Probabilistic Assessment of the Dynamic Viscosity of Self-Compacting Steel-Fiber Reinforced Concrete through a Micromechanical Model

This article develops a probabilistic approach to a micromechanical model to calculate the dynamic viscosity in self-compacting steel-fiber reinforced concrete (SCSFRC), which implies a paradigm shift in the approach of the deterministic models used. It builds on a previous work by the authors in which Bayesian analysis is applied to rheological micromechanical models in cement paste, self-compacting mortar, and self-compacting concrete. As a consequence of the varied characteristics of the particles in these suspensions (in terms of materials, shapes, size distributions, etc.), as well as their random nature, it seems appropriate to study these systems with probabilistic models. The Bayesian analysis, thorough Markov Chain Monte Carlo and Gibbs Sampling methods, allows the conversion of parametric-deterministic models into parametric-probabilistic models, which results in enrichment in engineering and science. The incorporation of steel fibers requires a new term in the model to account for their effect on the dynamic viscosity of SCSFRC, and this new term is also treated here with the Bayesian approach. The paper uses an extensive collection of experimental data to obtain the probability density functions of the parameters for assessing the dynamic viscosity in SCSFRC. The results obtained with these parameters’ distributions are much better than those calculated with the theoretical values of the parameters, which indicates that Bayesian methods are appropriated to respond to questions in complex systems with complex models.