A reliable technique to determine the local mechanical properties at the nanoscale for cementitious materials

A Hysitron Triboindenter has been used to determine the mechanical properties of hardened cement paste and cement paste at the early age. This technique provides an in-situ scanning probe microscopy (SPM) imaging facility that allows pre and post-test observation of the sample. The same probe is used to indent and image eliminating the complicated situation of locating the same area with different instruments or coupling two different instruments, such as a SEM and a nanoindenter to work together. This paper presents preliminary results of experiments performed on hardened cement paste and cement paste at the early age.