JOURNAL OF

COMPOSITE
Article M AT E R I A L S
Journal of Composite Materials
45(11) 1165–1172
! The Author(s) 2010
The effects of limewater on flexural Reprints and permissions:
sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
strength and water permeability of Al2O3 DOI: 10.1177/0021998310378907
jcm.sagepub.com
nanoparticles binary blended concrete

Ali Nazari and Shadi Riahi

Abstract
The effect of limewater on flexural strength and water permeability of Al2O3 nanoparticles binary blended concrete has
been investigated. Al2O3 nanoparticles with partial replacement of cement by 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 wt% have been used as
reinforcement. Curing of the specimens has been carried out in water and saturated limewater for 7, 28, and 90 days
after casting. The results indicate that Al2O3 nanoparticles up to a maximum replacement level of 2.0% produces
concrete with improved flexural strength and water permeability when the specimens cured in saturated limewater
with respect to the specimens cured in water. Al2O3 nanoparticles can improve the filler effect and also the high
pozzolanic action of fine nanoparticles increases substantially the quantity of strengthening gel. Although the limewater
reduces the strength of concrete without nanoparticles, curing the specimens in saturated limewater results in more
strengthening gel formation in Al2O3 nanoparticles blended concrete causes high strength.

Keywords
Al2O3 nanoparticle, flexural strength, percentage of water absorption, rate of water absorption, coefficient of water
absorption, curing medium, concrete

Introduction applications of nano-SiO2 are addressed by the Fuji

Portland cement-based binders are the primary active
components of cementitious composites used in most
modern construction. The other components are water
and both fine and coarse aggregate. Binders are made
from Portland ‘clinker’ ground together with a little
calcium sulfate, and frequently also contain fine min-
eral powders such as limestone, pozzolan (typically vol-
canic ash), fly ash (usually from coal-burning power
plants), and granulated blast furnace slag. Such pow-
ders are referred to as supplementary cementitious
materials (SCMs) since they are used to replace some
of the more expensive clinker. Chemical admixtures
such as superplasticizers and air-entraining agents can
be added in small amounts to modify the properties of a
cementitious composite for specific applications.
There are few reports on incorporation of nanopar-
ticles in cement-based composites. Li et al.1 investigated
the properties of cement mortars blended with nano-
particles to explore their super mechanical and smart
(temperature and strain sensing) potentials. Also useful
Chimera Research Institute (2002). However, until
now, research performed over the years has been
mainly aimed at achieving high mechanical perfor-
mance with cement replacement materials in microlevel.
Several researchers have demonstrated that the finer the
SiO2 nanoparticle sizes in micron level, the higher the
compressive strength.2,3 But there is a lack of
knowledge on the effects of ultra-fine and nanosized
nanoparticles on cementitious composite’s properties.
Lu and Young4 achieved high strengths on com-
pressed samples, and Richard and Cheyrezy5 developed
reactive power concretes (RPCs). The development of
an ultra-high strength cementitious composite was
Department of Technical and Engineering Sciences, Islamic Azad University
(Saveh Branch), Saveh, Iran.
Corresponding author:
Ali Nazari, Department of Technical and Engineering Sciences, Islamic
Azad University (Saveh Branch), Saveh, Iran
Email: alinazari84@aut.ac.ir
1166 Journal of Composite Materials 45(11)

made possible by the application of densified system
containing homogeneously arranged ultra-fine particles
(DSP) with super plasticizer and silica fume content.6
Kuo et al.7 investigated the properties of waterworks
sludge ash cement paste incorporating SiO2 nanoparti-
cles. In their work, the flowability of the cement pastes
has been considered and it has been shown that the
flowability of the cementitious composite decreases by
increasing the nanoparticle amount. Lin and Tsai8
investigated the influences of nanomaterials on the
microstructures of sludge ash cement paste. They
noticed that the amount of crystallization in the
hydrates increased with the increased quantities of
nanomaterial added. Furthermore, denser crystalliza-
tions, smaller pore sizes, and a decreased number of
pores were observed with the addition of nanomaterial,
resulting in decreasing water permeability.
There are few works about incorporating other
nanoparticles in cementitious composites. For example,
Li et al.9,10 have investigated the compressive strength
and aberration resistance of cement paste composites
incorporating nano-Fe2O3 and nano-TiO2 nanoparti-
cles, respectively. Incorporation of zinc–iron oxide
nanoparticles as a replacement of cement have been
investigated by Flores-Velez and Dominguez.11
The other nanoparticles (such as ZrO2 and Cr2O3
nanoparticles) have rarely investigated and some of
researchers do not agree that the other nanoparticles
could be pozzolans. It seems that several works are
needed to introduce these new materials as cement
replacement.
Previously, a series of works12–19 has been conducted
on cementitious composites containing different nano-
particles evaluating the mechanical properties of the
composites.
In this study, the influence of Al2O3 nanoparticles on
flexural strength and water permeability of binary
blended concrete cured in water and limewater has
been investigated.
Materials and methods
Ordinary portland cement (OPC) conforming to
ASTM C15020 standard was used as received. The
chemical and physical properties of the cement are
shown in Table 1. The nanoparticle size distribution
pattern of the used OPC has been shown in Figure 1.
Al2O3 nanoparticles with average nanoparticle size
of 15 nm and 40 m2/g Blaine fineness produced from
Suzhou Fuer Import & Export Trade Co., Ltd was
used as received. The properties of Al2O3 nanoparticles
are shown in Table 2.
Locally available natural sand with nanoparticles
smaller than 0.5 mm and fineness modulus of 2.25 and
specific gravity of 2.58 g/cm3 (loose form) was used as
fine aggregate. Crushed basalt stored in the laboratory
with maximum size of 15 mm and specific gravity of
2.96 g/cm3 was used as coarse aggregate.

Table 1. Properties of Portland cement

Chemical properties

Material SiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 CaO MgO SO3 Na2O K2O Loss on ignition
Cement (wt%) 21.89 5.3 3.34 53.27 6.45 3.67 0.18 0.98 3.21
Specific gravity, 1.7 g/cm3 (loose form).

120

100
Percentage finer than

80

60

40

20

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Particle size (µm)

Figure 1. Particles distribution pattern of OPC.

Nazari and Riahi 1167

Two series of mixtures were prepared in the labora-
tory trials. C0 series mixtures were prepared as control
specimens. The control mixtures were made of natural
aggregates, cement, and water. Series N were prepared
with different contents of Al2O3 nanoparticles with
average nanoparticle size of 15 nm. The mixtures were
prepared with the cement replacement of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5,
and 2.0 wt%. The water-to-binder ratio for all mixtures
was set at 0.40.21 The aggregates for the mixtures con-
sisted of a combination of crushed basalt and fine sand,
with the sand percentage of 30 wt%. The binder content
of all mixtures was 450 kg/m3. The proportions of the
mixtures are presented in Table 3.
Series N mixtures were prepared by mixing the
course aggregates, fine aggregates, and powder mate-
rials (cement and Al2O3 nanoparticles) in a laboratory
concrete drum mixer. The powder material in the series
C0 mixtures was only cement. They were mixed in dry
condition for 2 min, and for another 3 min after adding
water. Slumps of the fresh concrete were determined
immediately to evaluate the workability following the
mixing procedure. Cubes of 100 mm edge for water per-
meability tests and cubes with 200  50  50 mm3 edges
for flexural strength tests were cast and compacted in
two layers on a vibrating table, where each layer was
vibrated for 10 s.22 The molds were covered with poly-
ethylene sheets and moistened for 24 h. Then, the speci-
mens were demolded and cured in water (N-W series)
and saturated limewater (N-LW series) at a tempera-
ture of 20 C prior to test days. The strength and water
Table 2. The properties of Al2O3 nanoparticles
Diameter Surface volume Density (g/cm3)
(nm) ratio (m2/g) (loose form)
15  5 163  20 <0.1
Table 3. Mixture proportion of Al2O3 nanoparticles blended
concretes
Sample Al2O3 3
Quantities (kg/m )
designation nanoparticles
Al2O3
Cement nanoparticles
permeability tests of the concrete samples were deter-
mined at 7, 28, and 90 days.
Flexural test were done in accordance with the
ASTM C29323 standard. Again, the flexural tests were
carried out on triplicate specimens and average flexural
strength values were obtained.
Percentage of water absorption is an evaluation of
the pore volume or porosity of concrete after harden-
ing, which is occupied by water and limewater in satu-
rated state. Water absorption values of Al2O3
nanoparticle-blended concrete samples were measured
as per ASTM C64224 after 7, 28, and 90 days of mois-
ture curing.
Rate of water absorption is a measure of the capil-
lary forces exerted by the pore structure, causing fluids
to be drawn into the body of the material.25 In this
experiment, the rate of water absorption by concrete
cubes were considered by measuring the increase in
the mass of samples due to water absorption at certain
times when only one surface of the specimen is exposed
to water. Concrete samples were dried in an oven at
50 C for 3 days and then cooled in a sealed container
at 23 C for 15 days as per ASTM C158526 after 7, 28,
and 90 days of moist curing.27 The sides of the concrete
samples were covered with epoxy resin in order to allow
the flow of water in one direction. The end of the sam-
ples were sealed with tightly attached plastic sheet and
protected in position by an elastic band. The initial
mass of the samples were taken after which they were
kept partly immersed to a depth of 5 mm in water as
shown in Figure 2. The readings were taken starting
with the initial mass of the sample at selected times
after first contact with water (typically 1, 5, 10, 20,
30, 60, 110, and 120 min),28 the samples were removed,
Purity excess water was blotted off using paper towel, and then
(%) weighed. Then they were replaced again in water for the
>99.9 chosen time period. The gain in mass (
m, kg/s1/2) at
time t (s), exposed area of the specimen (a, m2), and
density of water (d ), were used to obtain the rate of
water absorption (I, m/s1/2) as per the equation:27

m
I¼ ð1Þ
ða=dÞ

C0 (control) 0 450 0
N1 0.5 447.75 2.25
N2 1.0 445.50 4.50
N3 1.5 443.25 6.75
N4 2.0 441.00 9.00
Water-to-binder [cement + Al2O3 nanoparticles] ratio of 0.40, sand Figure 2. Rate of water absorption and coefficient of water
492 kg/m3, and aggregate 1148 kg/m3. absorption test.
1168 Journal of Composite Materials 45(11)

Coefficient of water absorption is considered as a mea-
sure of permeability of water.29 This was measured by
determining the rate of water uptake by dry concrete
for a period of 1 h.28 The concrete samples were dried at
110 C in an oven for 1 week until they reached to constant
weight and then were cooled in a sealed container for
1 day. The sides of the samples were covered with epoxy
resin, and were placed partly immersed in water to a
depth of 5 mm at one end, and at the other end, a tightly
attached plastic was secured in position by an elastic band
as shown in Figure 2.28 The amount of water absorbed
during the first 60 min was calculated for Al2O3 nanopar-
ticles blended concrete samples after 7, 28, and 90 days of
moisture curing using the formula:27
 2
Q 1
Ka ¼ : ð2Þ
A t
where Ka is the coefficient of water absorption (m2/s),
Q the quantity of water absorbed (m3) by the dried
samples in 3600 s, and A the surface area (m2) of con-
crete samples through which water penetrates.
Results and discussion
Flexural strength
The flexural strength results of series C0-W and N-W
mixtures are shown in Table 4. Comparison of the
results from the 7-, 28-, and 90-day samples shows
that the flexural strength increases with Al2O3 nanopar-
ticles up to 1.0% replacement (N2-W) and then it
decreases, although the results of 2.0% replacement
Table 4. Flexural strength of Al2O3 nanoparticle blended
cement mortars
Flexural strength (MPa)
Sample Al2O3
designation nanoparticle (%) 7 days 28 days 90 days
(N4-W) is still higher than those of the plain cement
concrete (C0-W). It was shown that the use of 2.0%
Al2O3 nanoparticles decreases the flexural strength to
a value which is near to the control concrete. This may
be due to the fact that the quantity of Al2O3 nanopar-
ticles (pozzolan) present in the mix is higher than the
amount required to combine with the liberated lime
during the process of hydration thus leading to excess
silica leaching out and causing a deficiency in strength
as it replaces part of the cementitious material but does
not contribute to strength.22 Also, it may be due to the
defects generated in dispersion of nanoparticles that
cause weak zones. The high enhancement of flexural
strength in the N series-blended concrete are due to
the rapid consuming of Ca(OH)2 which was formed
during hydration of Portland cement specially at early
ages related to the high reactivity of Al2O3 nanoparti-
cles. As a consequence, the hydration of cement is
accelerated and larger volumes of reaction products
are formed. Also Al2O3 nanoparticles recover the nano-
particle-packing density of the blended cement, direct-
ing to a reduced volume of larger pores in the cement
paste.
Table 4 also shows the flexural strength of C0-LW
and N-LW series. The results show that the replace-
ment of cement by Al2O3 nanoparticles up to 2.0 wt%
(N4-LW) in N-LW series produces concrete with high
strength with respect to N-LW control concrete. By
comparison, the flexural strength results of C0-W and
C0-LW series, shows that after 7, 28, and 90 days of
curing the concrete in the saturated limewater, the flex-
ural strength of the C0-LW series is smaller than the
corresponding strength of C0-W series. This may be
due to more formation of crystalline Ca(OH)2 in the
presence of limewater which reduces the flexural
strength in C0-LW series with respect to C0-W series.
On the other hand, the flexural strength of the N-LW
series is more than those of N-W series. Lime reacts
with water and produces Ca(OH)2 which needs to
form C–S–H gel:30

C0-W (control) 0 4.2 4.4 4.7 CaO þ H2 O ¼ CaðOHÞ2 þHeat ð3Þ

N1-W 0.5 4.6 5.1 5.7
N2-W 1.0 5.3 5.2 6.0 When Al2O3 nanoparticles react with Ca(OH)2 pro-
N3-W 1.5 5.0 5.0 5.3 duced from saturated limewater, the content of C–S–H
gel is increased because of high free energy of nanopar-
N4-W 2.0 4.4 4.8 4.8
ticles which reduces significantly when reacts by
C0-LW (control) 0 4.0 4.1 4.2
Ca(OH)2. The flexural strength of N-W and N-LW
N1-LW 0.5 4.9 5.3 5.3 series should be compared from two viewpoints. The
N2-LW 1.0 5.8 6.1 6.2 first viewpoint is that the flexural strength of N-LW
N3-LW 1.5 6.2 6.4 6.5 series increases by partial replacement of cement with
N4-LW 2.0 6.5 6.8 6.8 Al2O3 nanoparticles up to 2.0 wt% (N4-LW) while for
Water-to-binder [cement + Al2O3 nanoparticles] ratio of 0.40. W denotes N-W series it increases by partial replacement of
the specimens cured in water and LW denotes to those cured in saturated cement with Al2O3 nanoparticles up to 1.0 wt% (N2-
limewater. W) and then decreases. Once more, this confirm the
Nazari and Riahi 1169

more C–S–H gel formation in the presence of saturated
limewater in which the quantity of Al2O3 nanoparticles
(pozzolan) present in the mix is close to the amount
required to combine with the liberated lime during
the process of hydration thus leading to lesser silica
leaching out with respect to the specimens cured in
water. Second viewpoint is that the difference between
flexural strengths of the N-W and N-LW series after
28 days of curing is relatively high while this difference
in flexural strength after 90 days of curing is not high.
This may be due to formation of crystalline Ca(OH)2 in
N-LW series after 28 days causes reduction in flexural
strength. In the other words, curing of the Al2O3 nano-
particles blended concrete in saturated limewater after
28 days is completely suitable to achieve high strength
especially with high weight percent of nanoparticles.
Percentage of water absorption
The results of saturated water absorption at different
ages of moist curing are shown in Table 5. As it can be
seen, the percentage of water absorption of concrete
samples immersed in water and saturated limewater
decreases with the increase in the age of moist curing
from 7 to 90 days for all series during the hardening
process of the concrete. In the other words, C–A–H gel
formation in the presence of nanoparticles especially
for the specimens cured at saturated limewater are
high enough to reduce the water absorption of the
blended concrete. This reduction is more for N-LW
series as a result of more C–A–H gel formation.
However, this difference is not too high because of
this fact that the water permeability is significantly
related to the content of pores in the concrete which
is equal for two N-W and N-LW series at a certain
nanoparticle content.
It was observed that the reduction of water absorp-
tion was found at the 7 days curing for N series com-
pared to C0 series. The decrease in water absorption
which is related to the increase in the amount of Al2O3
nanoparticles can be resulted from the reduced amount
of pores. These results were achieved because of fewer
hydration products when the pozzolanic reaction is
small at the early ages for C0 series reverse of the N
series. On the other hand, the percentage of water
absorption related to the porosity of the hardened con-
crete which is engaged by water in saturated state31 was
more in series C0 compared to N series at the early ages.
But by increasing the age of curing to 90 days, the per-
centage of water absorption values decreases signifi-
cantly with the increase in nanoparticles content up to
2.0%. Therefore, it can be suggested that with prolonged
curing, increasing the ages and percentages of Al2O3
nanoparticles in both series can lead to reduction in
permeable voids. This is due to the pozzolanic action
of Al2O3 nanoparticles and filler effect provided by
both series of Al2O3 nanoparticles. Another finding is
that the interfacial transition zone in concrete had
improved due to pozzolanic reaction as well as
filler effect of the Al2O3 nanoparticles. This finding is
partially in confirmation of the results of the study by
Bui et al.22
Rate of water absorption
The rate of water absorption of all two series is shown
in Table 6. It can be seen that at 7 days of curing, there
was a progressive reduction in the rate of water

Table 5. Percentage of water absorption in control and Al2O3 Table 6. Rate of water absorption (m/s1/2  106) in control
nanoparticles blended concrete and Al2O3 nanoparticles blended concrete

Al2O3 Al2O3
Mix designation nanoparticles (%) 7 days 28 days 90 days Mix designation nanoparticles (%) 7 days 28 days 90 days

C0-W (control) 0 3.30 5.60 4.80 C0-W (control) 0 13.02 12.34 10.14
N1-W 0.5 3.88 2.17 0.84 N1-W 0.5 15.6 14.29 9.30
N2-W 1.0 4.17 2.44 1.06 N2-W 1.0 15.77 15.04 9.72
N3-W 1.5 4.45 2.60 1.27 N3-W 1.5 15.37 15.13 9.83
N4-W 2.0 4.99 2.79 1.55 N4-W 2.0 15.99 15.50 9.98
C0-LW (control) 0 2.32 5.71 4.92 C0-LW (control) 0 13.06 12.56 10.18
N1-LW 0.5 4.96 1.55 0.69 N1-LW 0.5 17.0 10.20 8.78
N2-LW 1.0 5.32 1.63 0.91 N2-LW 1.0 17.32 10.39 8.99
N3-LW 1.5 5.88 1.78 1.06 N3-LW 1.5 17.87 10.61 9.06
N4-LW 2.0 6.15 1.98 1.21 N4-LW 2.0 18.15 10.99 9.16
Water-to-binder [cement + Al2O3 nanoparticles] ratio of 0.40. W denotes Water-to-binder [cement + Al2O3 nanoparticles] ratio of 0.40. W denotes
the specimens cured in water and LW denotes to those cured in saturated the specimens cured in water and LW denotes to those cured in saturated
limewater. limewater.
1170 Journal of Composite Materials 45(11)

absorption in series N. With increase of Al2O3 nano- Table 7. Coefficient of water absorption (m2/s  1010) in
particles content up to 2.0%, an increase in the rate of control and Al2O3 nanoparticles blended concrete
water absorption was observed, but the values are still
Al2O3
lower than the control concrete. With progress in the Mix designation nanoparticles (%) 7 days 28 days 90 days
curing time until 90 days, the rate of water absorption
for N series at all replacement contents are quite lower C0-W (control) 0 9.02 2.86 1.35
than C0 series. N1-W 0.5 10.41 3.42 1.19
It is well known that mineral admixtures with N2-W 1.0 10.88 3.79 1.24
fine nanoparticles can improve the filler effect and N3-W 1.5 10.99 4.10 1.25
also, the high pozzolanic action of fine nanoparticles N4-W 2.0 11.23 4.36 1.29
increases substantially the quantity of C–A–H gel. C0-LW (control) 0 9.06 2.78 1.40
If this phenomenon joins with low water–cement N1-LW 0.5 12.21 1.87 1.01
ratio, it can improve the microstructure in the interfa-
N2-LW 1.0 12.56 1.94 1.09
cial transition zones and thus, the value of C–S–H gel,
N3-LW 1.5 12.91 2.09 1.16
then the water permeability can be considerably
increased. N4-LW 2.0 13.18 2.34 1.25
All these events result in more homogeneous and Water-to-binder [cement + Al2O3 nanoparticles] ratio of 0.40. W denotes
stronger interfacial transition zones and reduction of the specimens cured in water and LW denotes to those cured in saturated
their thickness, with less potential of microcracks and limewater.
uniform nanoparticle distribution that lead to the grain
refinement of hydrated cement paste in the interfacial
Coefficient of water absorption
transition zone.32,33 Hence, admixing of Al2O3 nano-
particles especially with ultra-fine nanoparticles of con- The coefficients of water absorption of Al2O3 nanopar-
ventional concrete may lead to rearrangement and ticles blended concrete samples for all series are pre-
improvement of the concrete microstructures physically sented in Table 7. Significant reductions in the
and chemically. The rate of water absorption is very coefficient of water absorption can be observed with
important to predict the service life of concrete as a increase in Al2O3 nanoparticles content up to 2.0%
structural material and to improve its performance.34 for series N at 7 days of curing. For series N at the
Microfiller materials with fine nanoparticles can fill same age of 7 and 28 days, the values of coefficient of
both the interfaces and the bulk paste and develop dis- water absorption are lower than those of the control
continuous and tortuous pore in concrete structure concrete at all cement replacement contents. Likewise,
causing reduction in the rate of water absorption.35,36 at 90 days of curing, the coefficient of water absorption
Micro- and macropores present in the concrete can be values up to 2.0% are quite lower than those of the
completely filled up by finer nanoparticles.37 High reac- control concrete for N series confirming that cement
tive pozzolanic materials are able to reduce the size of replacement by Al2O3 nanoparticles with prolonged
voids in concrete, thus, making it almost impermeable curing leads to a reduction of pore spaces and perme-
even at early ages of 7–28 days.38 The connectivity of able voids in the concrete. Again, the effect of the sat-
pore system is characterized by the degree of water in urated limewater is once more related to the content of
filled voids in the concrete mix and the hydration prod- C–A–H gel formation which significantly reduces the
ucts of concrete after hardening. Capillary pores are coefficient of water absorption after 7 days of curing
known as those voids which were originally filled with for N-LW series with respect to N-W series.
mixing water in the range of 3.2–3000 nm diameter.39
These capillary pores can become unconnected
Conclusions
under moist curing situation after about 3 days for
concrete having water-to-cementitious material ratio The results show that the Al2O3 nanoparticles blended
(w/c) of 0.4.40 Al2O3 nanoparticles blended con- concrete had higher flexural strength compared to that
crete shows a continued decrease of pore size and its of the concrete without Al2O3 nanoparticles. It is found
continuity by increasing the curing time than OPC that the cement could be advantageously replaced with
concretes. Al2O3 nanoparticles up to maximum limit of 2.0% with
The effect of the saturated limewater is once more average nanoparticle sizes of 15 nm when the specimens
related to the content of C–A–H gel formation which cured at saturated limewater for 28 days. The optimal
accelerates the rate of water absorption after 7 days of level of Al2O3 nanoparticles content was achieved with
curing for N-LW series with respect to N-W series to 1.0% replacement for the specimens cured in water 7,
form more C–A–H gel and then decreases because of 28, and 90 days. Test results show a significant reduc-
rapid formation of C–A–H gel. tion in percentage of water absorption, rate of water
Nazari and Riahi
absorption, and also coefficient of water absorption at
all ages with Al2O3 nanoparticles.
References
1. Li H, Xiao HG, Yuan J and Ou J. Microstructure of
cement mortar with nanoparticles. Composites Part B
2003; 35: 185–189.
2. Erdogdu K and Tucker P. Effects of fly ash nanoparticle
size on strength of Portland cement fly ash mortars. Cem
Concr Res 1998; 28: 1217–1222.
3. Lee SH, Sakai E, Diamond M and Bang WK.
Characterization of fly ash directly from electrostatic pre-
cipitator. Cem Concr Res 1999; 29: 1791–1797.
4. Lu P and Young JF. Hot pressed DSP cement paste.
Mater Res Soc Symp Proc 1992; 245: 321–328.
5. Richard P and Cheyrezy M. Reactive powder concretes
with high ductility and 200-800 MPa compressive
strength. In: Mehta PK (ed.) Concrete technology: past,
present, and future, Proceedings of the V. Mohan Malhotra
Symposium, ACI SP-144. Detroit: American Concrete
Institute. 1994, pp.507–518.
6. Jo BW, Kim CH, Tae G and Park JB. Characteristics of
cement mortar with nano-SiO2 nanoparticles. Constr
Build Mater 2007; 21(6): 1351–1355.
7. Kuo WT, Lin KL, Chang WC and Luo HL. Effects of
nano-materials on properties of waterworks sludge ash
cement paste. J Ind Eng Chem 2006; 12(5): 702–709.
8. Lin DF and Tsai MC. Mineralogy and microstructure
from the influence of the nano-composite additives on
sewage sludge ash mortars. J Air Waste Manag Assoc
2006; 56: 1146–1154.
9. Li H, Xiao H and Ou J. A study on mechanical and
pressure-sensitive properties of cement mortar with nano-
phase materials. Cem Concr Res 2004; 34: 435–438.
10. Li H, Zhang M and Ou J. Abrasion resistance of concrete
containing nanoparticles for pavement. Wear 2006; 260:
1262–1266.
11. Flores-Velez LM and Dominguez O. Characterization
and properties of Portland cement composites incorpo-
rating zinc-iron oxide nanoparticles. J Mater Sci 2002;
37: 983–988.
12. Nazari A, Riahi Sh, Riahi Sh, Shamekhi SF and
Khademno A. Mechanical properties of cement mortar
with Al2O3 nanoparticles. J Am Sci 2010; 6(4): 94–97.
13. Nazari A, Riahi Sh, Riahi Sh, Shamekhi SF and
Khademno A. The effects of incorporation Fe2O3 nano-
particles on tensile and flexural strength of concrete. J
Am Sci 2010; 6(4): 90–93.
14. Nazari A, Riahi Sh, Riahi Sh, Shamekhi SF and
Khademno A. Improvement the mechanical properties
of the concrete by using TiO2 nanoparticles. J Am Sci
2010; 6(4): 98–101.
15. Nazari A, Riahi Sh, Riahi Sh, Shamekhi SF and
Khademno A. Embedded TiO2 nanoparticles mechanical
properties monitoring in cementitious composites. J Am
Sci 2010; 6(4): 86–89.
16. Nazari A, Riahi Sh, Riahi Sh, Shamekhi SF and
Khademno A. Benefits of Fe2O3 nanoparticles in con-
crete mixing matrix. J Am Sci 2010; 6(4): 102–106.
1171
17. Nazari A, Riahi Sh, Riahi Sh, Shamekhi SF and
Khademno A. Assessment of the effects of the cement
paste composite in presence TiO2 nanoparticles. J Am
Sci 2010; 6(4): 43–46.
18. Nazari A, Riahi Sh, Riahi Sh, Shamekhi SF and
Khademno A. An investigation on the Strength and
workability of cement based concrete performance by
using TiO2 nanoparticles. J Am Sci 2010; 6(4): 29–33.
19. Nazari A, Riahi Sh, Riahi Sh, Shamekhi SF and
Khademno A. Influence of Al2O3 nanoparticles on the
compressive strength and workability of blended con-
crete. J Am Sci 2010; 6(5): 6–9.
20. ASTM C150. Standard specification for portland cement.
Annual book of ASTM standards. West Conshohocken,
PA: ASTM, 2001.
21. Zivica V. Effects of the very low water/cement ratio.
Constr Build Mater 2009; 23(8): 2846–2850.
22. Bui DD, Hu J and Stroeven P. Particle size effect on the
strength of rice husk ash blended gap-graded Portland
cement concrete. Cem Concr Compos 2005; 27(3):
357–366.
23. ASTM C293. Standard test method for flexural strength
of concrete (using simple beam with center-point loading)
West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM, 2001.
24. ASTM C642. Standard test method for density, absorp-
tion, and voids in hardened concrete. West
Conshohocken, PA: ASTM, 2001.
25. Hall C. Water sorptivity of mortars and concretes: a
review. Mag Concr Res 1989; 41(14): 51–61.
26. ASTM C1585, Standard test method for measurement of
rate of absorption of water by hydraulic-cement con-
cretes. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM, 2001.
27. Ransinchung GD, Kumar B and Kumar V. Assessment
of water absorption and chloride ion penetration of pave-
ment quality concrete admixed with wollastonite and
microsilica. Constr Build Mater 2009; 23(2): 1168–1177.
28. Ganesan K, Rajagopal K and Thangavel K. Rice husk
ash blended cement: assessment of optimal level of
replacement for strength and permeability properties of
concrete. Constr Build Mater 2008; 22(8): 1675–1683.
29. Powers TC. Properties of fresh concrete. New York, NY:
John Wiley and Sons, 1968.
30. Mostafa NY and Brown PW. Heat of hydration of
high reactive pozzolans in blended cements: isothermal
conduction calorimetry. Thermochim Acta 2005; 435:
162–167.
31. AI-Khalaf MN and Yousift HA. Use of rice husk ash in
concrete. Int J Cem Compos Lightweight Concr 1984; 6(4):
241–248.
32. Basu PC. High performance concrete: mechanism and
application. ICI J 2001; 2(1): 15–38.
33. Martys NS and Ferraris CF. Capillary transport in mor-
tars and concrete. Cem Concr Res 1997; 27(5): 747–760.
34. Tasdemir C. Combined effects of mineral admixtures and
curing conditions on the sorptivity coefficients of con-
crete. Cem Concr Res 2003; 33: 1637–1642.
35. Wee TH, Suryavanshi JA and Tin SS. Evaluation of
rapid chloride permeability test (RCPT) results for con-
crete containing mineral admixtures. ACI Mater J 2000;
97(2): 221–232.
1172
36. Cook JD. Rice husk ash. In: Swamy RN (ed.) Concrete
technology and design, cement replacement materials.
Vol. 3, London: Surrey University Press, 1986,
pp.171–195.
37. Philleo RE. Freezing and thawing resistance of high-
strength concrete. NCHRP Synthesis of Highway
Practice 129 Transportation Research Board, 1986, p.31.
38. Powers TC, Copeland LE and Mann HM. Capillary con-
tinuity or discontinuity in cement paste. J PCA Res
Develop Lab 1959; 1(2): 38–48.
Journal of Composite Materials 45(11)
39. Lin YH, Tyan YY, Chang TP and Chang CY. An assess-
ment of optimal mixture for concrete made with recycled
concrete aggregates. Cem Concr Res 2004; 34(8):
1373–1380.
40. Tattersall GH and Baker PH. An instigation of the effect
of vibration on the workability of fresh concrete using
a vertical pipe apparatus. Mag Concr Res 1989;
14(146): 3–9.