Abordagem inversa para obtenção de propriedades mecânicas de agregados em concretos leves por meio de simulação computacional

Abstract

The lightweight aggregate concrete is known for its low specific weight and high thermal and acoustic insulation capacity. One of the great challenges related to this type of concrete is to get some mechanical properties of lightweight aggregate, such as the modulus of elasticity and the compressive strength, due to its reduced size, which generates difficulties to carry out experimental tests. It is possible to find works in the literature that try to determine the mechanical properties of the lightweight aggregate through methods based on mathematical formulation and empirical deductions. An alternative to such methods is the use of simulation models and the resolution of an inverse problem for the prediction of lightweight aggregate properties. The objective of this study is the application of an inverse procedure to obtain the modulus of elasticity and the compressive strength of lightweight aggregates present in concrete by computational simulation of uniaxial compression tests in specimens. The concrete specimen is represented by a two-dimensional and biphasic mechanical computational model, constituted by mortar and circular lightweight aggregates, and the simulations were conducted in the Abaqus R program. The results were satisfactory compared to other methods in the literature, reaching cases with differences of less than 2 % for a test specimen with 15 % of aggregates. The proposed approach emerges as a possible solution for the analysis of mechanical properties of lightweight aggregates in concrete with reduced cost and time, being applied for several types of grain sizes, mortar types and different percentages of aggregates in the concrete specimen. In addition, the approach brings a better understanding about the connection between lightweight aggregates and mortars.