Preliminary Evaluation of Laboratory Grown Graphene as an Additive: Compressive Strength Analysis on Reinforced Mortar

Abstract

Graphene is structured in a hexagonal lattice of a one-atom-thick layer of carbon atoms which is assumed to be 200 times stronger than standard steel. It was proven that the inclusion of graphene in construction materials increases its strength indicating it suitable for resilience and maintenance. This presents that graphene can be a basis for a higher compressive strength of a material since the mechanical properties of graphene may contribute to the resistance of the material to any form of force. In this study, laboratory grown graphene was made from pencil lead was used as an additive to mortar cement. The procedure for the gathering of the data are the following: ASTM C109 and Blender Technique (Graphene Extraction). Based from the applied experimentation, the graphene had shown a significant effect within the mortar cement with the curing days of 3, 7, and 21 wherein compared to the controlled specimens, the values of compressive strength of the experimental specimens had doubled up. Thus, this concludes that a graphene-based mortar cement can be used as a sustainable construction material.