Development of mesoscopic model for concrete – A critical review

Abstract

Concrete is a heterogeneous, complex composite material. But it is treated as a homogenous material at a macroscopic level. The study of damage mechanisms governing the macroscopic performance of the compound material requires a multiphase model with an accurate description of the heterogeneity of the material. As a multiphase system, concrete can be modelled at two different levels: mesoscopic and microscopic levels. At the mesoscopic level, concrete is treated as a multiphase material consisting of three phases: coarse aggregate, mortar matrix, and interfacial transition zone (ITZ). In the case of microscopic level, mortar is again divided into cement paste and fine aggregate. Due to reduced computational requirements, mesoscale analysis is considered a more feasible option and has become a hot research area. The generation of accurate geometry is one of the significant challenges in developing a mesoscopic model. There are two approaches for generating the mesoscale geometry of concrete: the digital image-based method and the parameterization modelling method. A detailed study of these geometry generation approaches is the main focus of this review paper.