The microstructure of the Interfacial Transition Zone (ITZ) between the aggregates and the cement paste is characterized by a higher porosity than that of the bulk paste. The particular properties of this zone strongly influence the mechanical behavior of concrete. Microscopic cracks, which develop during subsequent loading, appear either in the matrix (cement paste or mortar) or along the cement-aggregates interface. Cracks could be caused by either tensile, shear strengths or by combinations of both. In this work, the mechanical properties of the cement paste-aggregate sample are experimentally studied. The experimental tests are performed on parallelepipedic samples at classical aggregate scale (one centimeter sections). These samples are composed of limestone aggregates and Portland cement paste, hereafter named ''composite". The cement paste is prepared with a water/cement ratio of 0.5. The shape of the prepared composites makes them convenient for direct tensile and shear tests. At different stages of hydration, we performed direct tensile and shear tests on the composites by means of specific devices. The same tests were carried out on the cement paste in order to compare with the composite results. The analysis of the experimental results showed that the tensile strength of the cement-aggregate interface was about 30% lower than that of the cement paste tensile strength. Also, the shear strength of the cement-aggregate interface was smaller than the shear strength of the cement paste. In the same way as macroscopic Mohr-Coulomb criterion, we observed an increase of shear strength when normal stress increased. It provides access to a local cohesion (c) and a local friction angle ðUÞ at classical aggregate scale.

In this article, a phenomenological numerical model of bone remodeling is proposed. This model is based on the poroelasticity theory in order to take into account the effects of fluid movements in bone adaptation. Moreover, the proposed remodeling law is based on the classical 'Stanford' law, enriched in order to take into account the loading frequency, through fluid movements. This coupling is materialized by a quadratic function of Darcy velocity. The numerical model is carried out, using a finite element method, and calibrated using experimental results at macroscopic level, from the literature. First results concern cyclic loadings on a mouse ulna, at different frequencies between 1 Hz and 30 Hz, for a force amplitude of 1.5 N and 2 N. Experimental results exhibit a sensitivity to the loading frequency, with privileged frequency for bone remodeling between 5 Hz and 10 Hz, for the force amplitude of 2 N. For the force amplitude of 1.5 N, no privileged frequencies for bone remodeling are highlighted. This tendency is reproduced by the proposed numerical computations. The model is identified on a single case (one frequency and one force amplitude) and validated on the other ones. The second experimental validation deals with a different loading regime, an internal fluid pressure at 20 Hz on a turkey ulna. The same framework is applied, and the numerical and experimental data are still matching in terms of gain in bone mass density.

Bone is a complex system, and could be modeled as a poroelastic media. The aim of this paper is to identify the macroscopic value of the cortical bone permeability coefficient. A simple experimental method was designed in order to determine the permeability coefficient. Two bone samples taken from different ox femurs were filled with water, to place them under internal pressure. The measurements gave both the fluid flow through the lateral surfaces and the internal pressure. The originality of this work is the coupling between an experimental process and a structural computation performed with a finite element method. The mean cortical bone permeability coefficient identified was about k=1.1x10(-13)m(2). This value tends to confirm other values found in the literature, obtained by different methods and often at macroscopic scale. It confirms also the domination of vascular permeability (Haversian and Volkmann's canals).