A review on the mechanical properties of cement-based materials measured by nanoindentation

•The application of nanoindentation to cement-based materials is reviewed.•The microstructural mechanical properties of cement-based materials are reviewed.•The critical aspects in this field are reviewed and discussed. A well-known fact is that the mechanical properties of cement-based materials largely depend on the material structure at the micro- and nano-scales. To understand and improve the macroscopic mechanical performances of cement-based materials, it is essential to investigate the mechanical properties of cement-based materials at the micro- and nano-scales. Benefited from the application of the nanoindentation technique, a lot of valuable microstructural mechanical information of cement-based materials has been reported during the last decade. As the application of nanoindentation gains more and more interests from the researchers in the field of construction and building materials, this paper aims to provide an overview on this important technique in application to cement-based materials, and present a comprehensive review on the mechanical properties of cement-based materials measured by nanoindentation. In the review, the nanoindentation methods that had been used and the findings that had been reported were summarized. Meanwhile, the critical aspects of nanoindentation in application to cement-based materials were discussed.