Abstract

The abrasion resistance of concrete containing nano-particles for pavement is experimentally studied. Both nano-TiO2 and nano-SiO2 are, respectively, employed to be as the additives. For comparison, the abrasion resistance of plain concrete and the concrete containing polypropylene (PP) fibers is also experimentally studied in this work. The test results indicate that the abrasion resistance of concretes containing nano-particles and PP fibers is significantly improved. However, the indices of abrasion resistance of concrete containing nano-particles are much larger than that of concrete containing PP fibers. The abrasion resistance of concrete containing nano-TiO2 is better than that containing the same amount of nano-SiO2. The enhanced extent of the abrasion resistance of concrete decreases with increasing content of nano-particles. Finally, the relationship between the indices of abrasion resistance and compressive strength of concrete is obtained, which indicates that the abrasion resistance of concrete increases with increasing compressive strength.

Introduction

Pavement concrete is mostly used for road surfaces, bridge decks, airfield runways and parking lots. Pavement concrete endures dynamical loads and subjects to rigorous environment. High-performance of pavement concrete requires good durability as well as strength. Durability of pavement concrete includes abrasion resistance, impact resistance, permeability and freezethaw cycles. The abrasion resistance is one of the key considerations.

Numerous studies on the abrasion resistance of concrete have been carried out. The results showed that the abrasion resistance of concrete was strongly influenced by compressive strength, surface finishing techniques, curing types, aggregate properties and testing conditions, i.e. dry or wet [1,2].

There are two views on the relationship between compressive strength and abrasion resistance of concrete. One of them is that compressive strength is the most important factor governing the abrasion resistance of concrete [3], and the abrasion resistance of concrete increases with increasing compressive strength [1,2,4,5].