Heterogeneous Nature of Calcium Silicate Hydrate (C-S-H) Gel: A Molecular Dynamics Study

Shucheng Jin1, Jinhui Li2, Wenyuan Xu1, Qingjun Ding2
1School of Civil Engineering, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China
2School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, China

Tóm tắt

Structure and mechanical properties of Calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) at a molecular level act as “DNA” of cement-based construction materials. In order to understand loading resistance capability of C-S-H gel, research on molecular dynamics (MD) was carried out to simulate the uniaxial tension test on C-S-H model along x, y, and z directions. Due to the structure and dynamic differences of the layered structure, the C-S-H model demonstrates heterogeneous mechanical behavior. On an XY plane, the cohesive force can reach 4 GPa which is mainly provided by the Ca-O and Si-O ionic-covalent bonds. The good plasticity of calcium silicate sheet is attributed to the silicate branch structure formation and the recovery role of interlayer calcium atoms. However, in z direction, C-S-H layers connected by the unstable H-bonds network, have the weakest tensile strength 2.2 GPa. This results in the brittle failure mode in z direction. The relatively low tensile strength and poor plasticity in z direction provides molecular insights into the tensile weakness of cement materials at macro-level.

Tài liệu tham khảo

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