Hindawi

Journal of Nanomaterials
Volume 2021, Article ID 1754325, 11 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/1754325

Research Article
Flexural Behavior Performance of Reinforced Concrete Slabs
Mixed with Nano- and Microsilica

Rakesh Kancharla,1 Venkata Rao Maddumala ,2 T. V. N. Prasanna,2 Lokaiah Pullagura,3

Ratna Raju Mukiri,4 and M. Viju Prakash 5
1
Department of CSE, Sasi Institute of Technology and Engineering, Tadepalligudem, Andhra Pradesh, India
2
Vignan’s Nirula Institute of Technology & Science for Women, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India
3
Department of CSE, Vignan's Foundation for Science, Technology & Research, Vadlamudi, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India
4
St. Ann’s College of Engineering and Technology, Chirala, Andhra Pradesh, India
5
Department of Computer Science, Kombolcha Institute of Technology, Wollo University, P.O. Box 208, Ethiopia

Correspondence should be addressed to Venkata Rao Maddumala; [email protected]

and M. Viju Prakash; [email protected]

Received 27 August 2021; Revised 2 October 2021; Accepted 19 October 2021; Published 8 November 2021

Academic Editor: Lakshmipathy R

Copyright © 2021 Rakesh Kancharla et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.

Present technology has been evaluated greatly over the past decades, where new particles are being designed and fabricated to
fulfill specific needs. The field of nano- and micromaterials has prospered in many disciplines. It has been recently used in
reinforced concrete in the production of high-strength, high-performance concrete. Microsilica (MS) and nanosilica (NS)
particles have proven to be highly profitable to the concrete mix. Concrete has become denser with considerable
improvement in their mechanical characteristics, particularly compressive strength. This proposed method includes a
comparative study of the flexural bending behavior of conventional reinforced concrete (without MS or NS) slabs with other
slabs. Each has various mixes of MS and NS particles incorporated into the concrete mix. The material content utilized in
the slabs is kept constant by replacing a portion of the cement with an equivalent amount of either NS or MS particles or
both. MS particles are altered from 0, 5, and 10% while NS particles are altered from 0, 0.5, and 1.0%. It cracks the widths
and has higher final load-bearing capacity.

1. Introduction nanosilica that have been efficiently followed to reap immod-

erate and extremely high-energy concrete that displays
Present-day modern concrete mixes now not satisfy the exceptional sturdiness characteristics. Cement is the most
growing desires for advanced strengths and outstanding used advent commodity in some unspecified time in the
durability. Constructions have invaded severe exposure con- future of the world. Still, its production consequences in
ditions such as those in arid, coastal, and marine environ- excessive gasoline consumption levels and sizable tiers of sur-
ments, where sizable deterioration of systems has been roundings’ pollutants are alarming that many European
recorded. The need for highly priced restoration and rehabil- countries have banned its manufacturing [1].
itation measures has boomed to hold structures to function In addition, when emitted into the environment, micro-
successfully, at some stages inside the live carrier lives. An silica (a by-product of industry) leads to high levels of air
evolving need for denser and higher electricity concrete is pollution. The essential strategy is to rid the environment
to be fulfilled nicely by using new contemporary materials of microsilica emission and reduce cement consumption,
that are probably designed and fabricated on a micro- and hence obtaining superior concrete mixes that are more dura-
nanoscale. Material advances have superior micro- and ble and denser and provide much higher mechanical
2 Journal of Nanomaterials

Table 1: Chemical analysis of used OPC.

Oxides Al2O3 SiO2 Fe2O3 CaO MgO SO3 L.O.I Insoluble residue
% 4.78 20.38 3.93 62.85 1.95 2.18 2.68 0.69

Table 2: Physical properties of microsilica and nanosilica.

Property Microsilica Nanosilica

Surface area (cm2/gm) 170000 240000
1.0 μm 5 to 20 nm
Particle size
(1 × 10−6 m) (5 to 20 × 10−9 m)
Specific gravity 2.20 2.40
Unit weight (kg/m3) 345 505
Colour Grey White

been done on the use of nanomaterials in concrete. Still, only

a few studies have examined the use of a mixture of nanosi-
lica and microsilica in concrete [14].
Steel 𝛷 6 mm The disadvantages of using micro- and nanoparticles in
concrete include the high specific surface area of the binding
70 mm

140 mm
material. The specific surface area for microsilica is 17 m2/g
750 mm
(70 times greater than OPC), while that for nanosilica is
Figure 1: Slab mold and reinforcement details. 25 m2/g (100 times greater than OPC). The introduction of
nanosilica particles (finer than microsilica) increases the sur-
face area of the mixture’s reactive powders, which causes a
strength [2]. Silica fume is collected, refined, and used in con- further decrease in the consistency and operability of the
crete mixes in the form of microsilica or nanosilica as a partial mixture [15]. Consequently, using an effective high-range
substitute for cement, effective on both levels, reducing cement water reducer is inevitable to maintain consistency and
consumption and reducing environmental pollution [3]. Silica workability of the mix and elevate strength to ultrahigh
fume either nano- or microparticles is pozzolanic in nature. levels [16, 17]. On the mortar level, micro- and nanosilica
Microsilica (MS) is a polymorph (amorphous) silicon dioxide, cement mortars are highly superior to traditional cement
but nanosilica (NS) is made up of an amorphous silica (SiO2) mortars when mixed and cured under high temperatures
core with a hydroxyl surface [4]. [18, 19]. Ultrasonic technology under high temperatures is
The amorphous structure of nanomaterials such as a very effective dispersion technique used in mixing nanosi-
nanosilica physically affects the hydrate products. Still, the lica particles. Mortar analysis indicates better homogeneity
pozzolan material reacts with the carbon hydroxide (CH) of the mix and superior mechanical strength and superb
generated from the reaction of water with both dicalcium sil- durability resulting in ultra-high-strength and ultra-high-
icate (2CaO). SiO2 and tricalcium silicate (3CaO·SiO2). In performance concrete [20–22]. Also, previous researchers
this process, nanosilica (NS) with particle sizes ranging from mentioned a decrease in porosity and permeability of the
1 to 500 nm is amorphous silicon dioxide, which can acceler- slurry as nanomaterials [23] replaced the cement. The study
ate the wetting rate of bonding materials due to their high focused on the partial replacement of cement by NS, MS,
surface area and amorphous nature [5]. In addition, NS and a combination of both and their effect on the flexural
has a relatively high pozzolanic activity, which aids in addi- behaviour of supported one-panel slabs subjected to uni-
tional CSH gel formation, as working NS is intended to be a formly distributed loads.
site for CSH gel growth and speeds up the hydration of fly
ash and cement [6]. Also, NS particles are smaller than
cement and fly ash particles, improving particle packing 2. Experimental Program
and purification of porous structures [7–9]. Ultrahigh
strength concrete is achieved with minimal pores as the Detailed descriptions of materials used by this investigation,
hydrates work to harden between the cement paste and the particularly cement, aggregates, steel bar, microsilica, nano-
aggregate particles [10]. It is worth noting that incorporating silica, water, and chemical admixtures, are given in this
the methods of nanosilica (NS) in the mix, either by addition section.
or replacement, and the method of its mixing in its either
wet or dry condition, both have considerable influence on 2.1. Material Properties
the mechanical properties of concrete [11]. Effective dis-
persion of nanosilica particles in concrete mixtures leads 2.1.1. Cement. Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) (CEM I
to better mechanical and durable properties, resulting in 52.5 N) was produced by Beni Suef Cement Factory. The
high-strength concrete [12, 13]. Much recent research has chemical analysis of the used cement supplied by the
Journal of Nanomaterials 3

100 nm
100 nm

(a) (b)

Figure 2: Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images of micro- and nanosilica.

Table 3: Chemical analysis of microsilica and nanosilica.

Figure 2(a)). The chemical composition of microsilica
Microsilica Nanosilica depends strongly on raw materials and the production pro-
Oxides
Result (%) Result (%) cess parameters. According to the international standard
Al2O3 1.10 7.39 ASTM 1240-01, pr EN 13263-1 is shown in Table 3).
SiO2 96% 92.5
2.2.2. Nanosilica. The used nanosilica consisting of silicon
Fe2O3 1.45 0.08
dioxide with a purity of 99.9% is a product of Sisco Research
CaO 1.2 0.06
Laboratories (SRL)—Chennai. The physical properties and
MgO 0.18 0.21 shape are obtained from the manufacture data sheet
SO3 0.25 0.20 (Table 2 and Figure 2(b)). The chemical analysis of NS used
Na2O 0.45 0.02 supplied by the manufacturing company is shown in
K2O 1.20 0.04 Table 3.
L.O.I — 0.15
H2O 0.85 —
2.2.3. Superplasticizer. The high-performance plasticine mix-
ture Sikament NN was used in this work, which is a third-
generation upper plasticizer for homogeneous concrete with
manufacturer and the limits according to the Egyptian Stan- a density of 1.185 kg/L and pH value of 8. It meets superior
dard Specification (ESS) (4756-1/2009) are presented in requirements of plasticizers according to ASTMC-494 Types
Table 1. A and F and EN934-2:2001. By using this kind of superplas-
ticizer, we can get very high percentage of water reduction
2.1.2. Aggregates. The coarse aggregate used is crushed dolo- resulting in high density and strength. It also improves
mite with a specific gravity of 2.6 and a water absorption of shrinkage, creep behavior, and water permeability. The dose
0.95% with a maximum nominal size 10 mm. The fine aggre- used of the superstable plasticizer was maintained at 2.5% by
gate is siliceous sand with a specific gravity of 2.57, a fineness weight of cement for all mixtures.
modulus of 3.11, and a dry unit weight of 1.78 t/m3 accord-
ing to the Egyptian Standard Specification—ESS 1109(2002). 2.2.4. Test Specimens. Several blends were examined in order
All aggregates used in this research are locally available from to achieve target properties. The pilot program included
quarries in Andhra Pradesh, India. nine mixtures, all of which were engineered based on the
absolute volume of the components in a saturated dry sur-
2.1.3. Reinforcement Bars. Reinforcement steel rods were face condition. All slabs are 750 × 750 × 70 mm in dimen-
used with a nominal diameter of 6 mm and having a yield sions, reinforced with 6 mm diameter steel bars distributed
stress of 269 MPa and ultimate tensile strength of 386 MPa at 140 mm spacing which was maintained (Figure 1). The
(Figure 1). mixes (M0N0) include a control mix without any mineral
admixture additives. Two other mixes (M5N0 and M10N0)
2.2. Mineral Admixtures (Pozzolans) consist of cement replaced by 5% and 10% of microsilica,
respectively. Another two mixes (M0N0.5 and M0N1.0)
2.2.1. Microsilica. The microsilica used in this research as a consist of cement replaced by 0.5% and 1.0% of nanosilica,
mineral admixture is imported from Sisco Research Labora- respectively. These previous mixes illustrate the effect of
tories (SRL)—Chennai. The manufacture data sheet contains replacing cement by either micro- or nanosilica alone with-
the physical composition, properties, and shape (Table 2 and out their combined effect. Another four mixes include
4 Journal of Nanomaterials

Table 4: Test program and contents of mixtures.

Cement Coarse aggregates Fine aggregates Microsilica Nanosilica Water Superplasticizer

Slab no. Notes
(kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3)
M0N0 450 1176 588 0 0 180 11.25 Control
M0N0.5 447.75 1176 588 0 2.25 180 11.25 0.5% NS
M0N1.0 445.5 1176 588 0 4.5 180 11.25 1.0% NS
M5N0 427.5 1176 588 22.5 0 180 11.25 5% MS
M5N0.5 425.25 1176 588 22.5 2.25 180 11.25 5%MS + 0:5%NS
M5N1.0 423 1176 588 22.5 4.5 180 11.25 5%MS + 1:0%NS
M10N0 405 1176 588 45 0 180 11.25 10% MS
M10N0.5 402.75 1176 588 45 2.25 180 11.25 10%MS + 0:5%NS
M10N1.0 400.5 1176 588 45 4.5 180 11.25 10%MS + 1:0%NS

Figure 3: Slabs before testing.

Figure 4: Ultrasonic device for mixing nanoparticles.

different combinations (M5N0.5, M5N1.0, M10N0.5, and
M10N1.0). The first consists of 5% microsilica and 0.5% 24 h in air and then removed from the formwork and cured
nanosilica, the second consists of 5% microsilica and 1.0% daily by wetting with fresh water for 28 days (Figure 3). For
nanosilica, the third consists of 10% microsilica and 0.5% mixes with nanosilica, coarse aggregate, fine aggregate, and
nanosilica, and the fourth consists of 10% microsilica and cement materials (cement and microsilica) were loaded into
1.0% nanosilica. These four mixes illustrate the combined the mixer and mixed dry for 2 minutes. Three-fourth of the
effect of replacing the cement with a combination of both water content is gradually to dry mix and mix it more for
micro- and nanosilica. The cementitious content of all another 1 minute. The superplasticizer dose is added to the
high-strength concrete mixes is kept constant at 450 kg/m3 remaining quarter of the water content; then, the required
(Table 4); then, twelve cubes with dimensions (100 × 100 amount of nanosilica is added to the water and the super-
× 100 mm) are casted and tested throughout this study to plasticizer and mixed well in an ultrasonic device
reach the target compressive strength. A constant dose of (Figure 4) for a duration of ten minutes at a temperature
2.5% high-range water reducer (superplasticizer) by weight of 40°C for achieving the best possible dispersion of nano-
of cementitious materials along with a fixed water/cementi- particles in solution and preventing the possibility of any
tious ratio of 0.4 is maintained for all mixes. agglomeration. Then, it is added to the wet mixture and then
mixed for another four minutes until a homogeneous con-
2.2.5. Mixing Procedure. All concrete components were crete mixture is obtained.
mixed using a horizontal mixer. For mixes without nanosi-
lica, coarse and fine aggregates and cementitious materials 2.2.6. Setup and Testing. The compressive strength test
(cement and microsilica) were added into the mixer in their was conducted on the cured cube specimens (100 × 100 ×
dry state and mixed for 2 minutes. The mixing water and 100 mm) at ages 28 and 56 days. All cubes exhibited a typical
superplasticizer were added gradually and mixed for another failure mode of a cube (Figure 5) which indicates proper
3 minutes to get uniform and homogeneous mix consistency loading of the cube specimens.
and texture. The fresh concrete properties were measured The bending test of all panels is performed with a
immediately after mixing, and the concrete was removed hydraulic jack mounted on the frame of the testing machine.
from the mixer and placed in the slab formwork with the A load cell is placed beneath the jack drum which is con-
rebar rods distributed correctly and with reasonable cover. nected to a data logger that records readings of simultaneous
Concrete slabs and cube samples were kept in molds for load and deflection measured with variable linear differential
Journal of Nanomaterials 5

Figure 5: Hydraulic machine used in a compressive test and mode of a crushed cube.

Hydraulic jack

Load cell

Steel IPE

Steel IPE
Steel IPE
Iron plates
Tested Slab
LVDT
Roller support

Figure 6: Test preparation and instrumentation.

transformers (VLDTs) located at the center of the slab. A silica, respectively. The bending strength at the load causing
series of I-shaped beams and slabs are stacked in a pyramid the initial cracking increased significantly from M0N0 by
shape to transfer the concentrated drum load to a uniformly 7.8% and 15.7% for nanosilica 0.5% and 1.0%, respectively,
distributed load on the upper face of the slab (Figure 6). indicating some resistance to initial cracking of the concrete
(Figure 7(a)), whereas the final failure strength has slight
3. Experimental Results and Discussion increment from M0N0 by 0.42% and 1.26% for 0.5% and
1.0% nanosilica, respectively. This slight improvement in
3.1. Compressive Strength. The compression test was con- early bending resistance results from simple replacement of
ducted on all ratios, the comparison was made between the cement with nanosilica (Figure 7(b)).
lowest value of compressive strength M0N0 (control speci- Specimens M0N0, M5N0, and M10N0 that all possessed
men) and the highest value of compressive strength that 0% nanosilica and water-cement ratio 0.4, and the plasticizer
has the high proportions of the replacement ratio M10N1.0 superdose is 2.5% by weight of cement, with 0, 5, and 10% of
(10%MS + 1:0%NS) at ages 7 and 28 days. Values of com- microsilica, respectively.
pressive strength are recorded, and the average of three spec- According to the literature, the microsilica improves the
imens is calculated and values are 27.5 MPa and 30.6 MPa packing properties of the matrix and thus have a noticeable
for M0N0 and M10N1.0 at 7 days and 36.6 MPa and effect on the bending strength. Flexural strength at the initial
40.7 MPa at 28 days, respectively. Early strength improve- cracking load increased significantly by 58.6% and 88.0% for
ment effect of nanosilica-modified concrete is more obvious, 5% and 10% microsilica, respectively, indicating great resis-
which was due to the higher pozzolan activity of nanosilica tance to initial cracking of the concrete (Figure 7(c)),
particles [24, 25]. whereas the final failure strength has increased marginally
by 2.1% for 5% microsilica and 4.2% for 10% microsilica
3.2. Flexural Strength. Samples M0N0, M0N0.5, and M0N1.0 (Figure 7(d)). Other researchers note this apparent improve-
all contain 0% microsilica, with a binder content of ment in the early bending strength of concrete; at 28 days,
450 kg/m3, a water-cement ratio of 0.4, and a superplastici- the microsilica content increases from 5% to 10% [26]. The
zer dose of 2.5% cement weight, with 0, 0.5, and 1.0% nano- addition of mineral admixtures results in an increase in all
6 Journal of Nanomaterials

13 32
11.79 31
12 30.48

Flexural strength (MPa)

Flexural strength (Mpa)
11 10.49 30
10 9.49 29
9 8.89 9.59 28 27.48
27 26.58
8 8.09
26 25.88
7 24.78
5.90 25 24.28
6 24.08
5.50 24 23.88
5 5.10 23 23.78
4
22
3 0% MS 5% MS 10% MS
0% MS 5% MS 10% MS
Micro silica content (%)
Micro silica content (%)
0% NS
0% NS 0.5% NS
0.5% NS
1.0% NS
1.0% NS
(a) (b)
13 32
11.79 30.48
12 31
Flexural strength (MPa)

10.49
11 Flexural strength (MPa) 30
10 9.59 9.49 29
8.89
9 28 27.48
8 8.09 27 26.58
7 25.88
5.90 26
6 5.50
5.10 25 24.78 24.08
5 24.28 23.88
24 23.78
4
23
3
0% NS 0.5% NS 1.0% NS 22
0% NS 0.5% NS 1.0% NS
Nanosilica content (%)
Nanosilica content (%)
0% MS
0% MS
5% MS
5% MS
10% MS
10% MS
(c) (d)

Figure 7: Nano- and microsilica effect on flexural strength of RC slabs.

concrete strengths including compressive, split-tensile, and about 10.9 and 23.0% for M10N0.5 and M10N1.0, respec-
flexure [27]. tively (Figure 7(b)).
A comparison was made between the flexural strength Apparently, the results of implementing nanosilica in the
for mixes M5N0, M5N0.5, and M5N1.0 at cracking and fail- combination or presence of microsilica indicate extra
ure states, respectively. The cement content in mixes was improvement and much higher flexural strengths as com-
450 kg/m3, the silica fume content was 5%, and the content pared to nanosilica specimens with no microsilica added
of nanosilica was 0, 0.5, and 1.0%, respectively. The data in [30]. In this study, specimen with 10% microsilica and
figures clearly show a remarkable increase in flexural 1.0% of nanosilica replacement of cement show a superior
strength at both cracking and failure states due to a marginal performance, where the flexural strength of the slab
implementation of nanosilica [28]. The flexural strength at increased by about 131.2% at the cracking state and 28.2%
cracking increased by 9.9 and17.3% for nanosilica contents at the failure state as compared to that of the control
0.5 and 1.0%, respectively (Figure 7(a)), while the flexural slab [31].
strength at failure increased by 6.6 and 9.5% for nanosilica
contents 0.5 and 1.0%, respectively (Figure 7(b)). Similar 3.3. Load Deflection Behavior. Incorporation of microsilica
results are recorded for the specimens M10N0, M10N0.5, alone showed a better pattern of load deflection
and M10N1.0 which have the same aggregate, w/c ratio, sil- (Figure 8(a)), compared to incorporating nanosilica alone
ica fume content, and curing conditions [29]. The data in (Figure 8(b)). As higher loads are achieved with lower
figures clearly show an improvement in bending strength deflection values, this may be attributed to the fact that the
as a result of adding nanosilica by 0.5 and 1.0%, where the microparticles together with the cement particles result in
strength at cracking was increased by about 9.4 and 22.9% better packing characteristics than the nanoparticles with
(Figure 7(a)), while the strength at failure was increased by the cement particle [32]. This conclusion is better reinforced
Journal of Nanomaterials 7

Uniformly distributed loads (KN)

350

Uniformly distributed loads (KN)

350
300
300
250 250
200 200
150 150

100 100
50
50
0
0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Mid span deflection (mm)
Mid span deflection (mm)
M0N0
M0N0 M0N0.5
M5N0 M0N1.0
M10N0
(a) (b)
Uniformly distributed loads (KN)

350 350

Uniformly distributed loads (KN)

300 300
250 250
200
200
150
150
100
100
50
50
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 0
Mid span deflection (mm) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Mid span deflection (mm)
M5N0
M5N0.5 M10N0
M5N1.0 M10N0.5
M10N1.0
(c) (d)

Figure 8: Effect of nanosilica and microsilica on the values of deflection.

when a blend of both nano- and microsilica is used with the admixtures either nano- or microparticles, it is realized that
cement particle where a better grading of the binding mate- the initial cracks occur much later at much higher loads
rials is available; hence, a more improved packing result is indicating better concrete resistance to cracking
achieved (Figures 7(d) and 8(c)). Results of the specimen (Figures 9(b)–9(i)). These cracks are few in number and
that incorporates 10% microsilica in addition to 1.0% of wider, which is noticeable when the plate fails, which occurs
nanosilica show a superior load deflection curve where at a much higher load due to the better performance of the
higher loads are achieved at lower deflections [33]. concrete compression area [39–41]. Accordingly, the bend-
This indicates the improved strength of the concrete ing ability of the slab is greatly improved. Similar results
matrix which is able to resist more compression above the have been reported [42] whereas the presence of nanocrystal
neutral axis of the slab hence considerably affecting its flex- line silica greatly changes the hardness.
ural capacity. This improvement can be attributed to the Properties of C-S-H calcium silicate hydrate of the con-
effect of nanosilica and microsilica fillings that have a large crete matrix thus improve the bending ability of the reinforced
surface area which improves chemical reaction because of slabs. All previous research has indicated that nanoparticles
pozzolanic activity. Hence, additional C-S-H gel was formed can improve fresh and hardened-state properties [43].
for generating more force resulting in less deflection [34].

3.4. Crack Patterns. The reference slab specimen M0N0 4. Conclusions

exhibited initial cracking at much lower loads, with wider
intervals and small width (Figure 9(a)). These cracks In this research, the experimental program was implemented
extended in length due to the load propagation till the slab for studying the effect of using microsilica as well as nanosi-
failed in flexure at a lower failure load due to the compres- lica on properties of reinforced concrete slabs. Based on the
sion failure of the concrete in the top fibers of the slab results obtained, the following main conclusions can be
[35–38]. In addition to silica cement replacing mineral drawn:
8 Journal of Nanomaterials

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e) (f)

Figure 9: Continued.
Journal of Nanomaterials 9

(g) (h)

(i)

Figure 9: Crack patterns for all test specimens.

(i) Substituting 5% and 10% of cement with microsilica pressive strength above the neutral axis by 30.6 MPa
significantly increases bending resistance in both and 40.7 MPa at 7 and 28 days, respectively, which
the cracking and failure phases considerably affects its flexural capacity, where the
flexural strength of the slab increased by 131.2% at
(ii) Substituting 0.5% and 1.0% cement with nanosilica (in the cracking state and 28.2% at the failure state as
the absence of microsilica) shows good improvement compared to that of the control slab
in bending strength of 7.8 and 15.7% in the crushing
stage and slight improvement in bending strength of (vi) Addition of mineral admixtures of either micro- or
0.42 and 1.26% in the failure stage, respectively nanosilica or a combination of both affects the crack
pattern of the slab where cracks are less in number
(iii) Replacing a portion of cement by a combination of and get wider at failure which occurs at a much
nanosilica and 5% microsilica reveals an enhanced higher load due to the better performance of the
improvement in flexural strength of 9.9 and 17.3% concrete compression zone
at the cracking state and 6.6 and 9.5% at the failure
state of 0.5% and 1.0% nanosilica, respectively
Data Availability
(iv) Replacing a portion of cement by a combination of
nanosilica and 10% microsilica reveals an enhanced The data used to support the findings of this study are
improvement in flexural strength of 9.4 and 22.9% included within the article. Should further data or informa-
at the cracking state and 10.9 and 23.0% at the fail- tion be required, these are available from the corresponding
ure state of 0.5% and 1.0% nanosilica, respectively author upon request.

(v) Reinforced slabs with 10% microsilica and 1.0% of Disclosure

nanosilica replacement of cement show a superior
performance indicated by the load deflection curve It was performed as a part of the employment in Kombolcha
where higher loads are achieved at lower deflections. Institute of Technology, Wollo University, Kombolcha,
Hence, the concrete matrix can resist higher com- Amhara, Ethiopia.
10 Journal of Nanomaterials

Conflicts of Interest [13] A. Nazari, S. Riahi, S. Riahi, F. Shamekhi, and A. Khademno,

“Mechanical properties of cement mortar with Al2O3 nano-
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest particles,” Journal of American Science, vol. 6, pp. 94–97, 2010.
regarding the publication of this paper. [14] A. Naji Givi, S. Abdul Rashid, F. N. A. Aziz, and M. A. M. Sal-
leh, “Experimental investigation of the size effects of SiO2
nano-particles on the mechanical properties of binary blended
Acknowledgments concrete,” Composites B, vol. 41, no. 8, pp. 673–677, 2010.
[15] M. Berra, F. Carassiti, T. Mangialardi, A. E. Paolini, and
The authors thank Vignan’s Nirula Institute of Technology M. Sebastiani, “Effects of nanosilica addition on workability
and Science for Women for providing characterization sup- and compressive strength of Portland cement pastes,” Con-
port to complete this research work. struction and Building Materials, vol. 35, pp. 666–675, 2012.
[16] K. L. Lin, W. C. Chang, D. F. Lin, H. L. Luo, and M. C. Tsai,
“Effects of nano-SiO2 and different ash particle sizes on sludge
References ash-cement mortar,” Journal of Environmental Management,
vol. 88, no. 4, pp. 708–714, 2008.
[1] T. Ji, “Preliminary study on the water permeability and micro- [17] L. Senff, J. A. Labrincha, V. M. Ferreira, D. Hotza, and W. L.
structure of concrete incorporating nano-SiO2,” Cement and Repette, “Effect of nano-silica on rheology and fresh properties
Concrete Research, vol. 35, no. 10, pp. 1943–1947, 2005. of cement pastes and mortars,” Construction and Building
[2] N. D. K. R. Chukka, L. Natrayan, and W. D. Mammo, “Seismic Materials, vol. 23, no. 7, pp. 2487–2491, 2009.
fragility and life cycle cost analysis of reinforced concrete [18] A. M. Said, M. S. Zeidan, M. T. Bassuoni, and Y. Tian, “Prop-
structures with a hybrid damper,” Advances in Civil Engineer- erties of concrete incorporating nano-silica,” Construction and
ing, vol. 2021, Article ID 4195161, 17 pages, 2021. Building Materials, vol. 36, pp. 838–844, 2012.
[3] A. Nazari, S. Riahi, S. Riahi, F. Shamekhi, and A. Khademno, [19] N. Chahal and R. Siddique, “Permeation properties of concrete
“Embedded ZrO2 nanoparticles mechanical properties moni- made with fly ash and silica fume: influence of ureolytic bacte-
toring in cementitious composites,” Journal of American Sci- ria,” Construction and Building Materials, vol. 49, pp. 161–174,
ence, vol. 6, pp. 86–89, 2010. 2013.
[4] M. Aly, M. S. J. Hashmi, A. G. Olabi, M. Messeiry, E. F. Abadir, [20] A. A. I.-M. Shakir, A. M. Ibraham, and Z. H. Naji, “The effect
and A. I. Hussain, “Effect of colloidal nano-silica on the of nano metakaolin materials on some properties of concrete,”
mechanical and physical behaviour of waste-glass cement Diyala Journal of Engineering Sciences, vol. 6, pp. 50–61, 2013.
mortar,” Materials and Design, vol. 33, pp. 127–135, 2012.
[21] G. Dhinakaran, A. Rajasekharareddy, B. Kartikeyan,
[5] V. Paranthaman, K. Shanmuga Sundaram, and L. Natrayan, K. Sumanth, and G. Harshavardhan, “Microstructure analysis
“Effect of silica content on mechanical and microstructure and strength properties of concrete with nano SiO2,” Interna-
behaviour of resistance spot welded advanced automotive tional Journal of ChemTech Research, vol. 6, pp. 3004–3013,
TRIP steels,” Silicon, vol. 1, pp. 1–10, 2021. 2014.
[6] P. Hou, K. Wang, J. Qian, S. Kawashima, D. Kong, and S. P. [22] M. Gesoglu, E. Güneyisi, D. S. Asaad, and G. F. Muhyaddin,
Shah, “Effects of colloidal nanoSiO2 on fly ash hydration,” “Properties of low binder ultra-high performance cementitious
Cement and Concrete Composites, vol. 34, no. 10, pp. 1095– composites: comparison of nanosilica and microsilica,” Con-
1103, 2012. struction and Building Materials, vol. 102, pp. 706–713, 2016.
[7] Z. Rong, W. Sun, H. Xiao, and G. Jiang, “Effects of nano-SiO2 [23] M. Jung, Y. S. Lee, and S. G. Hong, “Study on improvement in
particles on the mechanical and microstructural properties of electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of ultra-
ultra-high performance cementitious composites,” Cement high-performance concrete (UHPC)/carbon nanotube (CNT)
and Concrete Composites, vol. 56, pp. 25–31, 2015. composites,” Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute, vol. 31,
[8] L. P. Singh, S. R. Karade, S. K. Bhattacharyya, M. M. Yousuf, no. 1, pp. 69–77, 2019.
and S. Ahalawat, “Beneficial role of nanosilica in cement based [24] M. Jalal, A. Pouladkhan, O. F. Harandi, and D. Jafari,
materials - a review,” Construction and Building Materials, “RETRACTED: Comparative study on effects of Class F fly
vol. 47, pp. 1069–1077, 2013. ash, nano silica and silica fume on properties of high perfor-
[9] R. Suryanarayanan, V. G. Sridhar, L. Natrayan et al., mance self compacting concrete,” Construction and Building
“Improvement on mechanical properties of submerged fric- Materials, vol. 94, pp. 90–104, 2015.
tion stir joining of dissimilar tailor welded aluminum blanks,” [25] K. Hemalatha, C. James, L. Natrayan, and V. Swamynadh,
Advances in Materials Science and Engineering, vol. 2021, Arti- “Analysis of RCC T-beam and prestressed concrete box girder
cle ID 3355692, 6 pages, 2021. bridges super structure under different span conditions,”
[10] G. Quercia and H. J. H. Brouwers, Application of nano silica Materials Today: Proceedings, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 1507–1516,
(NS) in concrete mixtures, The 8th Fib PhD Symposium in 2021.
Kgs, Lyngby, Denmark, 2010. [26] K. M. Lakshmi, M. K. M. V. Ratnam, and U. Rangaraju,
[11] A. M. Mohamed, “Influence of nano materials on flexural “Experimental study on light weight aggregate concrete with
behavior and compressive strength of concrete,” HBRC Jour- pumice stone, silica fume and fly ash as a partial replacement
nal, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 212–225, 2016. of coarse aggregate,” International Journal of Innovative
[12] A. Nazari, S. Riahi, S. Riahi, S. F. Shamekhi, and A. Khademno, Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, vol. 3,
“Improvement of the mechanical properties of the cementi- no. 12, 2014An ISO 3297: 2007 CertifiedOrganization.
tious composites by using TiO2 nanoparticles,” Journal of [27] K. Anusha and S. Kesavan, “A study on behavior of ultra-high
American Science, vol. 6, pp. 98–101, 2010. strength concrete at elevated temperatures,” International
Journal of Nanomaterials 11

Journal of Engineering Sciences & Emerging Technologies, [42] B. W. Jo, C. H. Kim, G. H. Tae, and J. B. Park, “Characteristics
vol. 7, no. 5, pp. 761–765, 2015. of cement mortar with nano-SiO2 particles,” Construction and
[28] N. Atmaca, M. L. Abbas, and A. Atmaca, “Effects of nano-silica Building Materials, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 1351–1355, 2007.
on the gas permeability, durability and mechanical properties [43] G. Li, “Properties of high-volume fly ash concrete incorporat-
of high-strength lightweight concrete,” Construction and ing nano- SiO2,” Cement & Concrete Research, vol. 34, no. 6,
Building Materials, vol. 147, pp. 17–26, 2017. pp. 1043–1049, 2004.
[29] D. HajizadehAsl, “Application of nano-silica in concrete to
improve its mechanical properties and durability: a review,”
International Journal of Recent Scientific Research, vol. 7,
pp. 12251–12254, 2016.
[30] R. A. Narender and T. Meena, “Study on effect of colloidal
nanosilica blended concrete under compression,” Interna-
tional Journal of Engineering & Technology, vol. 7, pp. 210–
213, 2018.
[31] S. Yogeshwaran, L. Natrayan, S. Rajaraman, S. Parthasarathi,
and S. Nestro, “Experimental investigation on mechanical
properties of epoxy/graphene/fish scale and fermented spinach
hybrid bio composite by hand lay-up technique,” Materials
Today: Proceedings, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 1578–1583, 2021.
[32] R. A. Narender and T. Meena, “A Comprehensive Overview
on Performance of Nano Silica Concrete,” International Jour-
nal of pharmacy &Technology, vol. 9, pp. 5518–5529, 2017.
[33] M. Sandeep Kauthsa Sharma, S. Umadevi, Y. Sai Sampath
et al., “Mechanical behavior of silica fume concrete filled with
steel tubular composite column,” Advances in Materials Sci-
ence and Engineering, vol. 2021, Article ID 3632991, 9 pages,
2021.
[34] R. A. Narender and T. Meena, “A study on compressive behav-
ior of ternary blended concrete,” Materials Today: Proceedings,
vol. 5, pp. 11356–11363, 2018.
[35] Z. Wu, C. Shi, K. H. Khayat, and S. Wan, “Effects of different
nanomaterials on hardening and performance of ultra-high
strength concrete (UHSC),” Cement and Concrete Composites,
vol. 70, pp. 24–34, 2016.
[36] L. P. Singh, S. K. Bhattacharyya, S. P. Shah, G. Mishra,
S. Ahalawat, and U. Sharma, “Studies on early stage hydration
of tricalcium silicate incorporating silica nanoparticles: part I,”
Construction and Building Materials, vol. 74, pp. 278–286,
2015.
[37] S. Yogeshwaran, L. Natrayan, G. Udhayakumar, G. Godwin,
and L. Yuvaraj, “Effect of waste tyre particles reinforcement
on mechanical properties of jute and abaca fiber-epoxy hybrid
composites with pre-treatment,” Materials Today: Proceedings,
vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 1377–1380, 2021.
[38] J. Björnström, A. Martinelli, L. Matic, and I. P. Börjesson,
“Accelerating effects of colloidal nano-silica for beneficial
calcium-silicate-hydrate formation in cement,” Chemical
Physics Letters, vol. 392, no. 1-3, pp. 242–248, 2004.
[39] Y. Qing, Z. Zenan, K. Deyu, and C. Rongshen, “Influence of
nano-SiO2 addition on properties of hardened cement paste
as compared with silica fume,” Construction and Building
Materials, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 539–545, 2007.
[40] M. Collepardi, J. J. O. Olagot, and U. Skarp, “Influence of
amorphous colloidal silica on the properties of self-
compacting concretes,” in Proceedings of the International
Conference in Concrete Constructions–Innovations and Devel-
opments in Concrete Materials and Constructions, pp. 473–
483, Scotland, UK, 2002.
[41] H. Li, M. H. Zhang, and J. P. Ou, “Abrasion resistance of con-
crete containing nano-particles for pavement,” Wear, vol. 260,
no. 11-12, pp. 1262–1266, 2006.