Title:
Advancing the Materials Science of Concrete with Supercomputers
Author(s):
Jeffrey W. Bullard, Edward J. Garboczi, William L. George, Nicos S. Martys, Steven G. Satterfield, and Judith E. Terrill
Publication:
Concrete International
Volume:
33
Issue:
1
Appears on pages(s):
24-29
Keywords:
rheology, hydration, cement particles, supercomputers
DOI:
Date:
1/1/2011
Abstract:
Simulations on supercomputers are used to enhance our understanding of complex systems such as global weather patterns, nuclear explosions, the birth of galaxies, molecular structure, and the rheology and hydration of concrete. These simulations are our current best representations based on fundamental physical, chemical, and mathematical principles. Why does concrete need to be simulated on a supercomputer? Concrete is arguably, from a materials science point of view, the most complex material produced by humankind with distinct, important, and random structural features on length scales ranging from nanometers to hundreds of millimeters. Correctly modeling the rheology and hydration of concrete can help solve many problems that continue to bother the concrete industry.