Micro-level Porosimetry of Virtual Cementitious Materials: Structural Impact on Mechanical and Durability Evolution

Understanding the microstructure of cement paste is the basis of a study towards properties and behaviour of cementi¬tious materials. It is attractive exploit¬ing modern computer facilities for this purpose, favourably competing with time-consuming and laborious experimental approaches. This study aims at bringing mate¬rial studies into virtual...

Demonstration and validation by simple examples of a complete analogue porosimetry methodology for virtual cement pastes on micro-level

Details of a complete methodology for porosimetry of virtual concrete have been described in a series of publications. This paper shortly sketches the main characteristics, whereupon it is indicated how a pore network model is designed based on data extracted from the virtual cement paste. This involves smoothing the main trunks as the main pore...

Methodolody for porosimetry in virtual cementitious composites to economically and reliably estimate permeability

A novel methodology is described for porosimetry as well as for water transport through the pore system in dynamic DEM-based virtual cementitious materials. The pore network topology, the pore size distribution and the pore connectivity are assessed on the basis of a robotics-inspired pore delineation method and star volume measurements....

Packing issue in cement blending for sustainability developments - Approach by discrete element method

Common cement blending materials for concrete like fly ashes, blast furnace slag, silica fume, metakaolin and rice husk ash have been investigated experimentally as to their impact on concrete’s mechanical, physical and sustainability capabilities. Such efforts offer but case-related information on involved materials and used procedures....

Modeling possibilities of concrete structure for durability purposes

Evaluation by discrete element method (DEM) of gap-graded packing potentialities for green concrete design

Partial replacement of Portland cement by pozzolanic mineral admixtures exerts direct positive effects on CO2 emissions. The green character is reinforced by making use of incinerated vegetable waste, such as rice husk ash (RHA). Gap-grading leads to improved particle packing density with RHA as the fine component, so that high strength concrete...

Porosimetry by DraMuTS applied to DEM-produced cementitious materials

Porosimetry of matured cementitious materials is of hiigh interest, because durability is governed by the capillary pore network structure. Experimental approaches are time-consuming, laborious and thus expensive. Fast developments in computer technology make it nowadays possible quite realistically producing cementitious materials in virtual...

Analogue simulation by dem of material structure for property estimation of cementitious materials

Realistic simulation of particulate materials like concrete on meso- as well as micro-level is nowadays possible by fast developments in computer technology. This would be a more economic way than by physical experiinents, which are more time-consuming, laborious and thus expensive. This concern the production of the aggregate structure or of...

Particulate structure and microstructure evolution of concrete investigated by DEM: Part 1: Aggregate and binder packing

Experimental approaches in concrete technology are time-consuming, laborious and thus expensive. Developments in computer facilities render possible nowadays realistically simulating the particulate structure and microstructure of cementitious materials. For that purpose, discrete element methods (DEM) are required because of more correctly...

Particulate structure and microstructure evolution of concrete investigated by DEM: Part 2: Porosimetry in hydrating binders

Durability of concrete in engineering structures is becoming more and more of a major problem. Research into such problems is complicated and expensive, however. Developments in computer technology make it possible nowadays realistically simulating cementitious materials and studying its pore network structure. In this paper use is made of the...

Discrete element modeling approach to porosimetry for durability risk estimation of concrete

The paper introduces a novel approach to porosimetry in virtual concrete, denoted as random node structuring (RNS). The fresh state of this particulate material is produced by the DEM system HADES. Hydration simulation is a hybrid approach making use of wellknown discretization and vector methods. Particle interferences (overlap) in the dynamic...