
pressurized pipes rather than using polymeric composite
materials, construct poles for lighting and wind turbine,
manufacturing of underwater turbine blades and even
impellers, water tanks and anti bullet protective panels or
evenantiexplosionsheetsusedintrucks.Thedevelopment
of nano structural element may then be called nano
polymercement. The parameters considered during the
investigation were micro sand, micro cement, nano silica,
nanoclay,naphthalenesulphonateandnanopolymermesh.
In addition, the influence of heating on the compressive
strength of nano cement mortar were discussed. It may be
concluded that the ductility of nanopolymercement as
developed in the present work which depends on the
present of nano cement mortar and nano polymer mesh
enablesalargedeflectiontotakeplacewithnocracks.
Keywords
NanoSilica;NanoClay;NanoPolymerMesh

Introduction
Nanomaterials like nanosilica, carbon nanotubes and
nanoalumina been used extensively over the last
decade due to its exceptional contribution in
enhancing the materials properties. However,
nanomaterials are gaining widespread attention to be
used in construction sector so as to exhibit enhanced
performance of materials in terms of smart functions
and sustainable features. Literatures demonstrate the
use of nanomaterial in cementitious system is mainly
duetothefactthatconcreteremainsthemostcomplex
material and its hydration mechanism is still not

completely understood (Singh et al., 2013). Jo et al.

(2007)studiedexperimentallythepropertiesofcement
mortars with nanoSiO2. The results show that the
compressive strengths of mortars with nanoSiO2
particles were all higher than those of mortars
containing silica fume at 7 and 28 days. It was
demonstrated that the nanoparticles are more
valuable in enhancing strength than silica fume. The
effect of elevated temperatures on chemical
composition,
microstructure
and
mechanical
propertiesofhighstrengthmortarswithnanoalumina
was investigated (Farzadnia et al., 2013). Residual
compressivestrength,relativeelasticmodulusandgas
permeabilitycoefficientofsampleswerealsoobtained.
Nano alumina enhanced compressive strength of
samples up to 16% and improved residual
compressive strength. An increase in the relative
elastic modulus, higher energy absorption and lower
permeability were also observed when 1% nano
alumina was added. Many studies have targeted the
applicationofclayincementcompositesanddeclared
some enhancement on the properties of concrete.
However there is little knowledge on nanoclays and
their effect on the mechanical properties and
durability of cement composites. Halloysite nanoclay
is one of the subcategories of nanoclay that has been
undeservedly ignored in the production of cement
composites. Chemically, the outer surface of the
halloysite nanotubes has properties similar to SiO2
whiletheinnercylindercoreisrelatedtoAl2O3which
togethermayimprovethecementmatrix.Farzadniaet
al. (2013), studied the mechanical properties,
flowability, thermal behavior and durability of
mortars containing halloysite nanoclay. It was
demonstrated that compressive strength and gas

29

www.seipub.org/sceaStudyofCivilEngineeringandArchitecture(SCEA)Volume3,2014

permeabilityofsampleswithnanoclaywereimproved.
SEM, XRD, DSC tests were carried out to investigate
the microstructure and chemical composition change
in samples with halloysite nanoclay. Effect of nano
clay particles on mechanical, thermal and physical
behaviours of wasteglass cement mortars was
investigated(Alyetal.,2011).Themicrostructure,ASR,
fracture energy, compressive and flexural properties
of cement mortars containing WGP as a cement
replacement with and without NC are investigated
and compared with plain matrix. In addition, the
hydration of cement compounds was followed by
differential
thermal
analysis
(DTA),
thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and also Xray
diffraction (XRD). The results showed that
incorporationofglasspowderhasapositiveeffecton
the mechanical properties of cement mortars after 28
days of hydration. Also, the results revealed that the
mechanical properties of the cement mortars with a
hybridcombinationofglasspowderandNCwereall
higher than those of plain mortar and with glass
powder after 28 days of hydration. The compressive
strengths and the microstructure photographs of
cement mortars containing nanosilica with various
sizes compared with cement mortar with silica fume
(Haruehansapongetal.2014).Testedresultsindicated
that NS significantly improved compressive strength
of cement mortar and the strength improvement was
also dependent on the NS particle size. These results
indicate that the particle size of nanosilica affected
onlythecompressivestrengthofcementmortar,butit
had no effect on the optimum replacement content.
The results of microstructure photographs are also
supported the compressive strength and optimum
replacement content results. Mendoza et al. (2014)
studied the effect of the reagglomeration process of
MultiWalled
Carbon
Nanotubes
(MWCNT)
dispersions on the activity of silica nanoparticles at
earlyageswhentheyarecombinedincementmatrixes.
MWCNT/water/superplasticizer dispersions were
producedviasonicationandcombinedwithnanosilica
particlesinthemixingwaterofthecementsamples.X
ray
diffraction,
isothermal
calorimetry,
thermogravimetric and mechanical strength analysis
werecarriedouttoidentifyvariationsinthehydration
reaction induced by the combination of these
nanoparticles. It was found that the early activity of
the nanosilica (NS) is accelerated, decelerated or
completely inhibited by the reagglomeration process
of the MWCNT dispersions, depending on MWCNT
andCa(OH)2amountsinthemedia.Themethodsand

30

theories of in situ growth of CNTs/CNFs on

cement/mineral admixture, including chemical vapor
deposition method and microwave irradiating
conductive polymers method were summarized (Sun
etal.,2013).Propertiesofthecementbasedcomposites
made from the CNTs/CNFsgrown cement/mineral
admixture were presented. Li et al. (2004)
experimentally studied the mechanical properties of
nanoFe2O3 and nanoSiO2 cement mortars. The
experimentalresultsshowedthatthecompressiveand
flexural strengths measured at the 7th day and 28th
day of the cement mortars mixed with the nano
particles were higher than that of a plain cement
mortar.TheSEMstudyofthemicrostructuresbetween
the cement mortar mixed with the nanoparticles and
the plain cement mortar showed that the nanoFe2O3
andnanoSiO2filleduptheporesandreducedCaOH2
compound among the hydrates. These mechanisms
explainedthesuprememechanicalperformanceofthe
cementmortarswithnanoparticles.Inthisarticle,the
56day pore structures of the cement mortars
producedbytheadditionofsilicafumeandnanoSiO2
(NS), nanoAl2O3 (NA) and nanoFe2O3 (NF) powders
in singular, binary or ternary combinations at
different proportions of the binder content were
investigated through MIP and BET analyses (Oltulu
and Sahin, 2014). The compressive strengths and
capillarywaterabsorptionsofproducedmortarswere
also determined in order to investigate the effects of
changes in pore structure on these properties. As a
result,itwasfoundthatporestructuresofthemortars
determined by MIP and BET were influenced by the
choiceofsingular,binaryorternaryusesaswellasthe
contentofnanopowder(s)addedintothemortar.The
flexuralstrengthofaverythinferrocementelementby
using NSCSC mortarasa replacement to the normal
cement mortar usually used in ferrocement elements
wasexamined.Themeasuredresultsdemonstratethe
increaseinflexuralstrengthofaverythinferrocement
usingNSCSCmortar(AlRifaieetal.,2012).AlRifaie
et al. (2013), examined the compressive and flexural
strengthofnanocementmortarbyusingmicrocement,
micro sand, nanosilica and nanoclay in developing a
nanocement mortar which can lead to improvements
in ferrocement construction. The measured results
demonstrate the increase in compressive and flexural
strength of mortars at early stages of hardening. In
addition, the influence of heating on compressive
strength of cement mortar, whereas ferrocement eco
housing system was able to produce very energy
efficient dwellings (AlRifaie et al., 2014). Finite

StudyofCivilEngineeringandArchitecture(SCEA)Volume3,2014www.seipub.org/scea

elementmethodwasusedtoinvestigatetheimpactof
inclusion(Ahmedetal.,2007),crackednanocomposite
(Ahmed et al., 2012), debonding (Ahmed, 2013), pre
crack (Ahmed et al., 2013), mismatch (Ahmed and
Shakir, 2013), nanoinclusion (Ahmed and AlRifaie,
2013), interfacial debonding (Ahmed, 2013b),
interfacial deffects (Ahmed, 2013c) and fractured
particulatecomposite(AhmedandTeng,2014),onthe
characteristicsandfailureofthenanocomposite.

in diameterat the surfaceof nano polymer mesh and

this may increase the bond between nano polymer
meshandnanocementmortar.

Experiment

N=Numberofnanopolymermeshlayers.

Vf

N * bb * tb 1
1
(

)
h
Dl Dt

(1)

Where,

bb=Widthofpolymerwireinmm.

Materials
Cement: Micro Portland cement sulphate resistance,
conforming ASTM C150 type II, particle size (45
0.7)m.
Sand:Microsand(30075)m,conformingASTMC33.
Silica: Nano silica (500100)m, it contents particles
lessthan40m.
Clay: Developed nano clay (2003)m by burning the
clayupto700oC.
Naphthalenesulphonateusedassuperplasticizers.
Nanopolymermesh:Thenanopolymermeshusedin
thepresentworkhasapolymerwirehavingthickness
andapertureof0.17mmand2.36mmrespectively.
Figure 1 Shows the details of nano polymer mesh
usedinthepresentinvestigation.Themeasuredyield
strength Fy, elastic modulus of Ew, and ultimate
tensilestrengthFu,wereobtainedusingdirecttensile
tests.Theaveragevaluesofmodulusofelasticity(Ew),
upperyieldstress(Fy),andultimatetensilestress(Fult)
of polymer mesh were 210 GPa, 406 MPa, and 607.6
MParespectively.

Thickness

The following expression is used to determine the

volumefractionVfofthenanopolymerlayer:

Outsid

7.5micrometer
1.5micrometer

Description

Function

Organic
modified
siloxanewith
nanoscaled
siliconparticles.

Abrasion
resistance
andUV
protection.

AcrylicPrimer

Polycarbonate

Solgel
technology

Millimeters
Micrometer
Micrometers

Adhesion
promotion

Glazing

Antifogging

Inside
FIG.1CROSSSECTIONINTHENANOPOLYMERMESHUSED
INTHEPRESENTINVESTIGATION

By using electron microscope it was found that there

aredormerhairswithnearly1mminlengthand5nm

tb=Thicknessofpolymerwireinmm.
h=thicknessofprisminmm.
Dl=Distance between the center of each adjacent two
wires of the nano polymer in the direction parallel to
theprismspaceinmm.
Dt=Distance between the center of each adjacent two
wires of the nano polymer in the direction
perpendiculartotheprismspaceinmm.
ItwasclarifiedinAlRifaieetal.(2013)thatthehighest
compressive strength and modulus of rupture can be
achieved by considering the developed nano cement
mortar having micro sand/ micro cement ratio of 1.5,
18%nanoclay,10%nanosilicaand1.4%naphthalene
sulphonate,withw:cratio=0.34after28curingdays.
Hence, the developed nano cement mortar as
mentionedaboveisadoptedthroughthepresentwork.
More details of the developed nano cement mortar
maybefoundinreference(AlRifaieetal.,2012).
FormeasuringtheflexuralstrengthFrandmodulusof
elasticity Enp of nanopolymercement a total of 714
beam specimens 500x50xd mm, varying the thickness
d, were cast using the developed cement mortar and
reinforced with a number of nano polymer mesh
layers uniformly distributed throughout the cross
sections. It may be noted that 378 of these beam
specimensweresubjectedtofreezingandheating(20
to 800oC). All beam specimens were subjected to 28
curingdayspriortothreepointbendingtests,volume
fraction Vf is assumed to be same for all beam
specimens.
Results and Discussion
Table 1 gives the outcomes of transverse deflections
due to heating (100 to 800oC) of the casting nano
polymercementbeamspecimensvaryingthethickness
andnumberofpolymermeshlayers.

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www.seipub.org/sceaStudyofCivilEngineeringandArchitecture(SCEA)Volume3,2014

TABLE1MEASUREDDEFLECTIONSOFTHEBEAMSPECIMENSDUETO
HEATING

Measureddeflections,mm
Temp.
oC

(1)
d=6
n=8

100

200

300

(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
d=5 d=4 d=3.5 d=3 d=2.5
n=6 n=6 n=4 n=4 n=4

(7)
d=2
n=4

400

0.8

500

2.8

2.5

2.6

2.6

600

4.5

5.1

5.1

6.3

700

6.9

7.8

10

11

800

7.5

8.5

8.9

14

15

16

Note:EachofthemeasuredvaluesgiveninTable1istheaverageof
themeasuredvaluesofsixbeamspecimens.

The following are empirical expressions for

determiningthetransversedeflectionsduetoheating:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)

=0.0155T4.8838
=0.0174T5.6867
=0.018T5.8667
=0.0196T6.3467
=0.00004T20.0155T+1.3286
=0.00002T20.0054T+1.7143
=0.029T8.6857

dmm

Temperatureinwhichthenanopolymermesh
layerswerebroken

800oC@ e =15mm, Fr =16.7N/mm2

800oC@ e =12mm, Fr =12.5N/mm2

800oC@ e =12mm, Fr =12.5N/mm2

3.5

800oC@ e =13mm, Fr =12.5N/mm2

600oC@ e =35mm, Fr =18.2N/mm2

2.5

600oC@ e =35mm, Fr =18.2N/mm2

600 C@ e =35mm, Fr =18.2N/mm

Note:d=thicknessofbeamspecimen,n=numberofnanopolymer
meshlayers
e=crackingdeflection,Fr=modulusofrupture.

32

Ep

PL3
(2)
48I

Where,
P=Appliedload.
L=Clearspan.
=tobtainedfromempiricalexpressionofTable2.
TABLE2AMEASUREDDEFLECTIONSATMIDSPANOFTHEBEAM
SPECIMENS500*50*6MMDUETOHEATINGANDPOINTLOADS
APPLIEDATMIDSPAN

Bending
Empiricalexpressionfor
stressesatfirst
determiningthetotal
Total
Temp.
t
t,mmandthe
crackingloads
deflection
deflection
oC
inmm
valueofmodulusof
,MPausing
elasticityEp
beamtheory

As stated earlier, 378 nano polymercement beam

specimens 500x50xd were subjected to both freezing
and heating, 36 specimens subjected to freezing, 10
and20oC,and342specimenssubjectedtoheating,20
and 100 to 800oC with 100oC interval, then these
specimens were subjected to three point bending test
for determining the flexural strength (modulus of
rupture) and the temperature in which the nano
polymermeshlayersbrokenasgiveninthefollowing
table.Itwasnotedthatthebeamspecimenssubjected
to freezing are failed by broking the nono polymer
mesh at 10 and 20oC at flexural strength of 30.33
N/mm2.

Three point bending tests were performed on the

beam specimens given in Table 1. It is depicted from
Table 2 that the outcomes of transverse deflections at
midspan due to point loads applied at midspan. In
addition, the modulus of elasticity determined using
thefollowingformula:

17

12.5

25

100

16.667

18

200

16.667

20

300

16.667

22

400

20.833

17

500

20.833

16

600

16.667

15

700

12.5

10

800

12.5

10

t=22.083+0.0770.016T
Ep=5.923GPa

TABLE2BMEASUREDDEFLECTIONSATMIDSPANOFTHEBEAM
SPECIMENS500*50*5MMDUETOHEATINGANDPOINTLOADS
APPLIEDATMIDSPAN

Temp.
oC

Empiricalexpressionfor
Bending
Finaltotal
determiningthetotal
stressesatfirst
deflectiont deflectiont,mmandthe
crackingloads
inmm
valueofmodulusof
,MPa
elasticityEp

20

12.5

25

100

16.667

18

200

16.667

20

300

16.667

22

400

20.833

17

500

20.833

16

600

16.667

15

700

12.5

10

800

12.5

10

t=22.662+0.146
0.018T
Ep=12.8GPa

StudyofCivilEngineeringandArchitecture(SCEA)Volume3,2014www.seipub.org/scea

TABLE2CTHEMEASUREDDEFLECTIONSATMIDSPANOFTHEBEAM

TABLE2FMEASUREDDEFLECTIONSATMIDSPANOFTHEBEAM

SPECIMENS500*50*4MMDUETOHEATINGANDPOINTLOADS

SPECIMENS500*50*2.5MMDUETOHEATINGANDPOINTLOADS

APPLIEDATMIDSPAN

APPLIEDATMIDSPAN

Empiricalexpressionfor
Bending
Total
determiningthetotal
Temp. stressesatfirst
deflectiont deflectiont,mmandthe
oC
crackingloads
inmm
valueofmodulusof
,MPa
elasticityEp

Temp.
oC

Empiricalexpressionfor
Bending
Finaltotal
determiningthetotal
stressesatfirst
deflectiont deflectiont,mmandthe
crackingloads
inmm
valueofmodulusof
,MPa
elasticityEp

20

11.22

25

20

30.33

49

100

15.433

23

10

30.33

50

200

16.667

22

20

26.66

53

300

16.667

22

100

26.66

55

400

20.833

19

200

26.66

52

500

20.833

18

300

26.66

50

600

16.667

14

400

20.11

49

700

12.5

12

500

18.21

35

800

12.5

10

600

15.13

24

700

14.33

19

800

10.45

20

t=21.85+0.2050.0196T
Ep=20GPa

TABLE2DMEASUREDDEFLECTIONSATMIDSPANOFTHEBEAM
SPECIMENS500*50*3.5MMDUETOHEATINGANDPOINTLOADS
APPLIEDATMIDSPAN
Empiricalexpressionfor
Bending
Finaltotal
determiningthetotal
Temp. stressesatfirst
deflectiont deflectiont,mmandthe
oC
crackingloads
inmm
valueofmodulusof
,MPa
elasticityEp
20

10.777

23

100

15.433

20

200

16.667

17

300

16.667

17

400

20.833

15

500

20.833

15

600

16.667

700

12.5

800

12.5

TABLE2GMEASUREDDEFLECTIONSATMIDSPANOFTHEBEAM
SPECIMENS500*50*2MMDUETOHEATINGANDPOINTLOADS
APPLIEDATMIDSPAN
Empiricalexpressionfor
Bending
Finaltotal
determiningthetotal
Temp. stressesatfirst
deflection
t deflectiont,mmandthe
oC
crackingloads
inmm
valueofmodulusof
,MPa
elasticityEp
20

30.33

49

10

30.33

50

20

26.66

53

100

26.66

55

14

200

26.66

52

13

300

26.66

50

12

400

20.11

49

500

18.21

35

600

15.13

24

700

14.33

19

800

10.45

20

t=22.083+0.0770.016T
Ep=21.325GPa

TABLE2EMEASUREDDEFLECTIONSATMIDSPANOFTHEBEAM
SPECIMENS500*50*3MMDUETOHEATINGANDPOINTLOADS
APPLIEDATMIDSPAN
Empiricalexpressionfor
Bending
Finaltotal
determiningthetotal
Temp. stressesatfirst
deflection
t deflectiont,mmandthe
oC
crackingloads
inmm
valueofmodulusof
,MPa
elasticityEp
20

30.33

49

10

30.33

50

20

26.66

53

100

26.66

55

200

26.66

52

300

26.66

50

400

20.11

49

500

18.21

35

600

15.13

24

700

14.33

19

t=22.083+0.0770.016T
Ep=28.74GPa

t=22.083+0.0770.016T
Ep=32GPa

Note:EachofthemeasuredvaluesgiveninTable1istheaverageof
themeasuredvaluesofsixbeamspecimens.

Expression for determining the modulus of elasticity

ofthecompositenanopolymermeshandnanocement
mortarisformedasfollows:
Ep=6.4441t+44.841(3)

t=22.083+0.0770.016T
Ep=25.55GPa

Where,
t:isthethicknessofthebeamspecimeninmm.
A comparison is made between the values of
transverse deflection obtained from Table 2, t, and
the values obtained using expression (3) as shown in
Figure2.

33

Modulusofelasticity,GPa

www.seipub.org/sceaStudyofCivilEngineeringandArchitecture(SCEA)Volume3,2014

Mechanical Properties of Hybrid Nanocomposites.

35

Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on

30
ModulusofElasticity
GPa,Exp.(3)

25

Metamaterials, Photonic Crystals and Plasmonics,

20

META13inSharjah,UnitedArabEmirates,March1822,

ModulusofElasticity
GPa,Table2

15
10

2013.ISBN:9782954546001.
Ahmed,WaleedK.TheRoleofNanofiber/MatrixInterface

Defects on The Failure of Nanocomposite Comparative

0
0

Beamthickness,mm
FIG.2RELATIONSHIPBETWEENMODULUSOFELASTICITY
ANDBEAMTHICKNESS.

Conclusions
Itmaybeconcludedthattheductilityofnanopolymer
meshnano cement mortar composite as developed in
the present work which depends on the present of
nanocementmortarandnanopolymermeshenablesa
largedeflectiontotakeplacewithnocracks.
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WailN.AlRifaieistheformerPresidentof
University of Technology, Baghdad where
holds a chair in the Building and
Construction Engineering Department. He
receivedhisPh.DinStructuralEngineering
from University College, Cardiff, U.K. in
1975. Professor. Wail also received the
Telford Premium Prize from the Institution of Civil
Engineersin1976onthestrengthofhisdoctoralwork.Heis
former Chair of the Scientific Research Commission within
the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research,
Iraq and is held in the utmost regard within the Iraqi
academic community. He has been awarded numerous
nationalhonorsincludingtheOutstandingProfessorAward
(1996), the Science Merit Medal (2001) and the Science
Decorationin the same year.Professor Wail hassupervised
58M.Sc.Thesesand15Ph.D.Thesesandpublishedover100
scientificpapers,themajorityofwhichconcernferrocement
elements, including membrane roof structures, box beams,
load bearing walls and columns, hydraulic containment
structuresandthinshellssuchasroofdomes.Healsoisthe
author of 7 respected monographs in the field of structural
analysis.
WaleedK.AhmedIn1992,Dr.Ahmedgot
his B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from
the College of Engineering, University of
BaghdadIraq. Served for 6 years industrial
sectorinthemanufacturingandthequality
control. In 2000 got M.Sc. in Applied
Mechanics from the Mechanics and
Equipment Department at the University of Technology,
BaghdadIraq in the failure analysis of pipes using FEA.
Appointed as a lecturer at the Materials Engineering
Department in the College of Engineering at the University
of Mustanseryia, BaghdadIraq in 2001. At the mid of 2006
finished his PhD in the field of strengthening of steel pipes
using composite materials, where the research was done in
collaboration with Nottingham University as MOU. Moved
to work in United Arab Emirates University occupying
many positions starting from the end of 2006. Moreover,
publishedmorethan40journalandconferencepapers.Main
interest in renewable energy, nanomaterial, failure analysis,
FEA,NDT,solidmechanics,windturbineaswellasfracture
mechanics.Atthepresenttime,Dr.Ahmedisafacultyinthe
ERUattheCollegeofEngineeringUAEU,AlAincity,Unite
ArabEmiratesUniversity.

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