Compressive strength prediction of nano-silica incorporated cement systems based on a multiscale approach

Abstract

Effect on strength characteristics of nano-engineered concrete when cement content is replaced with nano-silica at small replacement levels is analysed experimentally and numerically in this paper. The reactivity of nano-silica within the cement paste is quantified through investigating microstructural images of cement pastes. A multiscale finite element model based on quantification of microstructural image analysis is developed to predict the compressive strength of the nano-modified system. Representative Volume Elements (RVEs) of the cement/nano-silica systems are developed at three different length scales; for the micro-level, meso-level and macro-level. Experimental analyses conducted ..