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Experiment and Computer Simulations with Concrete and Granular Materials

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Construction and Building Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 May 2022) | Viewed by 11466

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Prof. Dr. Fernando Lopez Gayarre

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Guest Editor

Department of Construction, Campus de Gijón, University of Oviedo, 33203 Gijón, Spain
Interests: sustainable construction materials; recycled aggregates; concrete technologies; ultra-high-performance concrete; computational modeling of concrete
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The aggregates used in construction are the most consumed natural resources in the world after air and water. Concrete is, together with steel, the structural material par excellence. It has multiples phases including aggregates, mortar, interfaces, and pores. The mechanical properties of concrete are the result of different behaviors occurring on the micro-, meso-, and macroscale. For this reason, multiscale experiments and simulations of concrete and composite materials are hot areas of research. This Special Issue aims to bring together new knowledge regarding experimental data obtained in the laboratory related to composite and granular materials, including reused or recycled aggregates, with results obtained using multiscale simulation methods.

Prof. Dr. Fernando Lopez Gayarre
Guest Editor

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Keywords

multiscale modeling of concrete
mesoscale computational modeling of concrete
numerical simulation of concrete
aggregate packing
discrete element modeling

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 5085 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Intelligent Design of Construction Materials: A Comparative Study of AI Approaches for Predicting the Strength of Concrete with Blast Furnace Slag

by Xiangping Wu, Fei Zhu, Mengmeng Zhou, Mohanad Muayad Sabri Sabri and Jiandong Huang

Materials 2022, 15(13), 4582; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15134582 - 29 Jun 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1509

Abstract

Concrete production by replacing cement with green materials has been conducted in recent years considering the strategy of sustainable development. This study researched the topic of compressive strength regarding one type of green concrete containing blast furnace slag. Although some researchers have proposed using machine learning models to predict the compressive strength of concrete, few researchers have compared the prediction accuracy of different machine learning models on the compressive strength of concrete. Firstly, the hyperparameters of BP neural network (BPNN), support vector machine (SVM), decision tree (DT), random forest (RF), K-nearest neighbor algorithm (KNN), logistic regression (LR), and multiple linear regression (MLR) are tuned by the beetle antennae search algorithm (BAS). Then, the prediction effects of the above seven machine learning models on the compressive strength of concrete are evaluated and compared. The comparison results show that KNN has higher R values and lower RSME values both in the training set and test set; that is, KNN is the best model for predicting the compressive strength of concrete among the seven machine learning models mentioned above. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Experiment and Computer Simulations with Concrete and Granular Materials)

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20 pages, 6084 KiB

Open AccessArticle

NSF-Based Analysis of the Structural Stressing State of Trussed Steel and a Concrete Box Girder

by Jian Yuan, Jie Lai, Feng Xu, Zhengfa Wu, Suhui Yu and Guorui Sun

Materials 2022, 15(11), 3785; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15113785 - 26 May 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1424

Abstract

This paper analyses the characteristics of the mechanical behavior of a trussed steel and concrete box beam under bending conditions based on the structural stressing state theory and the numerical shape function method. Firstly, the parametric generalized strain energy density was introduced to characterize the structural stressing state of trussed steel stud concrete box girders, and the strain energy density sum was plotted. Then the Mann-Kendall criterion was used to discriminate the leap point of the curve change and to redefine the structural failure load. By analyzing the strain and displacement, the existence of a sudden change in the structural response during the load-bearing process was again demonstrated. Afterwards, the numerical shape function method was used to extend the strain data, and further in-depth analyses of strain/stress fields and internal forces were carried out to show in detail the working characteristics of each under load. Through an in-depth analysis from different angles, the rationality of updating the failure load was verified. Finally, the effects of different structure parameters on the evolution of the structural stresses of the members were analyzed in a transversal comparison. The analysis results of the stress state of a steel-concrete truss structure reveal the working behavior characteristics of a steel-concrete truss structure from a new angle, which provides a reference for the design of a steel-concrete truss structure in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Experiment and Computer Simulations with Concrete and Granular Materials)

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19 pages, 5959 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Stressing State Analysis of Partially Prestressed Concrete Beams with High Strength Reinforcement Based on NSF Method

by Jian Yuan, Feng Xu, Heng Du, Suhui Yu and Guorui Sun

Materials 2022, 15(9), 3377; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15093377 - 08 May 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1498

Abstract

This paper analyzes the flexural behavior of a partially prestressed steel high-strength reinforced concrete beams based on the structural stress state theory and the numerical shape function method. First, the generalized strain energy density is formed by the measured strain data of the test beam to reflect the structural stress state of the beams, and then the Mann–Kendall criterion is used to judge characteristic points of the generalized strain energy density curve. Two characteristic points, namely, post-elastic boundary load and failure load, are detected, so that the whole loading process is divided into three structural stressing state stages. Unlike the ultimate load, failure load is defined according to the general law from quantitative to qualitative change, which represents the starting point of the failure stage of the beam. Then, experimental strains and deflections, strain/stress fields interpolated by the numerical shape function method, and internal forces calculated by integration are respectively analyzed to obtain their changing characteristics and working behavior around the characteristic points, which can also verify the correction and effectiveness of the Mann–Kendall criterion. In addition, through the analysis above, it can be known that the failure loads of the test beams can be effectively improved by increasing the prestressed reinforcement ratio or concrete strength. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Experiment and Computer Simulations with Concrete and Granular Materials)

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20 pages, 6533 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Laboratory and Field Performance Evaluation of High-Workability Ultra-Thin Asphalt Overlays

by Jinquan Wang, Jia Sun, Sang Luo and Qiang Li

Materials 2022, 15(6), 2123; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15062123 - 14 Mar 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2018

Abstract

The defects of poor workability and inadequate pavement performance of the ultra-thin asphalt overlay limited its application in the preventive maintenance of pavements. In this study, a high-workability ultra-thin (HWU) asphalt overlay scheme was proposed. A high-strength-modified asphalt binder and an optimized HWU-10 gradation were used to prepare the HWU asphalt mixture and explore its laboratory performance. Furthermore, the HWU asphalt mixture was used for the test road paving. Based on the field performance test results before and after the test road for one year of traffic operation, the application performance of the HWU asphalt mixture and styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS)-modified asphalt mixture was compared and analyzed. The results showed that the HWU asphalt mixture possessed satisfactory laboratory pavement performance, and its high-temperature stability and moisture damage resistance were better than those of the SBS-modified asphalt mixture. The asphalt mixture prepared using HWU-10 gradation was easily compacted and showed good workability. After one year of operation, all field performance of the ultra-thin overlay paved with HWU asphalt mixture met the specification requirements, but its flatness and skid resistance decreased. It is worth mentioning that the HWU asphalt mixture was significantly better than the SBS-modified asphalt mixture in terms of performance degradation resistance and rutting resistance. The studies to enhance the road intersection pavement performance and ensure the homogeneous dispersion of polyester fibers in the asphalt mixture will be considered in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Experiment and Computer Simulations with Concrete and Granular Materials)

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13 pages, 4675 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Simulations of the Behaviour of Steel Ferromagnetic Fibres Commonly Used in Concrete in a Magnetic Field

by Kateřina Nováková, Kristýna Carrera, Petr Konrád, Karel Künzel, Václav Papež and Radoslav Sovják

Materials 2022, 15(1), 128; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15010128 - 24 Dec 2021

Viewed by 1836

Abstract

The efficiency of fibre reinforcement in concrete can be drastically increased by orienting the fibres using a magnetic field. This orientation occurs immediately after pouring fresh concrete when the fibres can still move. The technique is most relevant for manufacturing prefabricated elements such as beams or columns. However, the parameters of such a field are not immediately apparent, as they depend on the specific fibre reaction to the magnetic field. In this study, a numerical model was created in ANSYS Maxwell to examine the mechanical torque acting on fibres placed in a magnetic field with varying parameters. The model consists of a single fibre placed between two Helmholtz coils. The simulations were verified with an experimental setup as well as theoretical relationships. Ten different fibre types, both straight and hook-ended, were examined. The developed model can be successfully used to study the behaviour of fibres in a magnetic field. The fibre size plays the most important role together with the magnetic saturation of the fibre material. Multiple fibres show significant interactions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Experiment and Computer Simulations with Concrete and Granular Materials)

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19 pages, 6046 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Understanding the Microstructure of Mortars for Cultural Heritage Using X-ray CT and MIP

by Valentina Brunello, Carmen Canevali, Cristina Corti, Tim De Kock, Laura Rampazzi, Sandro Recchia, Antonio Sansonetti, Cristina Tedeschi and Veerle Cnudde

Materials 2021, 14(20), 5939; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14205939 - 10 Oct 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2275

Abstract

In this study, the microstructure of mock-up mortar specimens for a historic environment, composed of different mixtures, was studied using mercury intrusion porosity (MIP) and microcomputed tomography (µCT), highlighting the advantages and drawbacks of both techniques. Porosity, sphericity, and pores size distribution were studied, evaluating changes according to mortar composition (aerial and hydraulic binders, quartz sand, and crushed limestone aggregate). The µCT results were rendered using 3D visualization software, which provides complementary information for the interpretation of the data obtained using 3D data-analysis software. Moreover, µCT contributes to the interpretation of MIP results of mortars. On the other hand, MIP showed significant ink-bottle effects in lime and cement mortars samples that should be taken into account when interpreting the results. Moreover, the MIP results highlighted how gypsum mortar samples display a porosity distribution that is best studied using this technique. This multi-analytical approach provides important insights into the interpretation of the porosimetric data obtained. This is crucial in the characterization of mortars and provides key information for the study of building materials and cultural heritage conservation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Experiment and Computer Simulations with Concrete and Granular Materials)

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