PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF CARBON - NANOFIBER BLENDED SELF COMPACTING CONCRETE

Semiconducting carbon nanofibers (CNF) are prepared from three different sources, i.e., acetylene, ethanol, and cotton by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. These fibers have rich elastic, engineering and conductivity properties. Fresh self-compacting concrete (SCC) flows into place and around obstructions under its own weight to fill the formwork completely and self-compact, without any segregation and blocking. To obtain maximum benefit from SCC, it has to be adopted in general concrete construction practice. Such practice requires inexpensive and medium strength concrete. This investigation aims to develop a medium strength carbon nanofiber self-compacting concrete (CNFSCC), which improves the fracture resistance characteristics of the concrete. In addition to that, the mechanical and structural properties of self-compacting concrete containing carbon nano-fiber with different concentration are experimentally studied by conducting suitable tests. The test results indicate that the presence of a reasonable concentration of CNF not only enhances mechanical performance, but also improves the structural characteristics of SCC.