Análise e validação de um modelo termo-hídrico do concreto sob temperaturas elevadas

Abstract

Concrete is one of the most used material in construction. The three main reasons for such are: its excellent water resistance; its plastic consistency when fresh, which facilitates molding; its price and accessibility at most construction sites. Concrete is a heterogeneous and porous material whose behavior is extremely complex and whose characteristics are not fully understood. When subjected to extreme environmental conditions, such as exposure to high temperatures, this material is susceptible to physical and chemical changes that may influence its structural performance. Therefore, the prediction of this material behavior is complicated, since the concrete, when submitted to thermal loads, undergoes changes in its porous structure and in the properties of the medium, which may influence its macro-structural thermal and mechanical performance. Given the relevance of the subject under study, the objective of the present research is to improve the studied model by performing parametric analyzes and comparations with the results obtained with the information available in the literature. Special attention will be given to the saturation results, since previous work has indicated the occurrence of some discrepancy related to its magnitude. The model studied, is a thermohydric model that describes the behavior of the concrete submitted to thermal loads. Its mathematical formulation was developed applying the coupled study of heat and mass transfers in the interior of the concrete when exposed to high temperatures. The concrete is described as a multiphase system whose voids of the solid skeleton are filled with liquid water and water vapor. When exposed to higher temperatures than the environmental ones, several phenomena, such as heat, vapor diffusion and water flow in the liquid state, dehydration and evaporation are considered. The model is discretized using the finite difference method and the finite element method, and then implemented in the free finite element calculation program, Cast3M - a program developed by DMT-CEA (Département de Mécanique et Technologie du Commissariat à l’Energy Atomique). Its application generates numerical results of temperature, saturation and vapor pressure, which are used to evaluate the performance of the material.