Fresh and Hardened Properties of Nano Self-Compacting Concrete with Micro and Nano Silica

Abstract

Self-compacting concrete (SCC) has undergone a remarkable evolution recently based on the results from several studies that have indicated the chain of benefits SCC provides. Micro and nano materials used as mineral additives in SCC offer several high-performance properties, and this research studies the effects of micro silica (MS) (10%, used as a reference) and colloidal nano-silica (CNS) (2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, and 10%) on the fresh and hardened properties of SCC. All mixtures were estimated using flow, L-box, and V-funnel tests to examine workability and compressive strength, modulus of elasticity and tensile strength as hardened properties. The use of CNS increased the overall compressive strength compared to the reference mixture, with the average increase for 28 days being 41%. The discoveries of this work offer insight into the creation of volitional mineral admixtures for improving the toughness attributes of SCC, increasing enforcement, and offering a more maintainable and practical material.