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Atomic force microscopy and nanoindentation of cement pastes with nanotube dispersions
Author(s) -
Sáez de Ibarra Y.,
Gaitero J. J.,
Erkizia E.,
Campillo I.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
physica status solidi (a)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.532
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1862-6319
pISSN - 1862-6300
DOI - 10.1002/pssa.200566166
Subject(s) - nanoindentation , carbon nanotube , materials science , composite material , nanomaterials , atomic force microscopy , cement , diamond , modulus , composite number , elastic modulus , mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes , nanotube , young's modulus , nanotechnology
Since their discovery in 1991 by Iijima [1], carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have probably become the most promising nanomaterials due to their unique mechanical, electronic and chemical properties. Our aim is to improve the mechanical properties of cement pastes by the addition of CNTs, giving rise to a new and higher‐performance composite material. To reach an efficient cement‐based composite with nanotubes, we have studied the addition of different CNT concentrations in the mix design in order to obtain enhanced mechanical properties with respect to plain cement pastes. We have measured the micro‐hardness and Young's modulus of the composites by nanoindenting with a sharp diamond three‐sided pyramidal tip mounted on an Atomic Force Microscope probe. These measurements have been correlated with the average macroscopic Young's modulus. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)