Notice of RetractionA forest fire algorithm for the percolation of ITZs in concrete with elliptical aggregates

Notice of Retraction

After careful and considered review of the content of this paper by a duly constituted expert committee, this paper has been found to be in violation of IEEE´s Publication Principles.

We hereby retract the content of this paper. Reasonable effort should be made to remove all past references to this paper.

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In view of the importance of the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) to the macro-properties of concrete, it is essential to study the ITZ percolation characteristics of concrete. This paper presents a numerical method for predicting the ITZ percolation threshold of concrete with elliptical aggregates. With the simulated mesostructure of concrete with periodic boundary conditions, the ITZ percolation threshold is determined by the forest fire algorithm. Based on the numerical results, the effects of various factors on the ITZ percolation threshold are evaluated in a quantitative manner. It is found that the ITZ percolation threshold increases with the increase of the aspect ratio and maximum diameter of elliptical aggregates, but decreases by increasing the ITZ thickness. It is also found that the aggregate gradation has a significant influence on the ITZ percolation threshold.