Fibers to be added to concrete to improve its properties are coated with an alkali-insoluble polymer, to provide adhesion of the fibers to the concrete. In a further improvement, nanoparticles are dispersed in an alkali-soluble polymer coating, and this is used to coat the fibers. When the fibers are mixed into the concrete mix, the nanoparticles are dispersed throughout the concrete, avoiding problems from agglomeration of the nanoparticles if simply added to the concrete mix.

A method for creating multifunctional cementitious composites that provide load-bearing and self-sensing properties. The method involves dispersing conductive nanomaterials (e.g., multi-walled carbon nanotubes) into a polymer (e.g., latex) material from which a thin film is created and deposited (e.g., sprayed) onto aggregates, which after drying, can be incorporated with cementitious materials and desired liquids and cast, along with sufficient number of electrodes, into a form for curing. After curing, the resultant structure can be electrically tested through the electrodes, for structural characteristics, including determination of damage severity and location using back-calculation utilizing electrical resistance tomography (ERT), or electrical impedance tomography (EIT), to generate a spatial resistivity map (distribution).

A method of cementing a wellbore comprises injecting into the wellbore a cement slurry comprising an aqueous carrier, a swellable nanoclay, and a solid delayed releasing divalent inorganic salt comprising calcined magnesium oxide, calcined calcium oxide, calcium magnesium polyphosphate, a borate, a nitride, a silicate, an agent having a cation of Ba.sup.2+, Sr.sup.2+, Fe.sup.2+, Ni.sup.2+, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing; and allowing the cement slurry to set.

A method of preparing a cement hydration product nano-thin film, the method including: (1) preparing a cement hydration product; (2) preparing a water sacrificial layer film; (3) depositing the cement hydration product obtained in (1) on the surface of the water sacrificial layer film obtained in (2) to obtain a cement hydration product film; and (4) immersing the cement hydration product film in a saturated aqueous solution of calcium hydroxide to dissolve the water sacrificial layer film to obtain a nano-thin film of the cement hydration product.

A method of manufacturing a composition with hierarchical nanochemical bonding includes making a powder of one or more oxygen containing materials; mixing the powder either with a water solution of organic and/or inorganic acid to form an acidic slurry, or with water to form a hydrated basic slurry; and curing the slurry to form a solid. The powder comprises nanoscale particles, or microscale particles, or a mixture of nanoscale particles and microscale particles.

Clay polymer nanocomposites may be mixed with an aggregate material and heat treated to make a structural stabilizer. In an embodiment, the composition is a structural stabilizer resulting from thermal casting and heat treatment. The structural stabilizer does not include cement or water. The heat treatment may be any suitable heat application, including microwave heating, convection oven heating or heating in thermal mixers. The structural stabilizer can be rapidly synthesized to provide high compressive strength and high homogeneity, and to be substantially free of fractures and cracks. Methods of repairing cracks in concrete and stabilizing soil, rock and sand dune formations using the structural stabilizer include thermal casting. Thermal casting ductile concrete molds can include a coating of aluminum foil. The concrete is self-compact, ecofriendly, lightweight, self-repairing and self pre-stressing with homogeneity and low density. The concrete resists steel corrosion, sudden collapse, and does not produce pollution.

A method for the preparation of concretes with improved wear resistance. The method involves the use of colloidal silica, which is added to a concrete mixture after mixing, in conjunction with a concrete cutter, which is added to the concrete mixture after the addition of the colloidal silica.

Disclosed are a multifunctional gypsum-based mortar and a method of making the same, where the gypsum-based mortar includes 30-40 parts by weight of a gypsum; 30-40 parts by weight of a diatomite; 0.5-3.0 parts by weight of nano TiO.sub.2; and 30-40 parts by weight of a fine aggregate. The gypsum-based mortar provided herein can not only has good adsorption to the formaldehyde based on the hydration structure of gypsum-based cementing material and the diatomite structure, but also decompose the formaldehyde adsorbed by the porous structure, ensuring long-term and effective adsorption to formaldehyde.

Cured cements, cement slurries, and methods of making cured cement and methods of using cement slurries are provided. The method of making a cured cement comprising: synthesizing nanomaterials via chemical vapor deposition on at least one of cement particles or cement additive particles to form nanomaterial particles, adding the nanomaterial particles to a cement slurry to form a modified cement slurry, and curing the modified cement slurry to form a cured cement, in which the nanomaterials are interconnected and form a conductive web within the cured cement.

A high toughness inorganic composite artificial stone panel and preparation method are disclosed. The panel includes a surface layer, an intermediate metal fiber toughening layer and a substrate toughening layer. The surface layer includes the following components: 40-70 parts of quartz sand, 10-30 parts of quartz powder, 20-45 parts of inorganic active powder, 0.5-4 parts of pigment, 0.3-1 part of water reducer and 3-10 parts of water. The intermediate metal fiber toughening layer includes the following components: 40-60 parts of inorganic active powder, 45-65 parts of sand, 0.8-1.5 parts of water reducer, 6-14 parts of water and 4-8 parts of metal fiber. The substrate toughening layer includes the following components: 30-50 parts of inorganic active powder, 30-55 parts of quartz sand, 15-20 parts of quartz powder, 0.5-1.2 parts of water reducer, 4-8 parts of water and 0.8-2.5 parts of toughening agent.