Sujet de recherche

Septembre 2019

Towards a multi-scale chemo-mechanical approach for the design of eco-compatible alternative cementitious systems

Alternative Cementitious Materials (ACM) have been developed as a novel solution for the clinker calcination issue to reduce CO2 emission while improving the durability properties of concrete. Developing a multi-scale multi-physics model for new ACMs from microstructure phases, through the cement paste scale, finally to concrete macro-scale is the primary objective of this research. This model will be able to statistically represent material heterogeneity and take into account mechanical properties and short-term and long-term behavior of ACMs.

Such a computational-experimental approach comprises three models at different length scales; μic as a microstructure model for the evolution of cement hydration, recently established chemo-mechanical μ-LDPM, and the meso-scale mechanical LDPM (Lattice Discrete Particle Model) coupled with HTC (Hygral-Thermo-Chemical model). These models are naturally compatible due to their discrete nature. Based on the cement microstructure obtained by μic calibrated and validated by statistical descriptors using coupled NanoIndentation and Quantitative Energy Dispersion Spectroscopy (NI-QEDS), it is feasible to utilize μ-LDPM for simulating a microindentation test. The output will be validated by actual microindentation results. Following that, the meso-scale LDPM-HTC can be used by linking to μ-LDPM. Therefore, a novel framework will be established to link different length scales of ACMs. Ultimately, a series of maco-scale tests will be performed to validate this multi-scale multi-physics model.