Abstract
This study investigates the effectiveness of nano-titania (NT) as a nano-additive for enhancing the performance and elevated-temperature resistance of foamed concrete (FC). The novelty of this research lies in the comprehensive evaluation of the residual mechanical, transport, thermal, and microstructural behaviour of NT-modified FC after exposure to temperatures of up to 800 °C. NT was incorporated at dosages of 0.5–2.0% by weight of cement, and the performance of the resulting FC was assessed in terms of fresh-state properties, shrinkage, mechanical strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity, transport behaviour, thermal properties, and microstructural characteristics. The results showed that NT reduced workability and shortened setting time, while significantly improving the overall performance of FC under both ambient and elevated-temperature conditions. Among the tested mixtures, the incorporation of 1.5% NT provided the optimum performance. At room temperature, this dosage increased the compressive strength by approximately 40% compared with the control mix. More importantly, after exposure to 800 °C, the residual compressive strength ratio increased markedly from 18% for the control FC to 57% for the FC containing 1.5% NT, indicating a substantial enhancement in thermal resistance. NT also improved the pore structure by reducing the average pore diameter from 580 to 440 µm at 20 °C and from 820 to 620 µm at 800 °C, which contributed to lower permeability and porosity, as well as improved thermal stability. Microstructural observations from SEM and MIP confirmed that NT promoted a denser and more homogeneous matrix through pore refinement and improved hydration development, leading to enhanced residual performance after high-temperature exposure. Overall, the findings demonstrate that NT is an effective nano-modifier for producing FC with superior strength, durability, and fire resistance, with 1.5% NT identified as the optimum dosage.
Similar content being viewed by others
Acknowledgements
The first author gratefully acknowledges the support provided by Universiti Sains Malaysia through the Research University Transdisciplinary (RUTrans) Grant Scheme (Grant Number: R502-KR-RUT002-0000002714-K134).
Funding
This work was supported by the Universiti Sains Malaysia, Research University Transdisciplinary (RUTrans) Grant Scheme (Grant Number: R502-KR-RUT002-0000002714-K134).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Declaration of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process
During the preparation of this work the authors used Copilot Microsoft tool to improve parts of the text for the purpose of improved writing. After using this tool, the authors reviewed and edited the content as needed and took full responsibility for the content of the publication.
Declaration of AI use
We have not used AI-assisted technologies in creating this article.
Ethical approval
The authors declare that they have not submitted the manuscript to any other journal for simultaneous consideration. The work is original and not published elsewhere.
Informed consent
There are no human or animal subjects in this article, and informed consent is not applicable.
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
About this article
Cite this article
Mydin, M.A.O., Tobbala, D.E., Omar, R. et al. Improving the elevated temperature behaviour of foamed concrete through nano titania addition and microstructure control. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-54484-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-54484-2
