Quantifying Three-Dimensional Macropore Structure and Seepage Characteristics of Representative Elementary Volume for Recycled Aggregate Pervious Concrete
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36, Issue 5
Abstract
The permeability performance made of recycled aggregate pervious concrete with macropores (M-RAPC) relates greatly to the macropore structure and seepage behaviors. However, the mechanism of the influence of pore structure on the permeability of M-RAPC is still unclear. Based on the high-resolution X-ray computer tomography (CT) and image processing technology, a three-dimensional (3D) pore structure model with macropore () was constructed, and the dimension of the representative elementary volume (REV) was determined to be . Then, the quantitative characterization of the topological structure of macropore space and the simulation of pore flow were conducted. Finally, the relationship between macropore structure parameters and seepage behavior was discussed. The results showed that about 80% of macropores are in the range of 0.15–1 mm, and the pore coordination number is mostly concentrated within 20. The macropore distribution shows a great spatial heterogeneity, showing that the permeability anisotropy index is mainly larger than 1, and even up to 8. Besides, the permeability performance of M-RAPC is significantly correlated with macropore parameters (effective porosity, tortuosity, and fractal dimension). In summary, this study can better reveal the relationship between pore structure and seepage behaviors in M-RAPC and provide a reference for the skeleton structure and permeability performance optimization design of M-RAPC.
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Data Availability Statement
The data sets generated or analyzed during this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51878064) and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (2020-K-078).
Author contributions: Peichen Cai: Ph.D. Candidate, analysis, writing - original draft, and writing - review and editing; Xuesong Mao: Professor, Ph.D., supervision, resources, conventionalization, funding acquisition, and writing-review and editing; Pei He: Master’s Student, analysis and data curation; and Xiaoyong Lai: Master’s Student, analysis and data curation.
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Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 36 • Issue 5 • May 2024
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© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Jul 21, 2023
Accepted: Nov 1, 2023
Published online: Feb 26, 2024
Published in print: May 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Jul 26, 2024
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