The Pickett theory for the development of drying creep has been discussed by many authors to explain creep-induced shrinkage strains and the development of microcracking caused by creep loads. This paper suggests a micromechanical modeling approach of drying creep in cement pastes by taking into consideration the heterogeneous distribution of cement phases in constructed representative virtual microstructures. Damage was considered in a viscoelastic behavior law for the development of a desiccation model that takes into account the diffusion of water in the capillary porosity. Tensile and compressive tests were simulated to determine the strengths of the cement paste, and were compared with experimental data, and then drying and creep were simultaneously simulated. The results of the simulations show the presence of the Pickett effect in both tension and compression. The analysis of damage evolution at different depths of a macroscopic beam illustrates an apparent surface microcracking higher than the core of the volume when typical creep loads are applied. The proposed model can therefore be used to predict creep phenomena in such a material.

许多作者讨论了关于干燥蠕变发展的 Pickett 理论，以解释蠕变引起的收缩应变和由蠕变载荷引起的微裂纹的发展。本文通过考虑水泥相在构建的代表性虚拟微观结构中的非均匀分布，提出了一种水泥浆干燥蠕变的微观力学建模方法。在开发干燥模型时，粘弹性行为定律考虑了损坏，该模型考虑了水在毛细孔隙中的扩散。模拟拉伸和压缩试验以确定水泥浆体的强度，并与实验数据进行比较，然后同时模拟干燥和蠕变。模拟结果表明在拉伸和压缩中都存在皮克特效应。宏观梁不同深度的损伤演变分析表明，当施加典型的蠕变载荷时，明显的表面微裂纹高于体积的核心。因此，所提出的模型可用于预测这种材料中的蠕变现象。