The fly ash microspheres (FAMs) formed during the mineral transformation stage in coal combustion are hollow spherical particles with a density less than water. This paper presents the results of X‐ray micro‐computed tomography and an automatic image analysis system of the porosity in the structure of hardened concrete with microspheres. Concrete mixtures with ordinary Portland cement and two substitution rates of cement by microspheres—5%...

The paper presents experimental and numerical investigations of the shear fracture in rectangular concrete beams longitudinally reinforced with steel or basalt bar under quasi-static three point bending. Shear fracture process zone formation and development on the surface of beams was investigated by Digital Image Correlation (DIC) whereas thorough analyses of 3D material micro-structure, air voids, width and curvature of shear...

The paper describes two-dimensional meso-scale numerical results of fracture in notched concrete beams under quasi-static three-point bending. Concrete was modelled as a random heterogeneous 4-phase material composed of aggregate particles, cement matrix, interfacial transitional zones (ITZs) and air voids. As a numerical approach, the discrete element method (DEM) was used. The concrete micro-structure in calculations was directly...

The paper is aimed at accurately predicting the discrete fracture process in concrete specimens under complex stress states in two dimensional (2D) simulations. Plain concrete specimens subjected to Montevideo splitting test (MVD) were used for consideration due to non-negligible shear stresses impact in this type of test. In order to reflect the heterogeneous nature of the concrete, the meso-structure of the samples was included...