RILEM WEBINAR: Multiscale simulations of concrete degradation: an overview

We are pleased to announce that the next ROC&TOK webinar will take place on June 1st, 2023 at 3PM CEST/Paris Time and will be one hour long (30-minute presentation + 30-minute interaction). The registration for this webinar is free.

Speaker: Dr Enrico Masoero, Cardiff University, United Kingdom

Hosts:  Dr Prannoy Suraneni, University of Miami, United States and Prof. Karen Scrivener, EPFL, Switzerland

Title: Multiscale simulations of concrete degradation: an overview 

The sustainability of our modern construction industry increasingly relies on predicting and managing the degradation of concrete. This is critical for applications such as extending the service life of existing infrastructure, or rapidly deploying new and greener concretes. When dealing with new material formulations and exposure conditions, multiscale modelling and simulation are an important complement to experimental research. This presentation discusses the modelling of three coupled processes that drive concrete degradation: mass transport, chemical reactions, and mechanical response. Many degradation modes involve these processes: sulphate attack, alkali silica reaction, carbonation, etc. The modelling principles for the three coupled processes are first presented at individual length scales; these include, for example, molecular dynamics at the molecular scale, coarse-grained techniques at intermediate length scales, and conservation equations at the macroscale. At each length scale, some selected works from the literature are briefly discussed. The second part of the talk reviews works where simulation techniques from different scales are combined in true examples of multiscale modelling of concrete degradation. The presentation ends with a discussion of current challenges and opportunities, both scale-specific ones and ones that relate to the integration of simulations and models across the length scales.

Register here for FREE!