Three-dimensional Microstructure Simulation Model of Cement Based Materials,

This paper describes a computer-based numerical model for the simulation of the development of microstructure during cement hydration. Special emphasis is on the algorithm for characterizing the pores. This includes the porosity and the pore size distribution and the topological properties of the porous network. In order to do so, a serial sectioning algorithm and an overlap criterion were employed for the determination of the microstructure. The algorithm for calculating the pore size distribution was also developed. The thus obtained information about the microstructure during cement hydration was further checked against experiments.Civil Engineering and Geoscience