Identification of microstructural characteristics in lightweight aggregate concretes by micromechanical modelling including the interfacial transition zone (ITZ)

An approach which combines both experimental techniques and micromechanical modelling is developed in order to characterise the elastic behaviour of lightweight aggregate concretes (LWAC). More than three hundred LWAC specimens with various lightweight aggregate types (5) of several volume ratios and three different mortar matrices (normal, HP, VHP) are tested. The modelling is based on iterative homogenisation process and includes the ITZ specificities experimentally observed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In agreement with experimental measurements, the effects of mix design parameters as well as of the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) on concrete mechanical performances are quantitatively analysed. Confrontations with experimental results allow identifying the elastic moduli of LWA which are difficult to determine experimentally. Whereas the traditional empirical formulas are not sufficiently precise, predictions of LWAC elastic behaviours computed with the micromechanical models appear in good agreement with experimental measurements.