Investigation of the Effect of Graphene Oxide on the Properties and Microstructure of Clay-Cement Composite Grouting Materials

Reductions in bleeding rates and bulk shrinkage of grouting repair materials comprise the key to solving the leakage of earth-rock dams. In this paper, an anti-seepage grouting material for earth-rock dam was developed by introducing mineral admixtures and graphene oxide (GO) nano sheets into low-cost clay-cement grouting materials and by adding polycarboxylate superplasticizers (PCs) to improve slurry viscosity. The experimental results show that the shear stress and viscosity of the slurry increase with the increase in GO concentration, and the slurry has a certain thixotropy. GO can provide a platform to promote the formation of hydration products and fill the pores of clay particles due to its high specific surface area and low volume; in this paper, the microstructure of clay-cement-graphene oxide (CCGO) grouting materials were improved. Therefore, the bleeding rate, bulk shrinkage rate, setting time and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of the sample were macroscopically improved. In particular, the bleeding rate and bulk shrinkage rate were shown to be 0% when the content of GO reached 1.08 g/kg. Thus, the grouting anti-seepage and reinforcement performance of CCGO grouting materials were improved.