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Comparative investigation on nanomechanical properties of hardened cement paste

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Abstract

Three types of nanomechanical methods including static nanoindentation, modulus mapping and peak-force quantitative nanomechanical mapping (QNM) were applied to investigate the quantitative nanomechanical properties of the same indent location in hardened cement paste. Compared to the nanoindentation, modulus mapping and peak-force QNM allow for evaluating local mechanical properties of a smaller area with higher resolution. Beside, the ranges of elastic modulus distribution measured by modulus mapping and peak-force QNM are relatively greater than that obtained from nanoindentation, which may be due to a result of the shaper probe and local confinement effect between multiple phases. Moreover, the average value of elastic modulus obtained using peak-force QNM were consistent with those obtained by modulus mapping, while the different in modulus probability distribution could be related to the different nanomechancial theories and contact forces. The probability distributions of elastic modulus measured using nanomechanical methods to provide a basis for the different types of phases existing in cement paste. Based on the observation with high spatial resolution, cement paste can be likely found as nanocalse granular material, in which different submicron scale or basic nanoscale grain units pack together. It indicates that the peak-force QNM can effectively provide an effective insight into the nanostructure characteristic and corresponding nanomechanical properties of cement paste.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51408210), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities in Hunan University, China (531107040800) and the financial support from Infrastructure Technology Institute (ITI) at Northwestern University, USA under Grant DTRT06-G-0015. The first author is also grateful for the financial support of the Australian Research Council (DE150101751).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, Hunan, China

    Wengui Li & Caijun Shi

  2. Center for Advanced Cement-Based Materials, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA

    Wengui Li, Shiho Kawashima, David J. Corr & Surendra P. Shah

  3. Department of Structural Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Wengui Li & Jianzhuang Xiao

  4. Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA

    Shiho Kawashima

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  1. Wengui Li
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Correspondence to Wengui Li.

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Li, W., Kawashima, S., Xiao, J. et al. Comparative investigation on nanomechanical properties of hardened cement paste. Mater Struct 49, 1591–1604 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-015-0597-3

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