Mesoscopic packing of disk-like building blocks in calcium silicate hydrate
Author(s)
Yu, Zechuan; Zhou, Ao; Lau, Denvid![Thumbnail](/bitstream/handle/1721.1/109468/Mesoscopic%20packing.pdf.jpg?sequence=4&isAllowed=y)
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At 100-nanometer length scale, the mesoscopic structure of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) plays a critical role in determining the macroscopic material properties, such as porosity. In order to explore the mesoscopic structure of C-S-H, we employ two effective techniques, nanoindentation test and molecular dynamics simulation. Grid nanoindentation tests find different porosity of C-S-H in cement paste specimens prepared at varied water-to-cement (w/c) ratios. The w/c-ratio-induced porosity difference can be ascribed to the aspect ratio (diameter-to-thickness ratio) of disk-like C-S-H building blocks. The molecular dynamics simulation, with a mesoscopic C-S-H model, reveals 3 typical packing patterns and relates the packing density to the aspect ratio. Illustrated with disk-like C-S-H building blocks, this study provides a description of C-S-H structures in complement to spherical-particle C-S-H models at the sub-micron scale.
Date issued
2016-11Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringJournal
Scientific Reports
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Citation
Yu, Zechuan, Ao Zhou, and Denvid Lau. “Mesoscopic Packing of Disk-Like Building Blocks in Calcium Silicate Hydrate.” Scientific Reports 6, no. 1 (November 15, 2016).
Version: Final published version
ISSN
2045-2322