Tensile Fracture Property of Concrete Affected by Interfacial Transition Zone

Abstract As a weak link between aggregate and mortar in concrete, interfacial transition zone (ITZ) usually plays a key role in concrete fracture. To investigate the tensile fracture property of concrete affected by the mechanical properties of ITZ numerically, the geometrical models of heterogeneou...

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Main Authors: Heli Ji, Xinhua Yang, Zuyun Luo, Fan Bai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2023-01-01
Series:International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s40069-022-00564-2
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author Heli Ji
Xinhua Yang
Zuyun Luo
Fan Bai
author_facet Heli Ji
Xinhua Yang
Zuyun Luo
Fan Bai
author_sort Heli Ji
collection DOAJ
description Abstract As a weak link between aggregate and mortar in concrete, interfacial transition zone (ITZ) usually plays a key role in concrete fracture. To investigate the tensile fracture property of concrete affected by the mechanical properties of ITZ numerically, the geometrical models of heterogeneous concrete were established with the parameterization modeling. They include three phases, namely, mortar, ITZ, and randomly distributed aggregates with distinct sizes and orientations. The cracking behaviors of mortar and ITZ were characterized by the bilinear cohesive zone constitutive model. Based on the experiments, the mechanical properties of ITZ were mediated by changing the water–cement ratio of mortar, the aggregate surface roughness and the content of silica fume in interfacial agent. A series of numerical simulations were conducted on the concrete models in tension after the numerical modeling method was validated. The macroscopic tensile fracture properties of concrete were quantitatively connected with some microscopic variables, including the water–cement ratio of mortar, the aggregate surface roughness and the silica fume content in interfacial agent. It was found that the tensile fracture properties of concrete have negative linear correlations with the water–cement ratio of mortar, while the effects of the aggregate surface roughness and the silica fume content in interfacial agent are very complex. The tensile fracture mechanical properties of concrete have a bilinear relationship with the aggregate surface roughness and an approximate quadratic parabola relationship with the content of silica fume in the interfacial agent. This study is beneficial to improve the fracture resistance of concrete by some interface handling measures.
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spelling doaj.art-9e3b7d73e7a44ba39356786b4a6ad9d52023-01-15T12:07:17ZengSpringerOpenInternational Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials2234-13152023-01-0117111410.1186/s40069-022-00564-2Tensile Fracture Property of Concrete Affected by Interfacial Transition ZoneHeli Ji0Xinhua Yang1Zuyun Luo2Fan Bai3School of Aerospace Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologySchool of Transportation, Civil Engineering and Architecture, Foshan UniversitySchool of Aerospace Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyCollege of Science, Wuhan University of Science and TechnologyAbstract As a weak link between aggregate and mortar in concrete, interfacial transition zone (ITZ) usually plays a key role in concrete fracture. To investigate the tensile fracture property of concrete affected by the mechanical properties of ITZ numerically, the geometrical models of heterogeneous concrete were established with the parameterization modeling. They include three phases, namely, mortar, ITZ, and randomly distributed aggregates with distinct sizes and orientations. The cracking behaviors of mortar and ITZ were characterized by the bilinear cohesive zone constitutive model. Based on the experiments, the mechanical properties of ITZ were mediated by changing the water–cement ratio of mortar, the aggregate surface roughness and the content of silica fume in interfacial agent. A series of numerical simulations were conducted on the concrete models in tension after the numerical modeling method was validated. The macroscopic tensile fracture properties of concrete were quantitatively connected with some microscopic variables, including the water–cement ratio of mortar, the aggregate surface roughness and the silica fume content in interfacial agent. It was found that the tensile fracture properties of concrete have negative linear correlations with the water–cement ratio of mortar, while the effects of the aggregate surface roughness and the silica fume content in interfacial agent are very complex. The tensile fracture mechanical properties of concrete have a bilinear relationship with the aggregate surface roughness and an approximate quadratic parabola relationship with the content of silica fume in the interfacial agent. This study is beneficial to improve the fracture resistance of concrete by some interface handling measures.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40069-022-00564-2ConcreteInterfacial transition zoneParameterization modelingFracture property
spellingShingle Heli Ji
Xinhua Yang
Zuyun Luo
Fan Bai
Tensile Fracture Property of Concrete Affected by Interfacial Transition Zone
International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
Concrete
Interfacial transition zone
Parameterization modeling
Fracture property
title Tensile Fracture Property of Concrete Affected by Interfacial Transition Zone
title_full Tensile Fracture Property of Concrete Affected by Interfacial Transition Zone
title_fullStr Tensile Fracture Property of Concrete Affected by Interfacial Transition Zone
title_full_unstemmed Tensile Fracture Property of Concrete Affected by Interfacial Transition Zone
title_short Tensile Fracture Property of Concrete Affected by Interfacial Transition Zone
title_sort tensile fracture property of concrete affected by interfacial transition zone
topic Concrete
Interfacial transition zone
Parameterization modeling
Fracture property
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s40069-022-00564-2
work_keys_str_mv AT heliji tensilefracturepropertyofconcreteaffectedbyinterfacialtransitionzone
AT xinhuayang tensilefracturepropertyofconcreteaffectedbyinterfacialtransitionzone
AT zuyunluo tensilefracturepropertyofconcreteaffectedbyinterfacialtransitionzone
AT fanbai tensilefracturepropertyofconcreteaffectedbyinterfacialtransitionzone