Multiscale Homogenization Scheme For Transport Phenomena In Cement-Based Composites Under Self-Healing Conditions

CAGGIANO, A.; FOLINO, P., ; KOENDERS, E.A.B., ; LÓPEZ RIVAROLA, F., ; SAID SCHICCHI, D. AND ; ETSE, G.,

Conferencia; Materials Science and Engineering ? MSE 2018; 2018

Accurate evaluations and predictions of the responsive behavior of cohesive-frictional materialssuch as cementitious mortars, soils, rocks or concretes, require a multi-physical and/or multi-scaleapproach. Various scale-levels are required to account for the different mechanisms that control the complexcoupled behaviour at different levels of detail. The overall characteristics of these materials stronglydepend on processes that are occurring at different length scales, i.e. mostly reflecting the macro, mesoand micro-scale levels. Among the different multi-scale schemes, most commonly used once are thosethat are based on a homogenization procedures, to account for their versatility. In this research, a consistenthomogenized multiscale approach is proposed for modeling transport phenomena under self-healingconditions. This mechanism is approached through a most basic healing process in which a delayedhydration of the micro-scale particle fractions is accounted for through RVEs, which may be initiatedby transport mechanisms and/or crack initiations. Cracks may trigger the self-healing mechanism byexposing re-hydrating surfaces to precursors, moisture or other activators inside the composite, hence, adelayed hydration of anhydrous particle fractions inside the composite may take place, while closing thecrack.