Research, Investigation, and Design of Graphene Oxide as an Admixture in Concrete

• Victor Su
• Karim Mostafa
• Zlatko Nikolov

Recently, graphene has come to be known as the strongest material known to date. Its superior tensile strength properties make it an appealing prospect for those cases in which higher tensile resistance would be advantageous. Concrete is commonly known to be weak in tension and failure occurs due to high loading or erosion of rebar due to weathering that penetrates cracks. This is why concrete is commonly reinforced with fibers to attempt to arrest crack development. The goal of the project is to investigate the influence graphene oxide (GO), a material very similar to graphene, has on the mechanical properties of concrete and to attempt to limit crack development on an atomic scale. One of the helpful articles for this project will be The Chemistry of Graphene Oxide by D. Dreyer, S. Park, C.W. Bielawski and R.S. Ruoff since it describes the chemical properties and preparation methods of GO. Since concrete plays an important role in civil engineering and everyday life, people have never stopped relying on it or researching it. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of GO in non-reinforced concrete, particularly the compressive and flexural strength of the concrete with the GO additive. The hypothesis is that the strength of the concrete will increase in both compression and flexural due to the addition of GO. Separate batches of GO concrete will be made with varying concentrations in order to analytically show any increases in strength. It is worth researching how concrete properties will be impacted by using GO as an additive in the hopes of discovering an admixture that will be beneficial to the future of infrastructure needs.