Mesoscale synergistic effect mechanism of aggregate grading and specimen size on compressive strength of concrete with large aggregate size

In this paper, a 2D finite element model with a mesoscale level was established. The effects of content, maximum particle size, and shape of aggregate on the strength of concrete were simulated. In addition, five mesoscopic models of aggregate gradation and specimen side length (100–450 mm) were established to investigate the influence law of aggregate grading and model size on the compressive strength of concrete. The simulation results were also compared and verified with four theoretical size-effect models. The results showed that the compressive strength shows a trend of decreasing and then increasing with the increase of aggregate content and falling with the growth of maximum aggregate size dmax. The peak stress of convex polygonal aggregates is higher than that of round and elliptical. In addition, when the ratio of model side length to the maximum aggregate particle size is about 3.5, the compressive strength gradually decreases with the increase of specimen size, up to 27.65 % decreased, showing a pronounced size effect. After comparative analysis, the simulated data in this paper fitted well with the Bažant’s Type-2, Kim’s modified, Jin’s modified, and Carpinteri’s size effect law (SEL). In addition, the data obtained from the simulation of this paper would better reflect the existing test conclusions. The mesoscale model established in this paper can significantly improve the effectiveness and efficiency of full-graded concrete modeling, and better simulate the strength difference between full-graded and wet-screened specimens. The difficulties in the mesoscale numerical simulation are solved to a certain extent.