Analytical models for effective hydraulic sorptivity, diffusivity and conductivity of concrete with interfacial transition zone: Fid-Bau Portal

Analytical models for effective hydraulic sorptivity, diffusivity and conductivity of concrete with interfacial transition zone

Baji, Hassan / Yang, Wei / Li, Chun-Qing / Shi, Wenhai

Abstract

Highlights • Analytical models to evaluate hydraulic properties of concrete with ITZ are proposed. • Hydraulic properties of concrete are related to properties of its basic constituents. • The proposed models extricate the need for complex FE analysis at meso-scale level. • The proposed analytical models compare well with the experimental and FE results. • Change of ITZ properties influences the conductivity more than the sorptivity.

Abstract This paper presents analytical models for evaluating effective hydraulic conductivity, diffusivity and sorptivity of concrete considering the properties of the Interfacial Transition Zone (ITZ) and the aggregate size distribution. Results of the proposed models compare well with the experimental results and those obtained from rigorous numerical Finite Element (FE) analysis. It is also found that a change of Interfacial Transition Zone (ITZ) properties has more influence on the effective hydraulic conductivity than it has on the effective hydraulic sorptivity. The significance of the proposed models is that they can estimate the hydraulic sorptivity and diffusivity of concrete by only knowing the hydraulic properties of mortar, effectively extricating the need for sophisticated and time-consuming FE analysis required for estimation of the effective hydraulic conductivity of concrete at the meso-scale. Furthermore, these models offer scientific insight into the effect of different components of concrete on its effective hydraulic properties.