• Computers and Concrete
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.677-692
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• 2011

Particle packing on meso-level has a significant influence on workability of fresh concrete and also on the mechanical and durability properties of the matured material. It was demonstrated earlier that shape exerts but a marginal influence on the elastic properties of concrete provided being packed to the same density, which is not necessarily the case with different types of aggregate. Hence, elastic properties of concrete can be treated as approximately structure-insensitive parameters. However, fracture behaviour can be expected structure-sensitive. This is supported by the present study based on discrete element method (DEM) simulated three-phase concrete, namely aggregate, matrix and interfacial transition zones (ITZs). Fracture properties are assessed with the aid of a finite element method (FEM) based on the damage materials model. Effects on tensile strength due to grain shape and packing density are investigated. Shape differences are shown to have only modest influence. Significant effects are exerted by packing density and physical-mechanical properties of the phases, whereby the ITZ takes up a major position.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.273-283
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• 1999

Two physical experiments are performed to verify the effectiveness of beam-particle model for simulating the progressive failure of particulate composites such as sandstone and concrete. In the numerical model, the material is schematized at the meso-level as an assembly of discrete, interacting particles which are linked through a network of brittle breaking beams. The uniaxial compressive tests of cubic and parallelepipedal specimens made of carbon steel rod assembly which are glued together by a mixture are represented. The crack patterns and load-displacement response observed in the experiments are in good agreement with the numerical results. In the application respect of beam-particle model to the particulate composites, the influence of defects, particle arrangement and boundary conditions on crack propagation is approached, and the correlation existing between the cracking evolution and the level of loads imposed on the specimen is characterized by fractal dimensions.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.189-202
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• 2005

This paper presents an analysis of some experimental results concerning micro-structural tests, permeability measurements and strain-stress tests of four types of High-Performance Concrete, exposed to elevated temperatures (up to $700^{\circ}C$). These experimental results, obtained within the "HITECO" research programme are discussed and interpreted in the context of a recently developed mathematical model of hygro-thermal behaviour and degradation of concrete at high temperature, which is briefly presented in the Part 2 paper (Gawin, et al. 2005). Correlations between concrete permeability and porosity micro-structure, as well as between damage and cracks' volume, are found. An approximate decomposition of the thermally induced material damage into two parts, a chemical one related to cement dehydration process, and a thermal one due to micro-cracks' development caused by thermal strains at micro- and meso-scale, is performed. Constitutive relationships describing influence of temperature and material damage upon its intrinsic permeability at high temperature for 4 types of HPC are deduced. In the Part II of this paper (Gawin, et al. 2005) effect of two different damage-permeability coupling formulations on the results of computer simulations concerning hygro-thermo-mechanical performance of concrete wall during standard fire, is numerically analysed.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.341-358
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• 2013

Due to fast growth in urbanisation, a highly developed infrastructure is essential for economic growth and prosperity. One of the major problems is to preserve, maintain, and retrofit these structures. To meet the requirements of construction industry, the basic information on all the mechanical properties of various concretes is essential. This paper presents the details of development of various concretes, namely, normal strength concrete (around 50 MPa), high strength concrete (around 85 MPa) and ultra high strength concrete (UHSC) (around 120 MPa) including their mechanical properties. The various mechanical properties such as compressive strength, split tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, fracture energy and tensile stress vs crack width have been obtained from the respective test results. It is observed from the studies that a higher value of compressive strength, split tensile strength and fracture energy is achieved in the case of UHSC, which can be attributed to the contribution at different scales viz., at the meso scale due to the fibers and at the micro scale due to the close packing of grains which is on account of good grading of the particles. Micro structure of UHSC mix has been examined for various magnifications to identify the pores if any present in the mix. Brief note on characteristic length and brittleness number has been given.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.647-675
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• 2011

Our ability to predict hydration behavior is becoming increasingly relevant to the concrete community as modelers begin to link material performance to the dynamics of material properties and chemistry. At early ages, the properties of concrete are changing rapidly due to chemical transformations that affect mechanical, thermal and transport responses of the composite. At later ages, the resulting, nano-, micro-, meso- and macroscopic structure generated by hydration will control the life-cycle performance of the material in the field. Ultimately, creep, shrinkage, chemical and physical durability, and all manner of mechanical response are linked to hydration. As a way to enable the modeling community to better understand hydration, a review of hydration models is presented offering insights into their mathematical origins and relationships one-to-the-other. The quest for a universal model begins in the 1920's and continues to the present, and is marked by a number of critical milestones. Unfortunately, the origins and physical interpretation of many of the most commonly used models have been lost in their overuse and the trail of citations that vaguely lead to the original manuscripts. To help restore some organization, models were sorted into four categories based primarily on their mathematical and theoretical basis: (1) mass continuity-based, (2) nucleation-based, (3) particle ensembles, and (4) complex multi-physical and simulation environments. This review provides a concise catalogue of models and in most cases enough detail to derive their mathematical form. Furthermore, classes of models are unified by linking them to their theoretical origins, thereby making their derivations and physical interpretations more transparent. Models are also used to fit experimental data so that their characteristics and ability to predict hydration calorimetry curves can be compared. A sort of evolutionary tree showing the progression of models is given along with some insights into the nature of future work yet needed to develop the next generation of cement hydration models.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.259-274
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• 2023

In this paper, mechanical properties of periodic foundation made of concrete and rubber are investigated by a parametric study using the finite element method (FEM). Periodic foundation is a special type of seismic isolation foundation used in civil engineering, which is inspired by the meso-scale structure of phononic crystals in solid-state physics. This type of foundation is capable of reducing the seismic wave propagating though the foundation, therefore providing additional protection for the structures. In the FEM analysis, layered periodic foundation is frequently modelled due to its simplicity in numerical modeling. However, the isolation effect of periodic foundation on nuclear power plant has not been fully discussed to the best knowledge of authors. In this work, we construct four numerical models of nuclear power plant with different foundations to investigate the seismic isolation effects of periodic foundations. The results show that the layered periodic foundation can increase the natural period of the nuclear power plant like traditional base isolation systems, which is beneficial to the structures. In addition, the seismic response of the nuclear power plant can also be effectively reduced in both vertical and horizontal directions when the frequencies of the incident waves fall into some specific frequency bandgaps of the periodic foundation. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the layered periodic foundation can reduce the amplitude of the floor response spectrum, which plays an important role in the protection of the equipment.