RETRACTED ARTICLE: Compressive strength and abrasion resistance of concrete containing SiO2 and CuO nanoparticles in different curing media

In the present study, abrasion resistance and compressive strength of concrete specimens containing SiO2 and CuO nanoparticles in different curing media have been investigated. Portland cement was partially replaced by up to 2.0 wt% of SiO2 and CuO nanoparticles and the mechanical properties of the produced specimens were measured. Increasing the nanoparticles content was found to increase the abrasion resistance of the specimens cured in water and saturated limewater, while this condition was not observed for compressive strength in the both curing media. The enhancement of abrasion resistance was higher for the specimens containing SiO2 nanoparticles in both curing media. Since abrasion resistance and compressive strength of the specimens followed a similar regime as the nanoparticles increased for the specimens cured in saturated limewater, some experimental relationships has been presented to correlate these two properties of concrete for this curing medium. On the whole, it has been concluded that the abrasion resistance of concrete does not only depend on the corresponding compressive strength.