- Author
- Garboczi, E. J. | Bentz, D. P.
- Title
- Microstructure Property Relationships in Concrete: From Nanometers to Centimeters.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Book or Conf
- Second (2nd) Canmet/ACI. Advances in Concrete Technology. International Symposium. Supplementary Papers. 1995, Las Vegas, NV, Malhotra, V. M., Editors, 573-585 p., 1995
- Keywords
- building technology | concretes | computer models | percolation | microstructure | cement paste | mortar | multi-scale | diffusivity | electrical conductivity
- Abstract
- Theoretical understanding of how the properties and performance of cement-based materials relate to microstructure is complicated by the large range of relevant size scales. Processes occurring in the nanometer-sized gel pores ultimately affect the performance of these materials at the structural level of meters and larger. One approach to alleviating this complication is the development of a suite of models, consisting of individual digital-image-based structural models for the calcium silicate hydrate gel at the nanometer level, the hydrated cement paste at the micrometer level, and a mortar or concrete at the millimeter to meter level. Computations performed at one level provide input properties to be used in simulations of performance at the next higher level. This methodology is demonstrated for the property of ionic diffusivity in saturated concrete. In addition, the ideas of percolation theory are shown to unify microstructure and many physical phenomena at various length scales in concrete.