- Author
- Frohnsdorff, G. J. C. | Clifton, J. R. | Garboczi, E. J. | Bentz, D. P.
- Title
- Virtual Cement and Concrete.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Book or Conf
- Portland Cement Association (PCA). Emerging Technologies Symposium on Cement in the 21st Century. Proceedings. March 15, 1995, 1995
- Keywords
- cements | concretes | databases | expert systems | integrated knowledge systems | simulation models | standards | sustainable technology | virtual technology | education | training
- Identifiers
- factors making development of an integrated knowledge system for cement and concrete feasible; types of questions that virtual cement and concrete technology should help answer; progress towards virtual cements and concretes and prediction of their performance; knowledge system needed to exploit virtual cement and concrete technologies; virtual cement and concrete technology and standards for cement and concrete; condition assessment and repair (of concrete); innovative materials and uses
- Abstract
- In the past, progress in cement and concrete science and technology has come mostly by deduction from the results of empirical investigations. As the body of knowledge about cement and concrete grows and becomes computerized, so does the possibility of relying more on induction to solve technological problems. In this speculative paper, it is suggested that we can look forward to the not-far-distant day when the performance of cements in concrete will be able to be predicted from knowledge of measured properties of the cement and other constituents, the mixture proportions, and the expected conditions of mixing, curing, and use. It will then be possible to conceive of a cement that has not yet been made -- a "virtual cement" -- and predict the performance of a "virtual concrete" made with it. The resulting ability to investigate the effects of possible changes in the composition and particle size and shape distribution of a cement quickly and cost-effectively will have broad impacts. It should facilitate product development.