MODELING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PERMEABILITY AND CEMENT PASTE PORE MICROSTRUCTURES

Pore size distribution and the interconnectivity of cement paste pores have a strong influence on permeability. A computer network model has been developed to simulate flow through the pore microstructure cement paste. Network models have been successfully applied to predicting permeabilities of geological materials including rocks and soils but have not been specifically developed in the area of cement and concrete. The network model presented in this paper is used to obtain further insight into how pore size distributions of cement paste microstructures influences permeability. The model accounts for variations in pore microstructure by using a two-dimensional network of tubes with different log-normal size distributions.