This work combines experimental and numerical investigations to study the mechanical degradation of self‐compacting concrete under accelerated aging conditions. Four different experimental treatments are tested among them constant immersion and immersion‐drying protocols allow an efficient external sulfate attack of the material. Significant damage is observed due to interfacial ettringite. A predictive analysis is then adopted to quantify the relationship between ettringite growth and mechanical damage evolution during aging. Typical 3D microstructures representing the cement paste‐aggregate structures are generated using Monte Carlo scheme. These images are converted into a finite element model to predict the mechanical performance under different criteria of damage kinetics. The effect of ettringite is then associated to the development of an interphase of lower mechanical properties. Our results show that the observed time evolution of Young's modulus is best described by a linear increase of the interphase content. Our model results indicate also that the interphase regions grow at maximum stress regions rather than exclusively at interfaces. Finally, constant immersion predicts a rate of damage growth five times lower than that of immersion‐drying protocol.
The purpose of this paper is to study the durability of concrete reinforced with hemp fibers in the face of external Sulfatic attack. For this purpose, five types of concrete were formulated; three types of concrete reinforced with hemp fibers (HC-0.25, HC-0.5, and HC-1) at 0.25%, 0.5%, and 1 % of hemp fibers in volume, respectively. And two control concretes, being ordinary concrete (OC) and polypropylene fiber reinforced concrete (PC). To assess the sulfatic attacks, the described concrete types underwent two aging protocols: 1) a complete immersion in 12.5 % Sodium Sulfate (Na2SO4) solution, and 2) an accelerated aging protocol consisting of immersion/drying in the same sulfate solution at a temperature of 60°C. The results show that concrete reinforced with 0.25 % of hemp fibers is the optimal amount compared to control concretes in terms of physico-mechanical performance and durability under sulfate attack. This number of fibers could enable the production of green and durable structural concretes based on untreated hemp fibers.
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