A probabilistic mechanical model for prediction of aggregates’ size distribution effect on concrete compressive strength

Karim Miled, Oualid Limam and Karam Sab

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 2012, vol. 391, issue 12, 3366-3378

Abstract: To predict aggregates’ size distribution effect on the concrete compressive strength, a probabilistic mechanical model is proposed. Within this model, a Voronoi tessellation of a set of non-overlapping and rigid spherical aggregates is used to describe the concrete microstructure. Moreover, aggregates’ diameters are defined as statistical variables and their size distribution function is identified to the experimental sieve curve. Then, an inter-aggregate failure criterion is proposed to describe the compressive-shear crushing of the hardened cement paste when concrete is subjected to uniaxial compression. Using a homogenization approach based on statistical homogenization and on geometrical simplifications, an analytical formula predicting the concrete compressive strength is obtained. This formula highlights the effects of cement paste strength and aggregates’ size distribution and volume fraction on the concrete compressive strength. According to the proposed model, increasing the concrete strength for the same cement paste and the same aggregates’ volume fraction is obtained by decreasing both aggregates’ maximum size and the percentage of coarse aggregates. Finally, the validity of the model has been discussed through a comparison with experimental results (15 concrete compressive strengths ranging between 46 and 106 MPa) taken from literature and showing a good agreement with the model predictions.

Keywords: Concrete; Compressive strength; Aggregates’ size distribution; Statistical homogenization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378437112000957
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only. Journal offers the option of making the article available online on Science direct for a fee of $3,000

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:391:y:2012:i:12:p:3366-3378

DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2012.01.051

Access Statistics for this article

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications is currently edited by K. A. Dawson, J. O. Indekeu, H.E. Stanley and C. Tsallis

More articles in Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().