New insights into the interfacial shear behavior of new-to-old concrete: A molecular dynamics simulation studyShow others and affiliations
2025 (English)In: Construction and Building Materials, ISSN 0950-0618, E-ISSN 1879-0526, Vol. 471, article id 140691Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
New-to-old concrete interfaces, which are prone to shear failure, represent a weak point in structures. Current research concerning the shear performance of these interfaces primarily relies on experimental and microscopic methods, such as X-ray diffraction or Scanning Electron Microscopy, and hence provides little data at the nanoscale level. To reduce the knowledge gap, the presented research utilized molecular dynamics simulations to study the shear bonding performance of two models: an interface comprising calcium silicate hydrate CSH-a (H2O/Si=1.68) and CSH-b (H2O/Si=1.0) and a CSH-a-to-SiO2 interface. Analyses of the mechanical response, ionic interactions, and chemical bond breakage behaviors of the interfaces provided nanoscale-level insight concerning the shear characteristics of new-to-old concrete interfaces. Furthermore, this paper explores how shear rate influences the shear resistance of the interface. The research reveals that the CSH-a-to-CSH-b interface mainly involves Ca-O bonds, while hydrogen bonds are more prevalent at the CSH-a-to-SiO2 interface. Both of the models share consistent shear failure modes, more specifically, the shear failure surface occurs within the weaker CSH-a substrate rather than at the interface between substrates, which aligns with experimental observations, as shear failure at new-to-old concrete interfaces is often accompanied by the spalling of low-strength concrete in close proximity to the interface. Additionally, when the shear rate decreases from 0.01 Å/fs to 0.008 Å/fs, and then to 0.005 Å/fs, shear strength declines by 30.2 % and 40.5 %, respectively. The findings of this study clarify the molecular-level mechanisms which govern the shear performance of new-to-old concrete interfaces as well as offers theoretical support for the shear-resistant design and optimization of these interfaces.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier Ltd , 2025. Vol. 471, article id 140691
Keywords [en]
New-to-old concrete interface, MD simulation, Bonding behaviors, Failure mode, Shear rate
National Category
Materials Engineering Structural Engineering
Research subject
Structural Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-112115DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2025.140691ISI: 001445497900001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-86000633488OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ltu-112115DiVA, id: diva2:1947643
Note
Validerad;2025;Nivå 2;2025-03-26 (u8);
Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China (22478069, 51378104, U23A20661); National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (52125802); Jiangsu Province (BZ2021011); Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2242022k30030, 2242022k30031)
2025-03-262025-03-262025-10-21Bibliographically approved