Creep behavior of graphene oxide reinforced cement composites: Experiments, numerical simulations, and prediction models

The effect of graphene oxide (GO) on the creep behavior of cement composites was investigated macroscopically using a four-bar spring compression creepmeter. The mechanism of the impact of GO on the creep behavior of hardened cement paste was microscopically identified using a molecular dynamics method. By analyzing commonly used rheological models, a viscoelastic-plastic model was proposed to reflect the creep behavior of GO-enhanced cement composites. The experimental results show that incorporating GO can increase the elastic modulus of calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) gels. The increase of micromechanical properties leads to a substantial reduction of creep. Compared to the reference group (0% GO), the creep behavior of cement composites with the GO incorporation of 0.02% and 0.03% decreases by 49.5% and 60.9%, respectively. Furthermore, the parameter fitting results indicate that the improved Burgers rheological model can better reflect the effect of GO on regulating the creep behavior of cement composites. Finally, we concluded the impact of GO addition on microscopic elastic modulus, viscoelastic deformation, and viscous deformation parameters, by providing new ideas for regulating the creep behavior of cement composites.