Effects of graphene-oxide and nanosilica on the wear resistance and strength of self-consolidating high-strength cement mortar

This paper investigates the effects of the nanosilica (NS) and graphene oxide (GO) on the mechanical properties of the self-consolidating high-strength cement mortars (SCHSCM). Ten different mortar mixes, including aqueous solutions of GO and NS, were designed to perform the experimental study. Multiple specimens are prepared for each mortar mix to be tested to determine the mean tensile, flexural and compressive strength as well as wear resistance of the SCHSCM at 28 days of curing. Different contents of GO (0.00%, 0.01%, 0.02% and 0.05% by weight of cement) and NS (0.0%, 1.5% and 3% by weight of cement) are used in the experiments. The hybrid effects of the NS and GO on the mechanical properties of the SCHSCM are also investigated. The obtained results illustrate that the simultaneous use of 0.01% of GO and up to 3% of NS can increase the flexural, tensile and compressive strength of SCHSCM up to 45%, 30% and 26%, respectively, which are higher than those obtained by using NS and GO separately. However, the hybrid use of GO and NS has negative effects on the abrasion depth while the NS additive could improve the abrasion resistance of the SCHSCM.