Exploitation of Particle Migration Mechanism to Promote Economy and Ecology in Concrete Technology

The computer simulation study of Portland cement blending confirmed the major mechanism to be size segregation in the Interfacial Transition Zones around the aggregate particles. Fine particles tend to move through the skeleton of larger particles towards the surface of the aggregate grains, improving local density. But the most interesting feature is a disproportionately larger internal bond capacity (based on van der Waals forces between nearby particles). In this contribution, we have isolated the mechanism of internal diffusion capacity of particles, on which blending efficiency relies, for a simulation study on the migration of fine sand particles into the network of coarse aggregate grains. The influences of technical parameters (including gap in size between fine sand and coarse aggregate, as well as the workability conditions) have been investigated on the migration capacity of fine sand particles. This paper will report briefly the outcomes of this computer simulation study on aggregate mix systems.