Abstract
This work focused on reflecting the substituting ratio of fine aggregate in an aggregate simulation. The existing simulation studies showed superior performance on generating the particles; however, the studies did not and could not reflect the substituting ratio of fine aggregate. Therefore, a statistical approach with the Monte Carlo simulation method was tried to improve the lacking part. According to the fitting of the distributions, the Cauchy distribution was best for the natural sand and the log-normal distribution was best for the substituting materials. The chosen two distributions were mixed and applied, using the Monte Carlo method with the mixed model, rather than the existing particle generation formula of the simulation. The substitution ratio was considered to be 0, 30, 50, 70, 100%. The fraction of small particles was gradually increased by the substituting ratio. As a result, the simulated particle distribution reflected well the statistical model. In addition, the simulation was almost the same as that of real particle distribution, according to the CT scanning.
Highlights
The materials used for cement composites are changing rapidly
This study focused on the PSD of aggregate and the PSD was established using the statistical approach with the MC method
This study was focused on reflecting the substitution ratio of fine aggregate in the aggregate simulation, using a statistical approach with the MC method, to find the best distribution in the data and fitting the best distribution
Summary
The materials used for cement composites are changing rapidly. In particular, the fine and coarse aggregates are using other materials instead of natural materials, because these natural resources are running out, according to the rapid development of cities and buildings [1]. Woo et al [11] used silicon carbide as substituting material to fine aggregate, with a replacing ratio of 0, 30, 50, 70, and 100%. Kim et al [9] used phase change material in the slag-based lightweight coarse aggregate, to improve the insulating performance of cement composites. Sustainability 2022, 14, 1644 focused on using alternative aggregates that were substituted to a maximum of 100% of the natural aggregate fraction. Wang et al [20] simulated the mesoscale fracture of concrete with randomly generated coarse aggregate using the MC method. The trend of experimental studies and practical application on aggregate is rapidly changing; a simulation study on reflecting the substitution of aggregate should be carried out. The PSD data include the PSD of natural sand and the PSD of other substituting materials
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