Menu Selection 17) Plot predicted properties (vs. experimental data)

Menu Selection 17 is used both to plot the different predicted properties and to enter experimental data for comparison against the predicted values. Upon making this selection, the user is presented with a form with two pull down menus to select either a specific system for which to list the available plots or for which to enter a set of experimental data, as shown in Figure 20. Upon submitting this first form, a second form containing a table of the various options available either for plotting or data entry is returned.

  

Figure 20: Form for selecting files to plot or for which to enter experimental data.

With this table, in the case of plotting, the user can select to create all available plots for a given system, or simply to create a single plot of interest. In all cases, the user can elect to include the experimental data (when available) on the plot. Typically, the computer model data is plotted using blue squares connected by a blue line, while the experimental data is shown as discrete red diamond data points. The plot is typically labelled with the name of the datafile from which it was created.

In Version 1.0 of the VCCTL, the following plots are available (when the appropriate data has been created during a hydration run):

1) adiabatic heat signature plot- plot of system temperature vs. computed hydration time (not very interesting for hydration under isothermal conditions),
• 2) chemical shrinkage- plot of chemical shrinkage (ml/g cement) vs. computed hydration time (h),
• 3) hydration- plot of degree of hydration (mass basis) vs. computed hydration time,
• 4) heat release- plot of cumulative heat release (kJ/kg cement) vs. computed hydration time,
• 5) compressive strength- plot of estimated compressive strength (MPa) vs. computed hydration time (the user must provide a pre-factor to be used in the calculation of compressive strength based on Power's gel-space ratio theory [11]),
• 6) capillary porosity percolation- fraction connected capillary porosity vs. either total porosity or computed hydration time, and
• 7) total solids percolation- fraction connected "total solids" vs. either computed hydration time or degree of hydration.

If the user elects to enter experimental data corresponding to a specific simulated system, they have the option of downloading the data into the VCCTL from a datafile located on their own computer or to enter the data manually. In the latter case, the VCCTL will provide a fill-in table with two columns corresponding to the values to be plotted on the x and y axes, respectively. For example, for the case of an adiabatic heat signature, the user would have to enter the time-temperature results into this table and then simply submit the form (using the "Copy data" button above the data entry table) to store this datafile for later access during plotting. Always, when experimental data has been entered, the user has the option of including it on or omitting it from the associated simulation results plot.

Virtual Cement and Concrete Testing
Laboratory

Plot Selection Form

Case: cem136wc04852f

Create All Plots
Include data: X strength prefactor 95 MPa		Plot Type	Number of Cycles	Pozzolanic CSH Conversion	Heat Transfer Mode	Curing	Initial Temperature
Create Plot		adiabatic heat signature (adi)	1600	off	isothermal	saturated	25
Create Plot		chemical shrinkage	1600	off	isothermal	saturated	25
Create Plot		hydration	1600	off	isothermal	saturated	25
Create Plot		heat release	1600	off	isothermal	saturated	25
Create Plot Include data: X		compressive strength strength prefactor 95 MPa	1600	off	isothermal	saturated	25

Figure 21: Example of results available for plotting via Menu Selection 17.