Multiscale structure-property relationships of ultra-high performance concrete

• Main Author: Burcham, Megan Noel
• Other Authors: Mark F. Horstemeyer
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: MSSTATE 2016
• Subjects: Mechanical Engineering
• Online Access: http://sun.library.msstate.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06232016-161231/

<p>The structure-property relationships of Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) were quantified using imaging techniques to characterize the multiscale hierarchical heterogeneities and the mechanical properties. Through image analysis the average size, percent area, nearest neighbor distance, and relative number density of each inclusion type was determined and then used to create Representative Volume Element (RVE) cubes for use in Finite Element (FE) analysis. Three different size scale RVEs at the mesoscale were found to best represent the material: the largest length scale (35 mm side length) included steel fibers, the middle length scale (0.54 mm side length) included large voids and silica sand grains, and the smallest length scale (0.04 mm side length) included small voids and unhydrated cement grains. By using three length scales of mesoscale FE modeling, the bridge of information to the macroscale cementitious material model is more physically based. </p>