The Effect of Statistical Fluctuation, Finite Size Error, and Digital Resolution on the Phase Percolation and Transport Properties of the NIST Cement Hydration Model

Published

October 1, 2001

Author(s)

Edward J. Garboczi, Dale P. Bentz

Abstract

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) cement hydration model starts with a three-dimensional digital image of cement particles, and then uses cellular automaton rules to simulate the reaction of cement with water and the development of cement paste microstructure. This stochastic model uses a digital image with a certain resolution to represent the reality of continuum shapes in a fairly small periodic unit. As such, it is potentially subject to statistical fluctuation, finite size error, and the effects of digital resolution. This paper evaluates the model in light of these potential sources of error, along with the effects of cement particle size distribution (PSD), water/cement (w/c) ratio, and cement chemistry, by focusing on the phase percolation and transport property predictions of the model. Statistical fluctuation and finite size error is shown to be of minor importance in the model. The effect of digital resolution is significant, however, but different from the case of a finite element or finite difference model. The effect of digital resolution is significant, however, but different from the case of a finite element or finite difference model. Unlike these cases, the best resolution is not necessarily the finest resolution, but must be chosen based on comparison with experiment and various physical length scales present in cement paste.

Citation

Cement and Concrete Research

Volume

31

Issue

No. 10

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

cellular automaton, cement chemistry, cement hydration, digital resolution, finite size error, particle size distribution, percolation, statistical fluctuation, w/c

Citation

Garboczi, E. and Bentz, D. (2001), The Effect of Statistical Fluctuation, Finite Size Error, and Digital Resolution on the Phase Percolation and Transport Properties of the NIST Cement Hydration Model, Cement and Concrete Research, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=860746 (Accessed December 9, 2024)