Numerical Investigation of Aggregates Size and Volume Fraction on Gas Permeability of 3D Meso-Scale Concrete

Abstract

In this paper, the influence of aggregate size and volume fraction on the permeability properties of meso-scale concrete is investigated. Three volume fractions of aggregates are investigated, varying from 10, 20 and 30 %. Furthermore, three aggregate sizes are examined, 10, 14, and 16 mm. In this work, numerical results provide some indications: increasing volume fraction leads to increased fracture energy, tensile stress, and crack opening. The results show that increasing crack width and decreasing volume fraction lead to an increase in gas permeability.

Keywords

• tensile splitting test; meso-scale modelling; weak discontinuity; strong discontinuity; finite element method; gas permeability