Mechanical behavior of the cellular concrete and numerical simulation based on meso-element equivalent method

The novel cellular concrete with millimeter-size isolated spherical pores can greatly reduce the transportation cost of concrete coarse aggregate in the construction of facilities on remote islands, which utilizes spherical saturated SAP (Super-Absorbent Polymer) presoaked in seawater in situ. The mechanical property of this cellular concrete is an important basis for its engineering application. The purpose of this paper is to present a numerical method to understand more fully and efficiently its mechanical properties. According to the characteristics of meso-component of this cellular concrete, the meso-element equivalent model is improved, in which statistical homogenization method is used to substitute Voigt equivalence method. Based on the elastic damage constitutive model, uniaxial compression numerical tests are carried out on random meso-elements, and the parameters of damage constitutive model related to the porosity are obtained. On this basis, the random specimen model is divided into meso-elements of the same size, and the equivalent mechanical properties are given to the elements according to their porosities. The effectiveness of the numerical simulation method is verified by comparing with the actual test results, and it can reflect the damage process during uniaxial compressive loading.