In the present study the strength recovery of nano-reinforced cement mortars due to self- healing mechanism was examined. Graphene oxide nanoplatelets (GOnPs) were added in Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) mortar mixtures in order to increase their resistance to crack propagation…
In the present study the strength recovery of nano-reinforced cement mortars due to self- healing mechanism was examined. Graphene oxide nanoplatelets (GOnPs) were added in Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) mortar mixtures in order to increase their resistance to crack propagation and strengthen the mixtures at the nano-scale. In order to examine the effect of GOnPs addition in the above parameters, a set of reference OPC mortars were also tested. The evaluation of the strength recovery was achieved by a new methodological approach focusing on the quantification of the damage degree and the healing capacity as expressed by the strength recovery after healing. Two different levels of damage (10% and 70% respectively) were induced and their effect on the self-healing capacity was examined. Overall, it was shown that the addition of GOnPs had a beneficial effect on the mechanical properties and allowed the introduction of higher levels of damage (up to 70%) to mortars without leading to specimen fracture. That was not possible for the plain OPC specimens. After autogenous healing the nanocomposites subjected to increased damage demonstrated 63% healing capacity, suggesting a partially recovered microstructure. Specimens damaged by 10% damage degree showed 100% healing capacity i.e. their strength was fully recovered when compared to the strength of reference undamaged specimens.