Title: Strain Due to Submicrocracking in Cement Paste and Mortar

Author(s): Emmanuel K. Attiogbe and David Darwin

Publication: Materials Journal

Volume: 85

Issue: 1

Appears on pages(s): 3-11

Keywords: cement pastes; compression; concretes; cracking (fracturing); isotropy; microcracking; models; mortars (material); strains; stresses; stress-strain diagram; Materials Research

DOI: 10.14359/2464

Date: 1/1/1988

Abstract:
Submicrocracking of cement paste and mortar under uniaxial compression is correlated with applied strain. Cement paste with water-cement ratios of 0.7, 0.5, and 0.3, and mortar with a water-cement ratio of 0.5 were tested at ages ranging from 27 to 29 days. A self-consistent model is used to correlate submicrocracking with the reduction in stiffness and the shape of the stress-strain curve. Submicrocracking accounts for a significant portion of the nonlinear response of cement paste and mortar at all levels of applied compressive strain. As compressive strain increases, other mechanisms, such as large microcracks, macrocracks, and creep, play an increasingly greater role.