Experimental and numerical analysis of early age behavior in non-reinforced concrete

•Investigate the early-age behavior using approach combining model/experiment.•Construct a robust computational framework based on phase field model.•Provide a detailed discussion on the identification of model/material parameters.•Demonstrate a very good predictive capability of the computational model.•Analyze the effects of hydration on the performance of cement-based materials. An approach combining numerical simulations and experimental techniques is proposed to investigate the early-age properties of non-reinforced concrete. Both thermo-mechanical and fracture behaviors are studied, providing a deep insight into the hydration process. This work makes an important step in understanding the effects of hydration on the performance of cement-based materials. More specifically, in the first part, the shrinkage and fracture properties of a non-reinforced concrete have been experimentally considered, along with the characterization of several material parameters. The experimental results exhibit a high risk of early-age cracking for this kind of concrete. Especially, the fracture phenomena are complex, including multi-evolution-stages, initiation, propagation, stop-growing, and re-growing. In the second part, the computational modeling based on the phase field method of failure mechanism is applied to simulate the thermal, mechanical and fracture behavior due to early-age hydration. A detailed discussion on the identification of model/material parameters and the construction of numerical model including the boundary conditions is given. We provide the following comparison between predictions of the numerical simulation with the experimental observations. An excellent predictive capability of the computational model is noted. More importantly, this work demonstrates the performance of the proposed approach, which requires only a few tests to identify the model inputs. Most of the chemo-thermal parameters can be theoretically determined based on the concrete mix and the chemical/mineral compositions of the cement.