Probing Nanostructure of Calcium Silicate Hydrate by AFM and Nanoindentation

Abstract:

It is important to study the nanostructure and mechanical properties of calcium silicate hydrate at the nanoscale for it is the main binding phase in Portland cement paste. In this paper, atomic force microscopy and nanoindentation (NI) were combine used to determine the morphology and mechanical properties of Calcium Silicate Hydrate (C-S-H) at microscale. It is found that C-S-H is made of globules from size of 50 nm to 300 nm irrelevant with water-to-cement ratio and ages in nanostructure, and we suggest that the maximum load for NI testing of the C-S-H is no more than 2 mN.

• Periodical: Key Engineering Materials (Volume 539)
• Pages: 80-83
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.539.80
• Online since: January 2013
• Authors: Kang Liang, Wu Yao, Lin Jie Chen, Qun Gao
• Keywords: Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Calcium Silicate Hydrate, Cement Paste, Nanoindentation, Nanostructure

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