Experimental study of flexural fatigue behaviour of cement paste at the microscale
Yidong Gan, Hongzhi Zhang, Yu Zhang, Yading Xu, Erik Schlangen, Klaas van Breugel, Branko Šavija
Abstract
This study presents an experimental investigation of fatigue properties of cement paste at the microscale. A strong size dependence is found for the flexural fatigue life of the cement paste specimen. Microscopic observations on the fractured surfaces suggest that there is a higher density of nano-scale cracks generated during the fatigue loading compared to the static fracture. However, the fatigue damage evolution is found to be very slow and small even under high stress levels. The development of residual deformation for cement paste can be explained by the combined effects of viscoelastic deformation and fatigue cracking growth.
Topics & Concepts
Microscale chemistryMaterials scienceCementComposite materialCrackingFlexural strengthFatigue crackingFracture (geology)Deformation (meteorology)MathematicsMathematics educationRock Mechanics and ModelingInnovative concrete reinforcement materialsConcrete and Cement Materials Research