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Abstract
Granular composite materials can be considered to consist of particulate elements on micro- and mesostructure levels. The simulation of granular materials was carried out using a numerical approach. An ellipsoid based method was first developed to generate aggregate particles of arbitrary shape according to specified conditions with reasonable accuracy. Then, these aggregate particles were mixed at random in a matrix paste using the HADES toolbox. (HADES is a concurrent, algorithm based program that is designed to simulate the mixing or flow of granular material of arbitrary shape.) After that, an interfacial transition zone between the aggregate particles and the matrix paste was enriched, and a mesh tool was used for forming a mesh of aggregate, matrix paste and interfacial transition zone. The simulation shows that the idea of generating a three-dimensional particle of relatively arbitrary shape from an ellipsoid is feasible, and the process of particle generation, followed by HADES packing, provides an effective approach for the simulation of granular composite material.
Acknowledgements
The work reported in this publication was carried out under the financial support of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and Chinese Academy of Sciences through project no. 4CDP038 ‘Modern Concrete Research’ and the technical support of Delft University of Technology’s section of Material Science and Sustainable Construction/Micro-lab within the Faculty of Civil Engineering. The help of these institutions is gratefully acknowledged. The authors would also like to thank the participation of academic partners involved in this project: Dr M. Stroeven and Dr P. Stroeven for their patient and timely help.