Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 February 2015
Calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) gel is the cohesive phase in cement paste and critically controls the cement hydration. Atomistic models can reproduce reasonable structural and mechanical properties of C-S-H gel at the nano scale. However, the length and time scale of such all-atom modeling technique are restrained by limited computing power. Under this context, coarse-grained modeling technique emerges as a useful alternative for investigating cement paste at extended length and time scale. Here, we regard the building block of cement as ellipsoid and develop a coarse-grained model of cement matrix based on the Gay-Berne (GB) potential. Emphasis of the present paper is on the parameterization and interpretation of the GB potential formula.
web site: http://bccw.cityu.edu.hk/denvid.lau/