Simulation of the flow of fresh cementitious suspensions by a Lagrangian Finite Element approach

In this paper a Lagrangian formulation of the Navier–Stokes equations, based on a Particle Finite Element Approach, is applied to the simulation of rheological tests for homogenized cement pastes and mortars, i.e. the L-box, slump and mini-slump and Marsh cone tests. Comparisons with both experiments and analytical predictions are addressed by assuming a simple Bingham-like constitutive model. The analyses explicitly and automatically account for the presence of evolving free surfaces thanks to a continuous re-triangulation of the domain. These feature and the excellent accuracy obtained in the benchmarks addressed make the proposed approach an ideal tool for more advanced applications.