Author/Editor		Stroeven, Piet; Stroeven, Martijn
Title		Size of representative volume element of concrete assessed by quantitative image analysis and computer simulation
Type		članek
Source		Image Anal Stereol
Vol. and No.		Letnik 20, št. Suppl 1
Publication year		2001
Volume		str. 216-20
Language		eng
Abstract		An element quite unfamiliar in concrete technology and in numerical concrete mechanics is the representative volume element, RVE. Nevertheless, experiments pursue determination of representative global information on material structure or properties. RVEs will have a size depending on the geometric parameter under investigation. This paper therefore defines the range between composition and configuration homogeneity. Mechanical properties depending on composition are called structure-insensitive, and those depending on configuration structure-sensitive properties. This paper presents experimental information on the RVE's linear size range for structure-sensitive and structure-insensitive properties. This was achieved by quantitative image analysis of serially sectioned concrete cubes containing mono-size ceramic spheres as coarsest aggregate. Areal fraction and linear mortar intercept distribution were measured for this purpose. Data reveal one order of magnitude differences in the aforementioned size range. This paper particularly focuses on a computer simulation approach to the same problem. The recently developed SPACE system is employed. Areal fraction and the 2-D nearest neighbour distribution are detennined of a cement particle mixture. The results roughly confirm the trends found in the experiments.
Descriptors		MATERIALS TESTING PARTICLE SIZE IMAGE PROCESSING, COMPUTER-ASSISTED COMPUTER SIMULATION