Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2011
The influence of the Interface Transition Zone (ITZ) on the elastic modulus of concrete is demonstrated as a divergence of the experimental data from the general trend of the theoretical Hashin-Shtrikman bounds. This divergence is well related to the W/C of the composite. With reduction of W/C the influence of ITZ decreases and for values close to 0.4 and lower it is insignificant.
The formation of the ITZ is characterized by a transfer of water from the matrix to the surface of the aggregates. As a result of this a highly porous ITZ is formed while the matrix remains with a reduced porosity. This process can also be described as a transfer of material properties. For some compositions the balance of this transfer can approach zero. The imbalance in this process is more pronounced at higher W/C.
The effect of Interface Transition Zone can be successfully simulated by the help of recently derived Hashin's variational bounds for two-phase composites with imperfect interfaces.