Nanoscale Agent Based Modelling for Nanostructure Development of Cement

Abstract

Most of macroscopic properties of materials are consequences of processes taking place at the nanoscale. Investigation of phenomena at the sub-micro level to improve the performance of construction materials is one of the main applications of Nanotechnology in Construction. The modelling and simulation of nanostructures is then essential to provide a better understanding of the behaviour of construction materials. We present in this paper an agent-based modelling approach in which a set of interacting agents, capable of organizing themselves dynamically and of adapting to the environment, encapsulate the behaviour of the whole system. This new approach is used for studying the nanostructure development of cement, considering that each individual particle develops its own C-S-H shell critical thickness which triggers the agent for shifting the algorithm to next stage. The algorithm results were compared and found in good agreement with reported experimental work.