TITLE:
Investigation of Physical Properties of Graphene-Cement Composite for Structural Applications
AUTHORS:
Ahmadreza Sedaghat, Manoj K. Ram, A. Zayed, Rajeev Kamal, Natallia Shanahan
KEYWORDS:
Ceramics; Composite Materials; Graphene; Electrical Conductivity; Thermal Conductivity
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Composite Materials,
Vol.4 No.1,
January
7,
2014
ABSTRACT: The hydration
of cement generates heat due to the exothermic nature of the hydration process.
Poor heat dissipation in mass concrete results in a temperature gradient
between the inner core and the outer surface of the element. High temperature
gradients generate tensile stresses that may exceed the tensile strength of
concrete thus leading to thermal cracking. The present paper is an attempt to understand the thermal (heat
sink property) and microstructural changes in the hydrated graphene-Portland
cement composites. Thermal diffusivity and electrical conductivity of the
hydrated graphene-cement composite were measured at various graphene to cement
ratios. The mass-volume method was implemented to measure the density of the
hydrated graphene-cement composite. Particle size distribution of Portland cement
was measured by using a laser scattering particle size analyzer.
Heat of hydration of Portland cement was assessed by using a TAMAIR isothermal conduction calorimeter. Scanning
electron microscopy (SEM) was implemented to study microstructural changes of
the hydrated graphene-cement composites. The mineralogy of graphene-cement and
the hydrated graphene-cement composites was investigated by using X-ray diffraction. The findings indicate
that incorporation of graphene enhances the thermal properties of the hydrated
cement indicating a potential for reduction in early age thermal cracking and
durability improvement of the concrete structures.