Acid and Sulphate Attacks on a Rubberized Engineered Cementitious Composite Containing Graphene Oxide

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Civil Engineering
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Engineered cementitious composites (ECC) offer enhanced ductility.
• Incorporating crumb rubber (CR) in ECC can improve sustainability but may affect durability.
• Graphene oxide (GO) is explored for its potential to enhance cementitious materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the durability of ECC with crumb rubber and graphene oxide against acid and sulphate attacks.
• To optimize the mix design of rubberized ECC using response surface methodology.
• To determine the effect of graphene oxide on the mechanical and chemical resistance properties of crumb rubber-modified ECC.

Main Methods:

• Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to design 13 ECC mixes with varying CR (0-10%) and GO (0.01-0.05%) content.
• Laboratory tests included compressive strength, acid attack resistance, and sulphate attack resistance (length change).
• Predictive models were developed using RSM for result optimization.

Main Results:

• The optimal mix (10% CR, 0.01% GO) achieved 43.6 MPa compressive strength.
• This optimal mix exhibited reduced weight loss (29.4%) and expansion (2.19%) under chemical attacks.
• Rubberized ECC with GO demonstrated superior resistance to acid and sulphate attacks compared to standard rubberized ECC.

Conclusions:

• Graphene oxide effectively enhances the properties of crumb rubber-modified ECC, mitigating limitations.
• The addition of GO improves the durability of ECC against acidic and sulphate environments.
• The optimized rubberized ECC with GO offers a promising sustainable and durable construction material.