Experimental and numerical analysis of the mechanical behavior of bagasse ash concrete

The mesoscale modeling approach, which considers concrete heterogeneity, has garnered significant attention for its potential to explore the failure modes and mechanical responses of concrete under various loads, such as dead load, live load, wind load, seismic load, dynamic load, temperature, and shrinkage load, etc., leading to a deeper understanding of concrete behavior. This paper shows how two-dimensional (2D) finite element models (FEMs) were made at the mesoscale level to investigate the mechanical behavior of bagasse ash (BA) concrete. Models were created using the finite element code Cast3M, and compressive and bending strengths were considered. Cylinders of 100 mm diameter and 200 mm height were used for the model compressive strength, while three-point bending beams of 500 mm length and 150 mm height were used for the model bending strength. The numerical and experimental results of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete and 10% BA concrete were compared To obtain a stress–strain response. In addition, the compressive strength, flexural strength, force–displacement responses, and crack paths of the BA concrete were studied. Numerical simulations show that increasing BA dosage leads to reduced fracture energy. Furthermore, the mesoscale model could predict the mechanical behavior of the BA concrete.