This book presents a number of studies on the molecular dynamics of cement-based materials. It introduces a practical molecular model of cement-hydrate, delineates the relationship between molecular structure and nanoscale properties, reveals the transport mechanism of cement-hydrate, and provides useful methods for material design. Based on the molecular model presented here, the book subsequently sheds light on nanotechnology applications in the design of construction and building materials. As such, it offers a valuable asset for researchers, scientists, and engineers in the field of construction and building materials.

Smart Nanoconcretes and Cement-Based Materials: Properties, Modelling and Applications explores the fundamental concepts and applications of smart nanoconcretes with self-healing, self-cleaning, photocatalytic, antibacterial, piezoelectrical, heating and conducting properties and how they are used in modern high-rise buildings, hydraulic engineering, highways, tunnels and bridges. This book is an important reference source for materials scientists and civil engineers who are looking to enhance the properties of smart nanomaterials to create stronger, more durable concrete. Explores the mechanisms through which active agents are released from nanocontainers inside concrete Shows how embedded smart nanosensors, including carbon cement-based smart sensors and micro/nano strain-sensors, are used to increase concrete performance Discusses the major challenges of integrating smart nanomaterials into concrete composites

Intended as a first introduction to the micromechanics of porous media, this book entitled “Microporomechanics” deals with the mechanics and physics of multiphase porous materials at nano and micro scales. It is composed of a logical and didactic build up from fundamental concepts to state-of-the-art theories. It features four parts: following a brief introduction to the mathematical rules for upscaling operations, the first part deals with the homogenization of transport properties of porous media within the context of asymptotic expansion techniques. The second part deals with linear microporomechanics, and introduces linear mean-field theories based on the concept of a representative elementary volume for the homogenization of poroelastic properties of porous materials. The third part is devoted to Eshelby’s problem of ellipsoidal inclusions, on which much of the micromechanics techniques are based, and illustrates its application to linear diffusion and microporoelasticity. Finally, the fourth part extends the analysis to microporo-in-elasticity, that is the nonlinear homogenization of a large range of frequently encountered porous material behaviors, namely, strength homogenization, nonsaturated microporomechanics, microporoplasticity and microporofracture and microporodamage theory.

This two-volume set (CCIS 134 and CCIS 135) constitutes the refereed proceedings of the International Conference on Intelligent Computing and Information Science, ICICIS2011, held in Chongqing, China, in January 2011. The 226 revised full papers presented in both volumes, CCIS 134 and CCIS 135, were carefully reviewed and selected from over 600 initial submissions. The papers provide the reader with a broad overview of the latest advances in the field of intelligent computing and information science.

Multiscale simulations of atomistic/continuum coupling in computational materials science, where the scale expands from macro-/micro- to nanoscale, has become a hot research topic. These small units, usually nanostructures, are commonly anisotropic. The development of molecular modeling tools to describe and predict the mechanical properties of structures reveals an undeniable practical importance. Typical anisotropic structures (e.g. cubic, hexagonal, monoclinic) using DFT, MD, and atomic finite element methods are especially interesting, according to the modeling requirement of upscaling structures. It therefore connects nanoscale modeling and continuous patterns of deformation behavior by identifying relevant parameters from smaller to larger scales. These methodologies have the prospect of significant applications. I would like to recommend this book to both beginners and experienced researchers.