Influence of nano materials on the macro and micro structural behaviour of high performance concrete using interfacial transition zone approach

Nano materials are well known for their excellent performance over a wide range of applications. Several studies have examined the effective utilization of nano particles in construction sectors. However, the influence of nano materials particularly on the interfacial transition zone of concrete is very essential to find the performance enhancement mechanism in terms of strength and durability. Thus the current study examines the beneficial effects of different commercial as well as waste derived nano particles especially on ITZ of high performance concrete. By analyzing the previous literatures, it is discovered that the addition of nano particles enhanced strong interfacial transition zone by their pozzolanic effect, pore filling effect and nucleation sites. As a result of this, concrete incorporated with 9% nano metakaolin exhibited 15.7% decreased slump flow and 7.5% nano egg shell powder accelerated the initial and final setting time by 55.8% than the concrete without adding nano particles. In addition to that, insertion of 0.01% carbon nano tubes, 3% nano calcium carbonate and 10% nano metakaolin enhanced the compressive, splitting tensile and flexural strength of concrete by 53%, 60% and 67% respectively. Also, 3% nano silica impregnated concrete showed 1.8 times greater impact strength compared to concrete without nano particle. When exposed to various aggressive environments, inclusion of 2–3% nano silica improved the concrete resistance by 30–70%. Finally, according to the cost-benefit analysis waste derived nano materials are proposed to adopt in various construction works, as they possess only the processing charges. Moreover, the environmental impact of nano material utilization is still required to be furnished.