TheProposedDotted-EdgeModelofInterfacialTransition.PDFVIP

The Proposed Dotted-Edge Model of Interfacial Transition Zone in Concrete Student : Hon-wah PANG Supervisor : Dr. R.V. BALENDRAN Programme : Doctor of Philosophy Department of Building and Construction, City University of Hong Kong BACKGROUND Concrete is the most commonly used material for construction. Engineers have been looking for concrete which is ever stronger and more durable against aggressive environment, in response to the call for taller buildings, longer span bridges and more elegant structures. Concrete basically consists of cement paste and aggregates. There is ample evidence that the strength and permeability of the concrete against ingress of harmful agents are significantly influenced by the nature of the interface between the cement paste and the aggregates. This interface has unique properties which unfortunately are inferior in nature when compared with the bulk cement paste. As such this interfacial transition zone is widely accepted as a weak link in concrete, and as the third component of concrete besides aggregate and paste. Since the early eighties, there has been intensified effort to understand this weak link in concrete. A number of models have been proposed to describe this interface. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used by many researchers to formulate their models of this very thin interface layer, which has been found to be of the order of 50 to 75 microns thick. The specimens used by many researchers consist of cement paste cast against a flat block of polished aggregate. There has been little attempt to model the interfacial transition zone to take care of the real influence of aggregates. In real concrete, aggregates are of different sizes, usually have very rough surfaces, and oft