Effect of Micro-Particle Additions on Frictional Energy Dissipation and Strength of Concrete

This thesis is divided in two parts. The first part is devoted to the micro-macro modeling of the behavior of concrete under cyclic loading. Correlations between microscopic (frictional sliding of mesocracks) and macroscopic (energy dissipation) properties are investigated. The second part focuses on the description of a series of uniaxial cyclic tests on concrete and concrete-like materials performed in the "Rock Mechanics Laboratory" of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Virginia, USA. Data deriving from these experiments are analyzed on the basis of the micro-macro identification theory. Interesting predictions of the real mechanical behavior of concrete can be found by means of the aforementioned theory and are presented in the last part of the thesis.