Abstract

Concrete is an old and reliable material for construction. Its mechanical behaviorhas been widely studied and is well known. It is common to use reinforcements such as steel to improve theductility of concrete under tension. Recently, nanomaterials have become an interesting solution to improve concrete’smechanical behavior, creating a totally new kind of reinforced composites. As the name may suggest, the understanding of the concrete at the nanoscale then become crucial. From all components of concrete, cement playsa significant role in the mechanical behavior. In particular, cement is controlled by the formation of Calcium-Silicate-Hydrate (CSH). Several authors have proposed different crystalline structure for CSH such as Tobermorit. Molecular dynamics (MD) is the traditional tool to simulate the behaviorof the crystalline structure. In this work, a novel approach is used. Following the methodology proposed by Li and Chou, (2003), the interatomic bonds and potentials are simulated using structural finiteelements. The finite element (FE)methodis faster than MD and extensively used by engineers. This approach is tested by comparing the elastic modulus of both methods. Overall, the new methodologygives promising results.