Abstract
In coastal areas, the presence of concrete cracks provides pathways for hazardous ions to ingress from the exterior into the interior of concrete, while the migration of the ions further accelerates concrete deterioration and causes durability problems. The incorporation of graphene oxide (GO) into concrete can inhibit crack initiation and development starting at the nanoscale, improving the concrete microstructure, thereby affecting concrete's resistance to hazardous ion transport and the resulting deterioration. In this study, a multi-scale transport model for cementitious materials with a GO admixture was established to predict the resistance to hazardous ions. Based on the determination of hydration types and hydration kinetics, microstructure modeling was conducted at three scales, the sub-microscale, microscale, and mesoscale, upon which transport property simulations were performed. At the microscale, the effects of both the cement paste matrix and the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) were considered. Through the simulation, it was found that the addition of GO reduced the duration of the induction period and increased the rate of hydration development after the induction period. Moreover, the incorporation of GO could reduce the porosity of cementitious materials at all simulation scales at both early and later ages. At the microscale, it improved the pore structure of the cement matrix and ITZ by reducing large pores and increasing small pores. At all three simulation scales, GO could increase the diffusion tortuosity in hydration products, suppress ion transport, and improve the resistance to hazardous ions of cementitious materials.
Recommended Citation
B. Liu et al., "Multi-Scale Modeling of Transport Properties in Cementitious Materials with GO Admixture," Nanomaterials, vol. 15, no. 3, article no. 222, MDPI, Feb 2025.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15030222
Department(s)
Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
Publication Status
Open Access
Keywords and Phrases
GO; ITZ modeling; microstructure model; multi-scale modeling; transport property
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
2079-4991
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2025 The Authors, All rights reserved.
Creative Commons Licensing
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Publication Date
01 Feb 2025
Comments
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Durability for Marine Civil Engineering, Grant 52178230