https://hdl.handle.net/10259/3970 2026-04-19T09:38:01Z 2026-04-19T09:38:01Z Aragón Torre, Guillermo Aragón Torre, Ángel Santamaría, Amaia Esteban, Alberto Fiol Olivan, Francisco https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11196 2026-01-13T01:05:29Z 2019-07-01T00:00:00Z

Physical and mechanical characterization of a commercial rendering mortar using destructive and non-destructive techniques Aragón Torre, Guillermo; Aragón Torre, Ángel; Santamaría, Amaia; Esteban, Alberto; Fiol Olivan, Francisco A commercial masonry rendering mortar is tested in this study of the classical correlation between structure and mechanical properties. Porosity, capillary absorption of water and mortar shrinkage are all analyzed. Special emphasis is placed on the development of mortar strength, stiffness, and damping characteristics including sound muffling. All these properties are related to the microstructure of the mortar in the hardened state and to its moisture content. The numerical results showed different values for the Young’s moduli of the rendering mortar under both tension and compression, and an outstanding capacity to dissipate vibrational energy. Freeze-thaw and wetting-drying durability tests were also performed on the mortar with good results.

2019-07-01T00:00:00Z Mena Alonso, Álvaro Aragón Torre, Ángel Vicente Cabrera, Miguel Ángel González Cabrera, Dorys Carmen Mínguez Algarra, Jesús https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11158 2025-12-18T01:05:38Z 2025-12-01T00:00:00Z

Role of local fiber content and orientation on the scatter of flexural fatigue behavior in steel fiber-reinforced concrete Mena Alonso, Álvaro; Aragón Torre, Ángel; Vicente Cabrera, Miguel Ángel; González Cabrera, Dorys Carmen; Mínguez Algarra, Jesús This study investigates the scatter in fatigue life (N) of fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) as a function of variability in local fiber orientation and content. To this end, three FRC series were produced with fiber contents of 0.3 %, 0.6 %, and 1.0 %. All specimens were scanned using micro-computed tomography (microCT) and subsequently tested under flexural fatigue. The results show a clear correlation between fiber orientation and fatigue strength: within each series, specimens with a higher orientation factor ηX (which quantifies the degree of fiber alignment along the longitudinal axis) withstood a greater number of cycles to failure. A strong relationship was also identified between the number of fibers crossing the central section (Nfib,c) and fatigue life. Moreover, ηX and Nfib,c were found not to be independent variables, as a higher number of fibers is associated with better orientation. Finally, a model is proposed to estimate fatigue life as a function of ηX and fiber dosage, which shows adequate accuracy in predicting the scatter in N for sets of identical specimens.

2025-12-01T00:00:00Z Pérez Acebo, Heriberto Linares Unamunzaga, Alaitz Aragón Torre, Ángel Gonzalo Orden, Hernán https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11156 2025-12-18T01:05:30Z 2025-11-01T00:00:00Z

Shape Coefficient for Soil-Cement: Experimental Determination from Cylindrical and Cubic Specimens Pérez Acebo, Heriberto; Linares Unamunzaga, Alaitz; Aragón Torre, Ángel; Gonzalo Orden, Hernán The compressive strength is the primary parameter used for the design, control, and performance assessment of cementitious materials. However, this value is strongly influenced by specimen geometry, which has led to the introduction of shape coefficients to convert compressive strength results between different specimen types, particularly between cubes and cylinders. While this topic has been extensively investigated in concrete, very limited research has addressed the shape coefficient in soil-cement or cement-treated base materials, despite their widespread use in pavement construction. Aiming to bridge this gap, this study systematically analyzes the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of soil-cement specimens with different geometries. Two soil-cement mixtures with distinct physical and chemical characteristics were tested at various curing ages (7, 28, and 90 days) using cylindrical specimens (150 mm diameter × 180 mm height) and cubic specimens (150 mm edge). The results show that the UCS in cylindrical specimens (UCScyl) was consistently higher than that of cubic specimens (UCScub), although the difference decreased with increasing compressive strength. By combining all datasets, a single conversion factor of 1.04 was derived, resulting in an equation, UCScyl = 1.04·UCScub, with an excellent determination coefficient (R2 = 0.99), enabling reliable conversion between cubic and cylindrical UCS results for soil-cement.

2025-11-01T00:00:00Z García Gómez, Felipe Martínez Martínez, José Antonio García Castillo, Luis Mª https://hdl.handle.net/10259/8676 2025-02-03T09:01:54Z 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z

Influence of the backfill parameters in distinct element modelling of a backfill masonry arch bridge through the PFC2D software García Gómez, Felipe; Martínez Martínez, José Antonio; García Castillo, Luis Mª This paper presents an investigation on how to model a backfill masonry arch bridge using the discrete element method (DEM). The PFC2D software is used for this purpose. A certain backfill masonry arch bridge is modelled, with different types of fill, mortar and voussoir materials. A biaxial test has been programmed using ‘FISH’ code to obtain the micro-parameters used in the model so that they match the macro-parameters obtained from a real biaxial test. The arch is loaded until its collapse in three different load cases. Further discussion on the influence of the backfill parameters is presented as well as a sensitivity analysis for the arch bridge.

2022-01-01T00:00:00Z