A study on mechanical and physical properties of monocalcium aluminate cement reinforced with nano-SiO2 particles

In this research the formation of monocalcium aluminate cement, for nanocomposite base, has been investigated using high energy ball milling followed by annealing. Then the influence of nano-SiO2 particles-reinforcement on properties of hardened cement paste has been studied. The results showed that when a small amount of nano-SiO2 particles (1 wt.%) are uniformly dispersed in the cement paste, the hydration process is improved and the mechanical and physical properties of the cement paste is better than that the plain cement. By further addition of nanoparticles, these properties decline slightly. The samples were also examined by X-Ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, to study the phase analysis and microstructure during the hydration process.