title: Creep of a C-S-H gel: a micromechanical approach.
abstract: Both clays and calcium silicate hydrates(the main hydration products of Portland cements) exhibit a microstructure made up of lamellar particles. The microscopic mechanism responsible for the macroscopic creep of such materials is often described as the relative sliding of the sheets. This paper proposes a micromechanical approach to estimate the macroscopic creep behavior rising from this microscopic mechanism. The asymptotic evolution of creep at both short- and long-term is especially investigated. More precisely, a non-vanishing initial elastic strain is retrieved. At long-term, a threshold on porosity appears. At lower porosities, the creep evolution admits an asymptotic strain. At higher porosities, it admits an asymptotic strain rate.
authors.affiliation: Lafarge Centre de Recherche, 95 rue du Montmurier, Saint-Quentin Fallavier cedex, France. julien.sanahuja@edf.fr
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sanahuja
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dormieux