Micromechanical investigation of highly porous cement-based materials: A focus on geopolymer foam concrete

This research develops an advanced discrete-based computational tool to micromechanically investigate the behaviour of geopolymer foam concrete and related highly porous cement-based materials. A combined experimental and numerical approach is adopted for the investigation. The discrete element method (DEM) is utilised to explicitly describe the internal pore-structure, while the mortar phase is modelled at the micro/meso-scale using a cohesive-frictional model. Experimental data obtained from X-ray computerized tomography and a series of uniaxial compression tests are utilised to develop, calibrate and validate the advanced DEM model. The focus of the study is on the relationship between microstructure and macro behaviour, the failure mechanism and constitutive response of the highly porous material under various stress states.