Towards the design of an enriched concrete with enhanced dissipation performances

The effect of micro-particle addition on internal dissipation of concrete was experimentally investigated. The idea was to increase the internal friction and improve the related damping performances of the material by allowing the presence of micro-particles inside the concrete pores, thus changing the contact interaction between internal surfaces of pores. However, a high percentage of micro-particle addition could either hinder the sliding or even degrade the mechanical strength of the material. Thus, the optimal percentage has to be experimentally determined for every mixtures one considers. In our study, specimens were tested under cyclic loading to evaluate energy dissipation. In some enriched mixtures presenting a not too low water/cement ratio a significant increase in damping capability is observed with respect to standard concrete. We used experimental data to perform a parameter identification and found that the employed micromorphic model is suitable to forecast the dissipative behavior of the material.