Particle Based Study of Strength, Size Effect and

Permeability of Concrete
PhD. Registration Seminar
by

Subha Ghosh
(14CE91R12)

Under the guidance of

Dr. Arghya Deb and Prof. Nirjhar Dhang

Department of Civil Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

Introduction
Concrete is a heterogeneous material in the micro or meso scales.
Phenomenological approach is based on average properties.
Inadequate for studying meso structural processes that lead to
fracture and failure.
Hydration in concrete is a meso (micro) level process. Hence a
particle based approach is appropriate.

[Li (2011)]

Introduction
The hydration process as well as details of the meso geometry
influence the pore structure of hardened concrete.
Permeability of concrete specimens depend on the pore structure.
Hence, a particle based approach is most appropriate for this
analysis. The Discrete Element Method (DEM), which models
interaction between discrete particles, will therefore be used for the
study.

[Li (2011)]

LITERATURE REVIEW

Experimental Approach
Kaplan (1959)
Strength variation of concrete in flexure and compression depends
on shape, surface texture and modulus of elasticity of aggregates.
Alexander et al. (1989)
Aggregate shape affects the strength of concrete by influencing
the extent of micro-cracking and crack branching.
Cho et al. (2006)
Shape of the particles have to be accounted for in discrete
assemblies in order to obtain realistic values of packing density,
stiffness and strength.
5

Experimental Approach
Issa et al. (2000)
Fracture energy of the specimen increases with the size of the
aggregate.
Rao and Raghu Prasad (2011)
Interface angularity and the roughness of the aggregate have a
prominent effect on bond strength of both Mode I (tensile
opening) and Mode II (in-plane shear) fracture. Ductility
increases with the roughness of the aggregate surfaces.

Numerical Approach: Lattice Model

Schlangen and Garboczi (1997)
Study used beam lattice elements. Lattice elements were assigned
properties based on image analysis of the original sample.
Proposed a new fracture law based on principal tensile stress at
lattice points.

[Lilliu (2003)]

Numerical Approach: Lattice Model

van Mier et al. (2002)
Weibull distribution is more appropriate than Gaussian
distribution for assigning random strength values in beam lattice.
Fracture mechanism and crack growth in uniaxial tension was
studied.
Man and Van Mier (2011)
Size effect study on concrete prisms subjected to three-point
bending test using lattice beam elements.
Lattice beams were assigned material properties based on CT
scans of the specimens.

Numerical Approach: Discrete Element Method

Cundall (1988)
First paper on 3D discrete elements. Algorithm for contact between
arbitrary shaped blocks was developed.

3D rock mechanics problems were modelled.

Hentz et al. (2004)
Concrete structure subjected to dynamic loading was modelled
using spherical discrete elements.
Used a best fit hypothesis (Liao, 1997) to calibrate meso level
material properties for spherical particles based on known macro
elastic constants.
9

Numerical Approach: Discrete Element Method

Chang and Chen (2008)

Explicit contact detection algorithm was developed for polyhedral

particles based on non-iterative method to compute the common
plane.
Faster and more accurate than the implicit method.
Camborde et al. (2000)
First paper on 3D discrete element models for concrete. Used
spheres of varying radius to model aggregates.

10

Numerical Approach: Discrete Element Method

Zhang et al. (2013)

Modelled 3D aggregates of different shapes and sizes by

clumping spherical balls using PFC3D commercial software.
Triaxial compression test of asphalt mix was modelled.

Dandapat (2015)
Randomly shaped aggregates with prescribed angularity and
flakiness values.

Computationally efficient contact detection algorithm for

detecting contact between arbitrary shaped particles.
Elastic calibration method developed for specimen with arbitrary
shaped particles.
11

Hydration Models for Concrete

Gawin and Schrefler (1995)

Developed a fully coupled formulation involving flow of heat,

water and gas in deformable porous media.
Macroscopic balance equation for different phases was obtained
using averaging procedure of Hassanizadeh and Gray (1979).
Gawin et al. (2006)
Model of hygro-thermal and hydration phenomenon in concrete.
The balance equations and the compatibility equations were
expressed in terms of gas pressure pg, capillary pressure pc,
temperature T and the displacement vector of the solid matrix u.
12

Hydration Models for Concrete

Sadouki and van Mier (1997)
Modelled mass and heat transfer through concrete using the
lattice element approach.
Lattice points were placed randomly and beams were assigned
areas based on the Fuller curve particle gradation.
Oh and Cha (2001)
Degree of hydration assumed to depend on the equivalent
maturity age, temperature, w/c ratio and the distribution of pore
water.
Pore size distribution was obtained using the HYMOSTRUC
model (Breugel, 1991).
13

Hydration Models for Concrete

Srivastava et al. (2014)

Modelled the transport phenomena through a porous medium

accounting for the two-way dynamic coupling between fluid and
solid deformable particles.
Delaunay triangulation was used for finite element mesh
generation as well as to detect contact between the particles.

14

Permeability Models for Concrete

Mehta and Manmohan (1980)
Express the permeability in terms of factors like degree of
hydration, water cement ratio, pore size etc. Pore size
distribution was determined experimentally.
Liu and Winslow (1986)

Used mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) to measure the pore

size distribution in concrete.

15

Permeability Models for Concrete

Ye et al. (2006)
The pore structure was generated using HYMOSTRUC (van
Breugel, 1991).
Capillary connectivity of the porous media was obtained by
applying a serial sectioning algorithm.
Huang et al. (2015)
Derived the moisture transport properties of concrete based on a
pore size distribution that followed the Rayleigh-Ritz probability
distribution.

16

Permeability Models for Concrete

Nghi (2015)
Proposed a modeling procedure for cement paste that allows
determination of pore characteristics, permeability and tensile
damage behaviour numerically.
Extended Integrated Particle Kinetics Method (XIPKM) was
developed to model hydration of the cement grains.

Double-Random Multiple Tree Structuring (DRaMuTS)

algorithm was then employed to determine the pore size
distribution and the pore structure.

17

Critical Observations on Existing Research

Discrete element studies have mostly treated the aggregates as
spherical particles.
Beam lattice model based studies on the other hand, do not model
the actual aggregate geometry.

Dandapat generated packed assemblies comprising arbitrary

polyhedral particles in rectangular specimens of various sizes.
The meso level random strength and fracture properties was
based on Weibull distribution.
The variation of degree of hydration and temperature of curing
throughout the specimen was not considered.

Pore structure of cement paste was generated, but did not account
for the presence of aggregate which can affect pore structure.
18

Objectives of the Current Research

Study the influence of meso structure on strength, size effect and
mode of failure of concrete cylindrical specimens.

Study the interaction of meso structure and confining pressure on

the strength gain in cylindrical specimens.
Model the hydration process at the meso level to determine more
realistic values of meso level strength and fracture properties.
Couple information on distribution of hydration products
obtained on solution of the hydration model, with available
information on meso geometric features in the DEM model, to
obtain a permeability map of the interior of the concrete
specimen.
19

Scope of the Work

To modify the existing DEM code to enable study of the
influence of meso structure on concrete cylindrical specimens.
Simulate triaxial
confinement.

compression

test

to

study

effect

of

Model the coupled thermo-mechanical equations governing the

hydration of concrete at the meso level.
Couple meso geometric information available in the DEM
model with information on the degree of hydration to obtain a
map of the meso level permeability. Use the permeability
properties derived above to model fluid flow through concrete.
Validation of the model using existing experimental data.
20

METHODOLOGY

DEM MODELS FOR CYLINDRICAL

SPECIMENS

Contact Algorithm
Contact algorithm to detect contact between arbitrary shaped
particles and rigid cylindrical wall was implemented.
Contact tracking in a transformed (cylindrical system) resulted in
an efficient and computationally inexpensive tracking procedure.
Penetration was computed as :

A penalty stiffness to prevent the

=1

r is the radius of the cylinder

particles from penetrating the walls

of the cylinder was computed.

23

Elastic Calibration
Elastic calibration for cylinder specimen is done by equating
macro strain energy with the meso strain energy: =

=
=1

Total number of contacts =N

=1

a and b are the correction factor for initial guess of kn and ks.
Displacement based tests were performed on the specimen for
improved accuracy unlike Dandapat where load based tests were
performed.
The equations are formed and solved for a and b by least square
technique for three distinct loadings corresponding to very
different stress states.
24

STUDYING THE RESPONSE OF

CONFINED AND WEAKLY CONFINED

CONCRETE

Confinement Model
Aggregates at the periphery of the cylindrical surface are
identified.
Based on the location of the identified aggregates, average
radius of the specimen is computed.

Confinement may be active or passive confinement.

In case of active confinement, constant pressure is directly
applied on the peripheral particles.

For passive confinement, confining pressure is computed based

on the lateral strain in the virtual cylindrical shell (FRP
wrap/FRP tube) upon axial loading.

26

Confinement Model

FRP confined concrete concrete will be

subjected to lateral confining pressure f :

2
=

The corresponding spring stiffness is found to be =

Force on the particles is determined using this spring stiffness.
Local rupture of FRP fabric occurs when hoop strain reaches a
maximum value.
This is modelled by deleting the corresponding contact springs.
27

MODELLING THE HYDRATION PROCESS

Local Averaging
Total volume of multiphase system is V and is
bounded by A.
phase has partial volume V.

RVE

[Hassanizadeh
and
Gray
(1979)]

Each representative volume element (RVE) have

volume dv and the position w.r.t. global coordinate
system is x. r is the position of microscopic volume
dvm. Constituents within dv is dv.

1
for

Phase distribution function: , =

0 for
, =

, =

, =

29

Local Averaging
Volume average

, =

, =

, =

Mass average , =

Area

average

, ,

, ,

RVE

[Hassanizadeh and Gray

(1979)]

1
, =

, . ,

30

Balance Equations
Microscopic balance equation for a thermodynamic variable is
given by:

+ div div =
t
where, i = flux vector, b = external supply, G = net production
Macroscopic balance equation is obtained by averaging each term
of the microscopic balance equation over the elementary volume dv
and then integrating over the total volume V.
Using Reynolds Transport Theorem:

1
=

.
31

Transition from Micro to Macro Level

Using Divergence Theorem:

div

Mass averaged velocity:

1

=
, , ,

Deviation of a quantity from mass-averaged quantity of constituent
:

, , = , ,
32

Transition from Micro to Macro level

Averaging procedure gives:

+
t

div

div

1
(1)
=


The first term of Eq.(1) is rewritten using Reynolds transport theorem:
1

=

t

.
33

Transition from Micro to Macro level

The second term of Eq. (1) gives,

div

. +

. =

+ v+v

v . =

div v = 0

+ v+v

v .

34

Macro Balance Equation

The third term of Eq. (1) gives:

div

Putting all these in Eq. (1):

+ div

v .

35

Macro Balance Equation

Writing in a concise form we get,

+ div div

+ +

Exchange of due to mechanical interaction in constituents

Averaged macroscopic flux,

1
=

Phase change of a constituent or mass exchange,

.
36

Mass Balance
Final differential form of balance equation in macroscopic level,

+ div div

+ + =

Volume fraction of constituents are (w.r.t. porosity n):

Solid phase: = 1
+ = 1
Water phase: =
Gas phase: =
Mass balance in solid phase: Microscopic
= 1, = 0, = 0, = 0


+ div = 0
+ div div =
t
t
Macroscopic
= 1, = 0, b = 0, = 0, G = 0, = = mass source

+ div v =
t
1

+ div 1 v =
t
37

Mass and Momentum Balance

Mass balance in liquid phase

+ div v =

Mass balance in gas phase: dry air

+ div v = 0

Mass balance in gas phase: vapour

+ div v = 0

t
= (diffusive) + (advective)

Linear Momentum Balance: Microscopic

+ div div =

Macroscopic

= , = , = , =

div + =

= v , = , b = g , = , G =

div + g a + + =

38

Enthalpy Balance
Enthalpy Balance: Macroscopic
= E + 0.5v . v , . = . . , b = + g . v ,
= . v + , G = 0


= : + div +

= +
Specific Enthalpy, H = E + p /
Specific

Heat,

39

Constitutive Relations
Diffusivedispersive mass flux (Ficks Law):

grad

= , = diffusing phase

Ideal gas law in molar form:

, =

absolute temperature

Darcys Law for permeability:

v

grad + , = permeability tensor

Fouriers Law for heat flux:

= grad , = effective thermal conductivity tensor
For solid phase effective stress:
= + , = Biot s constant
40

Final Coupled Equations

Applying constitutive relations final form of mass balance of dry air:

w
ga
ga
ga

s 1 1 w
+ 1 w div
c

ga
rg

a
w
ga
ga
g
g
div g

grad
+
div

grad
+

d
2
g
g

g
ga ga c ga g
ga
+ 1 w
+
+
= s 1 w hydr
c
g

Applying constitutive relations final form of mass balance of vapour:

c

w
gw
gw
gw

+ 1 w div
s
1 1 w
c

gw
rg

a
w
gw
div g

+ div gw g gradg + g
d grad g
2

g
gw gw c
gw
+ 1 w
+
= s 1 w hydr + vap
c

41

Final Coupled Equations

From the mass balance of liquid phase,
vap

w
= w w div
+ w 1 s + w w
w c

rw
w
s

w
div w w gradg + gradc + w + hydr

Linear momentum conservation for multi-phase medium

se
s
1 s + w w + 1 w g
div

+
=0

Gas pressure pg, capillary pressure pc, temperature T and the

displacement vector of the solid matrix u.
42

Final Coupled Equations

Enthalpy balance equation for multi-phase medium
rw

g
c
w
eff
+ w w
grad
+
grad
+

. grad
w

rg

g
g + g . grad div grad
+ g
grad
eff
g
= vap vap + hydr hydr

Hydration evolution is expressed as,

dhydr
a
= hydr exp
d

hydr = Normalized affinity

hydr

= Hydration activation energy

dhydr
=

= final value of mass of hydrated water

43

Outline of Modelling Procedure

By solving the hydration equation in each RVE, the heat evolved
during hydration at each time step can be found.
Each contact point will then be regarded as a point heat source and
a global heat conduction equation will be solved.
The entire domain will be tessellated using Delaunay triangulation,
with the contact points being the nodes of the tetrahedrons.
Degree of hydration at each interface will be found. Interface
strength and fracture properties at an interface is then determined
using the known values of the degree of hydration.

44

MODELLING PERMEABILITY AND

FLUID FLOW

HYMOSTRUC Model
Cement hydration will be modelled using HYMOSTRUC model
(van Breugel, 1991).
HYMOSTRUC model assumes that:

Particles of the same fraction hydrate at same rate.

The ratio between the volume of the gel and that of the reactant is
assumed as constant throughout the hydration process.
The reaction products precipitate near the original cement
particles.

46

Pore Connectivity
For a known distribution of hydration products, a pore structure

is generated.

Ye et al. (2003)

Connectivity of pore SLni with pore SL(n+1)j is detected by serial

sectioning algorithm and overlapping criteria.
The effective hydraulic conductivity can be expressed as =

128

47

Outline of Permeability Model

Average discharge is Q, Length of sample in direction of flow is L,
Cross section of sample is A. Pressure drop across pore network P.
Applying Hagen Poiseuille equation =

A database will be generated for permeability model based on

different input parameters (curing period, temperature and w/c ratio).

An efficient search algorithm will be developed to extract from the
data base the value of permeability at each contact point, using the
known values of temperature and degree of hydration at the point,
obtained using the hardening model.
48

RESULTS OBTAINED SO FAR

Validation of DEM Model for Cylindrical Specimen

RILEM experiment
Size Range
Quantity
(mm)
(kg/m3)
8-4
540
4-2
363
2-1
272
272
1-0.5
234
0.5-0.25
127
0.25-0.125

DEM Model
Size Range
Quantity
(mm)
(kg/m3)
8-6
270
6-4
270
4-3
181.5

Rilem Technical Committee 148-SSC (1997). THD (Technische

Hochschule Darmstadt, Institut fr Massivbau, Darmstadt, Germany)
Angularity and flakiness ranges are chosen to be 0.95-1.85 and 1.02.6 respectively (Dandapat, 2015).

50

DEM Cylinder Details

Specimen Dia. (mm) Ht. (mm)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100

100
100
100
50
50
50
200
200
200

NRb

Nc

Aavg (m2)

50579
50635
50710
25224
25222
25273
101158
101270
101420

1211472
1209072
1218480
585533
589027
575254
2422944
2418144
2436960

48.3
48.1
48.4
47.1
47.4
46.3
48.3
48.1
48.4

3.357E-6
3.113E-6
3.264E-6
3.390E-6
3.789E-6
3.367E-6
3.357E-6
3.113E-6
3.264E-6

NRb is number of aggregates, Nc is number of contacts, is the average

number of contacts per aggregate and Aavg is the average contact area per
contact
51

Generated Specimens
Database comprising 400,000 particles of
varying angularity and flakiness
[Dandapat (2015)]

100 mm

100 mm
100 mm
100
mm

50
mm

Specimen 4
(25224)

200
mm

Specimen 1
(50579)

Specimen 7
(101158)(unit cell)

52

Kinetic Energy Evolution for Packing under Gravity

53

Contact Distribution
Histogram
for
distribution
of normal
contact gap
Specimen 1

Specimen 2

Specimen 3

Histogram
for
distribution
of contacts
per particle

Specimen 1

Specimen 2

Specimen 3
54

Contact Distribution: Statistically Isotropic

Average contact gap/penetration at different sections along height of

Specimen 1, 2 & 3

55

Uniaxial Compression Test: Calibration

Comparison of axial stress vs. axial strain curve with the RILEM
(THD) (1997) uniaxial compression test results for Specimen 1

56

Uniaxial Tension Test: Calibration

Comparison of tensile stress vs. tensile strain with the uniaxial

tension test by van Vliet and van Mier (2000) for Specimen 1
57

Size Effect Study

Comparison of stress strain behaviour under uniaxial compression for

concrete specimens with different specimen heights (RILEM Experiment)
58

Crack Pattern: Uniaxial Compression

(a)

(b)

(c)

(a) Damage distribution, (b) Normal gap (m)

distribution, and (c) Slip (m) distribution along
cross section parallel to x-z plane at specimen
center at peak load (axial = 57.9 MPa, axial =
3.69())

59

Crack Pattern: Uniaxial Compression

(a)

(b)

(c)

(a) Damage distribution, (b) Normal gap (m)

distribution, and (c) Slip (m) distribution along
cross section parallel to x-z plane at specimen
center at post-peak (axial = 48.73 MPa, axial =
5.80())

60

Crack Pattern: Uniaxial Tension

(a)

(b)

(a) Damage distribution, and (b) Crack

opening (m) along cross section parallel to x-z
plane at specimen center at peak load for
uniaxial tension.

61

Summary of Work Done

The existing DEM code capability has been enhanced to model
the cylindrical specimens.

The stress strain curves of the calibrated model are seen to

match the experimental curves well.
The calibrated meso material properties were used to model
cylinders of varying sizes.
Models are seen to be able to capture the size affect, and yield
realistic macro cracking and failure patterns.

62

Summary of Work Plan

The effect of change in meso geometric and meso material
properties on macro response in uniaxial compression and
triaxial compression (active and passive confinement)
Incorporating the hydration model in the existing DEM
framework
Using the results of the hydration model to obtain (a) more
realistic values of the interface properties (b) capillary pore size
distribution (c) capillary pore network in the DEM model.

63

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