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85-90(2014)
http://dx.doi.org/10.6493/SmartSci.2014.221
It has long been acknowledged that the behaviour of concrete is influenced by the properties of its constitutive materials. The
geometry of aggregates is believed to contribute to the strength and stress-strain relationship of concrete. However, advanced
studies are still required to quantify the effect of such factor in determining the behaviour of concrete. This research was aimed
at investigating the effect of aggregate shape and configuration on the stress-strain relationship of concrete. Four types of
specimens were investigated. There was one single coarse aggregate with different shape placed in the centre part of the
specimens. The specimens were subject to uni-axial compression and both the load and displacement were measured. The
experiments were conducted at the Structural and Material Laboratory of Diponegoro University in Semarang. The results
show that the specimen with a diamond shaped aggregate results in the lowest compressive strength. However, the initial tangent
stiffness of all specimens is almost identical up to 25% of its ultimate strength. Finite element analyses were carried out to study
stress distribution in the specimens. The results show that the stresses are concentrated at the corner of the aggregates. This
stress concentration initiates cracks at the Interfacial Transition Zone (ITZ) around the corner of the aggregates. The cracks then
propagate and spread to the mortar which then reduce the stiffness of the specimens.
Manuscript received: January 31, 2014 / Accepted: April 17, 2014
concluding that the behavior of both cement paste and aggregate are
brittle-linear with a reversible deformation up to limit, followed by
a sudden failure. Concrete on the other hand; demonstrates a quasiductile behavior with a progressive decrease in load bearing
capacity after the ultimate load has been reached. Scrivener [1]
concluded that this behavior originated from the development of
micro cracking in the Interfacial Transition Zone (ITZ) between
aggregates and mortar. This interface physical structure is highly
dependent on the cement hydration products, resulting in the
crystals C3S2H8 (Calcium Silicate Hydrate), CH (Calcium
NOMENCLATURE
E = Modulus of elasticity
fc = Concrete compression stress
fc = Concrete uniaxial cylindrical compression strength
ft = Concrete tensile stress
ftr = Concrete uniaxial tensile strength
= En-echelon flow angle
1, 2 = Principal strains
x,y, xy = Stresses in the global coordinate system
1,2, xy = Principal stresses
1. Theoretical Background
1.1 Stress Concentrations around Inclusions
Concrete is a heterogeneous material consisting of aggregates,
embedded in a cement-sand matrix. The mechanical properties are
influenced by the individual material properties and their interaction.
Aggregates exhibit a linear behavior up till failure, but the mortar
has a highly non-linear stress-strain relationship, even at low stress
levels. These phenomena have been confirmed by previous findings
concluding that the behavior of aggregate is brittle-linear with a
reversible deformation up to its limit, followed by a sudden failure.
These data confirmed the findings of former researchers
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are present but these cracks can only propagate when growing
external stresses are applied. The difference in stiffness and
Poissons ratio between adjacent materials, results in a
confinements at the top and bottom of the aggregate, creating a biaxial confinement (Fig. 1). The confined part has a conical form,
and shear stresses will occur at their boundaries, creating enechelon shear stresses and cracks [3].
Aggregate
12.73
171.1
0.21
Mortar
7.69
43.6
0.33
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2. Test Set Up
2.1 Mechanical properties of aggregate and mortar
The most important properties of the concrete-making materials
are the modulus of elasticity (E), Poissons ratio (), tensile strength
(ftr) and compression strength (fc). These properties are obtained
from laboratory tests results of specimens under uni-axial
compression. Mortar has an approximately similar stress-strain
relationship and mechanical behavior to concrete. The testing
method for concrete behavior is expected to be applicable to mortar.
Six cylindrical specimens of size 150 x 300 mm were cast, three
of which were used to obtain the Youngs Modulus of Elasticity and
Poissons Ratio of mortar in accordance to ASTM C469 / C469M 10 Standard Test Method for Static Modulus of Elasticity and
Poisson's Ratio of Concrete in Compression; and the remaining to
obtain the stress-strain behavior up till failure. All specimens were
cast and vibrated to obtain good compression density. The
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specimen, and the loading increment was set at a rate of 1800 N/s in
accordance to ASTM 109/C 109M-02 Compressive Strength of
Hydraulic Cement Mortars. The load displacement response was
recorded by the Hung Ta, HT-8391PC Computer-Controlled Servo
Hydraulic compression apparatus having a loading capacity of
2000kN.
Table 2 Specimen details
3. Test Results
3.1 Compressive strength
The specimen's compressive strength was recorded and compared
to the mortar-only specimen, without an inclusion. The result is
shown in Fig. 5.
The data suggested that the specimen SP1 having a diamondconfigured inclusion, exhibits the weakest strength. The strength
degradation is measured to be 58% compared to the mortar only
specimen. A detailed compressive strength results and the relative
decrease to the mortar-only specimen are shown in Table 3.
Table 3 Compressive strength comparison of specimens
Compressive
Compressive strength
Specimen
strength f'c (MPa) decrease ratio to mortar (%)
Mortar-only
47.08
SP1
27.98
41
SP2
20.05
58
SP3
25.35
46
SP4
27.12
42
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0.8
0.58
0.45
0.61
0.53
4. Conclusions
SP1
SP3
SP2
The single diamond shaped inclusions influences the
compressive strength of a specimen, negatively [11, 12] The source
of this decrease is originated from the ITZ that has been proven to
be the weakest link in concrete. The very high aggregate stiffness
and strength creates stress disparities in this ITZ. As the ITZ is
weak in tension, micro cracking will be initiate from the area with
the highest tension in the ITZ. The presence of flaws will in
intensify the tensile stresses in the ITZ, and the specimen with an
aggregate tip in the line of loading will result in an accumulation of
stresses in this area. Studies have shown that the energy distribution
between the aggregate and mortar is highly influenced by the
quality of the ITZ. The weak ITZ accounts for as much as 50% of
the drop in compressive strength.
In terms of ductility, it is also proven that the presence of single
aggregate in the specimens has a negative effect to the ultimate
strain of the specimen. However, the effect of aggregates on
ductility of concrete need to be further studied by investigating
variation of aggregate amount in concrete.
As in the case of ultimate strength, SP2 performed the poorest
in terms of ductility as well, suggesting that a larger area of
aggregate parallel to the direction of the load, will lead to higher
ultimate strain at failure. This conclusion is strengthened by the
almost identical ultimate strain observed from SP1 and SP3 that had
almost the same width.
This research work has proven that the shape and configuration
of aggregates with no doubt influences the strength and stiffness
behavior of the specimen. Since concrete is in reality a three-phase
SP4
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material consisting of the aggregate, the mortar and the ITZ, further
research is also required to study the behavior of inclusions with a
range of ITZ conditions, ranging from a perfect, fully bonded
interface to a condition with no bond.
REFERENCES
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
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