30-01-2009, 05:13 PM
Concrete has proved to be a most versatile material of construction. Although the technology of concrete has advanced during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, empiricism continues to prevail in this field. If concrete construction and performance have to be predictable, this can come only from very intensive and extensive application of theoretical and numerical techniques to concrete science. In this paper the recent work done in the sphere of computer simulation models is highlighted. The computational cement science has travelled a long way from the first attempt of visualizing the ?numerical concrete? on a computer screen the techniques of computer simulations has progressed to the basic principle of maneuvering idealized spherical grains packed in a ?continuum? to a 3-D digital image based modelling of cement particles approximating real-life products. Concrete is one of the most complex material systems composed of widely varying particle sizes. It has to function in circumstances which may call for its high durability property. The human life safety factor is one of the main facts to be considered while thinking of durability of concrete. Hence any effort to predict this durability should be approached with a wider perspective and enthusiastic manner. Moreover the same technology when can be made used for saving money and time in the construction fields and cement manufacturing industries should be the key factor to be stressed when speaking of the need of engineers to move from traditional empirical approach to simulated and predictive quantitative approach. When concluding this paper we can be saying with assurance that with all its mighty objectives virtual cement concrete is not to distant to be unadvisable.