Nanoscale insights into the anti-erosion performance of concrete: A molecular dynamics study

W Zhang and M Zhang and DS Hou, APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE, 593, 153403 (2022).

DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2022.153403

The erosion effect of high-velocity water flow would lead to the failure of concrete in hydraulic structures. This study aims to characterize the anti-erosion ability of concrete at the nanoscale and study the reinforced mechanisms of SCMs, epoxy, and GO for the erosion resistance of concrete. A series of erosion models of concrete including C-S-H, C-A-S-H, C-S-H/Epoxy, and C-S-H/GO models were constructed. The results show that under the erosion effect of high-velocity water flow, some Caw atoms and water molecules would escape from the C-S-H substrate which is consistent with experimental results. Besides the structure of C-S-H affects its anti-erosion capability: The C-S-H model with a high Ca/Si ratio has a poor anti-erosion performance. The erosion resistance of C-S-H is enhanced by SCMs, epoxy, and GO as the addition of SCMs could increase the stability of C-S-H structure while the application of epoxy and GO can reduce the erosion damage of C-S-H caused by high-velocity water flow. These findings in the present investigation provide bottom- up insights on the anti-erosion performance of concrete at the nanoscale and enhanced mechanism of SCMs, epoxy, and GO, which play an important role in the designing and the development of anti-erosion concrete materials.

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