Modeling of Cementitious Representative Volume Element with Various Water–Cement Ratios

Abstract

This study uses the finite element method (FEM) to measure the mechanical properties of microstructure-based cementitious representative volume elements (RVEs) with various water–cement ratios (W/Cs) generated by CEMHYD3D. The finite element boundary condition effects that significantly and computationally change the elastic properties are studied and discussed. Various boundary conditions in ABAQUS are applied and compared with the results obtained using the variational asymptotic method for unit cell homogenization (VAMUCH). This comparison is conducted using ANSYS. This study aims to analyze and determine the effect of different boundary conditions in detail on the prediction of the elastic properties of cementitious RVE with various W/Cs and identify the best approach in this regard. Results show that Young’s, shear, and bulk moduli decrease with the increase in W/C and the boundary conditions in ABAQUS influence the outcomes, particularly on bulk modulus and Poisson’s ratio.