NANOMECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF CEMENT PASTE: NANOINDENTATION, MODULUS MAPPING AND PEAK-FORCE QNM

Nanoidnetation, quantitative modulus mapping and peak-force Quantitative Nanomechanical Mapping (QNM) are applied to investigate the nanomechanical properties of hardened cement paste. It demonstrates that the three techniques provide the quantitative information on the surface topography and corresponding nanomechanical properties with different spatial resolutions. The results indicate that the measured elastic modulus by the nanoindentation is slightly higher than those obtained by modulus mapping and peak-force QNM techniques. The quantitative mapping of the local elastic modulus obtained by modulus mapping and peak-force QNM is able to discriminate different phases in cement paste. Moreover, the high resolution peak-force QNM can provide an efficient tool for identification of nanomechanical properties and particular sizes of Calcium Silicate Hydrate (C-S-H).