Experimental and numerical investigations of the fatigue behavior of ultra-high performance concrete

Abstract

This contribution deals with preliminary experimental and numerical results on the fatigue behavior of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC). For this purpose, a set of experimental investigations has been performed on samples of UHPC, pure aggregate and binder. In order to obtain structural changes in detail, UHPC samples were examined using scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) and tomography. For numerical investigations of the mechanical behavior of UHPC, the bonded-particle model (BPM) has been used and calibrated with experimental data. Additionally, to maintain realistic non-spherical shape of the aggregates, micro-CT analysis was used for the mesoscopic model. Furthermore, a rheological model for cement bonds was proposed to capture a plastic deformation for prospective fatigue simulations.