A Deep Insight into the Micro-Mechanical Properties of Mortar through a Multi-Phase Model

This study investigates the micro-mechanical behavior of mortar under uniaxial compression using a three-phase model in PFC^3D. By simulating mortar as a composite of cement, sand, and the interfacial transition zone (ITZ), the research examines the impact of particle size on stress–strain behavior, crack propagation, porosity distribution, contact forces, and energy transformation. The simulations reveal that reducing sand particle size from 1–2 mm to 0.25–0.5 mm leads to a significant increase in uniaxial compressive strength, with peak strength values rising from 65.3 MPa to 89.6 MPa. The elastic modulus similarly improves by approximately 20% as particle size decreases. The study also finds that tensile cracks dominate failure, accounting for over 95% of total cracks, with their onset occurring at lower strains as the particle size is reduced. Porosity analysis shows that smaller particles result in a more uniform distribution, with the final porosity at peak strength ranging between 0.26 and 0.29, compared to 0.22 to 0.31 for larger particles. Additionally, energy dissipation patterns reveal that as particle size decreases, the boundary energy transformation into strain energy becomes more efficient, with a 15% increase in strain energy storage observed. These findings provide critical insights into optimizing mortar microstructure for enhanced mechanical performance in construction applications.