Mechanistic Insights into the Fracture Toughness Enhancement of Nano-TiO<sub>2</sub> and Basalt Fiber Bar Reinforced Magnesium Phosphate Cement

Magnesium phosphate cement (MPC) exhibits brittleness when utilized as a repair material for bridge decks. To address this issue, this study employs nano-TiO<sub>2</sub> (NT) and a novel material (basalt fiber bar) as modifiers. A double-K fracture model is developed for the modified MPC...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wei-Kang Li, Sheng-Ai Cui, Yu-Peng Li, Ya-Lei Zeng, Guang Zeng, Wei Xia
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-08-01
Series:Nanomaterials
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/15/1183
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Summary:Magnesium phosphate cement (MPC) exhibits brittleness when utilized as a repair material for bridge decks. To address this issue, this study employs nano-TiO<sub>2</sub> (NT) and a novel material (basalt fiber bar) as modifiers. A double-K fracture model is developed for the modified MPC to quantitatively evaluate the enhancement of fracture toughness induced by NT and basalt fiber bars. The cracking behavior and toughening mechanisms of the NT and basalt fiber bar reinforced MPC are investigated using extended finite element theory and composite material theory. Additionally, a formula is proposed to calculate the incremental fracture toughness of NT and basalt fiber bar reinforced MPC. The results indicated that NT and basalt fiber bar can effectively enhance the ultimate bending capacity of MPC. The improvement increases with the fiber volume fraction, and noticeable bending hardening occurs when the fiber content exceeds 2%. With the same fiber volume fraction, the peak load can be increased by up to 11.7% with the addition of NT. The crack initiation toughness of the NT group without basalt fiber bars is 58% higher than that of the CC group. The content and diameter of basalt fiber bar are critical parameters affecting the toughness of the NT and basalt fiber bar reinforced MPC.
ISSN:2079-4991