Mesoscale research on electric potential of rubberized concrete affected by rubber geometry

• Published in: Construction & building materials 2022-07, Vol.340, p.127851, Article 127851
• Main Authors: Jin, Hao, Yin, Donghao, Yu, Shuo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Electric potential distribution; Mesoscale model; Potential difference; Rubberized concrete
• ISSN: 0950-0618; 1879-0526
• DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2022.127851

•The Mesoscale Concrete Model with Actual Geometry Aggregate was adopted.•The combination of field experiments and numerical simulations confirmed the feasibility of the mesoscale model in studying the electrical conductivity properties of rubberized concrete.•Mesoscale models of rubberized concrete with different rubber content, shape, and size were constructed.•The overall and local electrical conductivity characteristics such as potential distribution and potential difference of rubberized concrete under different working conditions were studied. Rubberized concrete is a multiphase composite material that is made up of aggregate, rubber, and mortar. The applied voltage is often considered as an influencing factor when studying its properties, such as chlorine ion impermeability and resistivity. However, the electric potential distribution inside the rubberized concrete under applied voltage conditions needs to be studied in depth. In this paper, mesoscale research was conducted on the effect of the rubber geometry on the electric potential of rubberized concrete. The results reveal three points. First, The inclusion of rubber has a certain attenuation or blocking impact on overall and local potential propagation, and the effect varies depending on the content, shape, and size of the rubber. Second, when the rubber contents and particle heights are equal, cube rubber outperforms octahedron and spherical rubber in terms of the potential barrier effect. Third, for the same rubber content, the smallest rubber size provides the best barrier effect of electric potential. The potential difference decreases as the rubber size increases, although the law is not fixed.