Concrete is a non-Newtonian fluid which is a counterexample of Jeffrey fluid. The flow of Jeffrey fluid is considered containing nanostructures of zinc oxide in this study. The flow of the nanofluid is modeled in terms of partial fractional differential equations via Atangana-Baleanu (AB) fractional derivative approach and then solved using the integral transformation. Specifically, the applications are discussed in the field of concrete and cement industry. The variations in heat transfer rate and skin friction have been observed for different values of volume fractions of nanoparticles. The results show that by adding 4 ZnO nanoparticles increase skin friction up to 15, ultimately enhancing the adhesion capacity of concrete. Moreover, ZnO increase the density of concrete, minimizing the pores in the concrete and consequently increasing the strength of concrete. The solutions are simplified to the corresponding solutions of the integer ordered model of Jeffrey-nanofluid. Applications of this work can be found in construction engineering and management such as buildings, roads, tunnels, bridges, airports, railroads, dams, and utilities. © 2020 by the authors.