Experimental investigation of engineering properties of silica sand filled mortars containing high doses of SWCNT

Recently, great efforts have been made by researchers on the mixture of electrically conductive concretes that have been developed for different purposes. In this study, an experimental research was carried out on electrically conductive mortar mixtures especially for shell elements produced for building facade cladding. Six different mixtures were produced, including the non-conductive reference mixture. Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) was used as nano-sized conductive additive material. SWCNT was added at 0.2% and 0.3% of cement weight. SF was added to the same mixtures as another group at the rate of 4% by total weight. 2, 14, 28, 90 and 180 days electrical resistivities of the obtained conductive mortar samples were measured. As a non-destructive method, dynamic resonance testing was performed and the 28-day damping rates of the samples were determined. Ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) and Leeb hardness tests were performed, respectively, by using other non-destructive testing methods to obtain information about the internal structure voids and surface hardness of the samples. SWCNT, which causes low machinability and therefore internal structure voids, caused a decrease in compressive strength and flexural strength, as well as a significant increase in electrical conductivity.