Modeling of Cementitious Representative Volume Element with Additives

2017 ◽  
Vol 08 (02) ◽  
pp. 1750003 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. Shahzamanian ◽  
W. J. Basirun
Keyword(s):  
Finite Element ◽  
Fly Ash ◽  
Boundary Conditions ◽  
Elastic Properties ◽  
Representative Volume Element ◽  
Volume Element ◽  
Type I ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Representative Volume ◽  
Mesh Density

CEMHYD3D has been employed to simulate the representative volume element (RVE) of cementitious systems (Type I cement) containing fly ash (Class F) through a voxel-based finite element analysis (FEA) approach. Three-dimensional microstructures composed of voxels are generated for a heterogeneous cementitious material consisting of various constituent phases. The primary focus is to simulate a cementitious RVE containing fly ash and to present the homogenized macromechanical properties obtained from its analysis. Simple kinematic uniform boundary conditions as well as periodic boundary conditions were imposed on the RVE to obtain the principal and shear moduli. Our current work considers the effect of fly ash percentage on the elastic properties based on the mass and volume replacements. RVEs with lengths of 50, 100 and 200[Formula: see text][Formula: see text] at different degrees of hydration are generated, and the elastic properties are modeled and simulated. In general, the elastic properties of a cementitious RVE with fly ash replacement for cement based on mass and volume differ from each other. Moreover, the finite element (FE) mesh density effect is studied. Results indicate that mechanical properties decrease with increasing mesh density.

Representative Volume Element Based Modeling of Cementitious Materials

2013 ◽  
Vol 136 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. Shahzamanian ◽  
T. Tadepalli ◽  
A. M. Rajendran ◽  
W. D. Hodo ◽  
R. Mohan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Conditions ◽  
Elastic Properties ◽  
Representative Volume Element ◽  
Domain Size ◽  
Cementitious Materials ◽  
Volume Element ◽  
Type I ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Local Anisotropy ◽  
Representative Volume

The current work focuses on evaluation of the effective elastic properties of cementitious materials through a voxel based finite element analysis (FEA) approach. Voxels are generated for a heterogeneous cementitious material (type-I cement) consisting of typical volume fractions of various constituent phases from digital microstructures. The microstructure is modeled as a microscale representative volume element (RVE) in ABAQUS® to generate cubes several tens of microns in dimension and subjected to various prescribed deformation modes to generate the effective elastic tensor of the material. The RVE-calculated elastic properties such as moduli and Poisson's ratio are validated through an asymptotic expansion homogenization (AEH) and compared with rule of mixtures. Both periodic (PBC) and kinematic boundary conditions (KBC) are investigated to determine if the elastic properties are invariant due to boundary conditions. In addition, the method of “Windowing” was used to assess the randomness of the constituents and to validate how the isotropic elastic properties were determined. The average elastic properties obtained from the displacement based FEA of various locally anisotropic microsize cubes extracted from an RVE of size 100 × 100 × 100 μm showed that the overall RVE response was fully isotropic. The effects of domain size, degree of hydration (DOH), kinematic and periodic boundary conditions, domain sampling techniques, local anisotropy, particle size distribution (PSD), and random microstructure on elastic properties are studied.

Representative Volume Element for Mechanical Properties of Carbon Nanotube Nanocomposites Using Stochastic Finite Element Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyed Hamid Reza Sanei ◽  
Randall Doles
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Finite Element ◽  
Representative Volume Element ◽  
Volume Element ◽  
Length Scale ◽  
Stochastic Finite Element ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Representative Volume ◽  
Element Approach ◽  
Stochastic Finite Element Analysis

Abstract The aim of this study is to present a representative volume element (RVE) for nanocomposites with different microstructural features using a stochastic finite element approach. To that end, computer-simulated microstructures of nanocomposites were generated to include a variety of uncertainty present in geometry, orientation, and distribution of carbon nanotubes. Microstructures were converted into finite element models based on an image-based approach for the determination of elastic properties. For each microstructure type, 50 realizations of synthetic microstructures were generated to capture the variability as well as the average values. Computer-simulated microstructures were generated at different length scales to determine the change in mechanical properties as a function of length scale. A representative volume element is defined at a length scale beyond which no change in variability is observed. The results show that there is no universal RVE applicable to all properties and microstructures; however, the RVE size is highly dependent on microstructural features. Microstructures with agglomeration tend to require larger RVE. Similarly, random microstructures require larger RVE when compared with aligned microstructures.

scholarly journals Influence of Boundary Conditions on Numerical Homogenization of High Performance Concrete

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1009
Author(s):  
Arkadiusz Denisiewicz ◽  
Mieczysław Kuczma ◽  
Krzysztof Kula ◽  
Tomasz Socha
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Finite Element Method ◽  
Finite Element ◽  
Boundary Conditions ◽  
Representative Volume Element ◽  
High Performance ◽  
High Performance Concrete ◽  
Volume Element ◽  
Numerical Homogenization ◽  
Representative Volume

Concrete is the most widely used construction material nowadays. We are concerned with the computational modelling and laboratory testing of high-performance concrete (HPC). The idea of HPC is to enhance the functionality and sustainability of normal concrete, especially by its greater ductility as well as higher compressive, tensile, and flexural strengths. In this paper, the influence of three types (linear displacement, uniform traction, and periodic) of boundary conditions used in numerical homogenization on the calculated values of HPC properties is determined and compared with experimental data. We take into account the softening behavior of HPC due to the development of damage (micro-cracks), which finally leads to failure. The results of numerical simulations of the HPC samples were obtained by using the Abaqus package that we supplemented with our in-house finite element method (FEM) computer programs written in Python and the homogenization toolbox Homtools. This has allowed us to better account for the nonlinear response of concrete. In studying the microstructure of HPC, we considered a two-dimensional representative volume element using the finite element method. Because of the random character of the arrangement of concrete’s components, we utilized a stochastic method to generate the representative volume element (RVE) structure. Different constitutive models were used for the components of HPC: quartz sand—linear elastic, steel fibers—ideal elastic-plastic, and cement matrix—concrete damage plasticity. The numerical results obtained are compared with our own experimental data and those from the literature, and a good agreement can be observed.

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