Análise computacional termo-mecânica de estruturas de concreto sujeitas a temperaturas elevadas

Abstract

Concrete is a heterogeneous porous material subjected to physical and chemical alterations when exposed to extreme environmental conditions, such as elevated temperatures. Cement paste dehydration may lead to cracking - and even to the ocorrence of spalling - due to internal pressures generated by water vapour formation. The exposure to high temperatures may occur in two different situations: _ accidental causes, as fires, when the temperature gradients are rather elevated and fire exposure takes a relatively short period of time; _ ordinary service conditions, like repositories for radioactive wastes. A previous M.Sc. work developed in the PGMC by FERREIRA (2011, [1]), as part of a scientific cooperation with the University of Cergy Pontoise, dealt with the thermo-hydric modelling of structures composed of concrete-rock bilayers - so as to represent elements present in tunnels, hydroeletric powerplant instalations, for instance. That work employed the free code Cast3M 2000 (developed in the CEA, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, França), based on the concepts of operators and objects. Experimental and numerical data were employed for validation. The present work proposes the incorporation of the mechanical coupling to that TH model, through the Mazars Damage Model - with the following basic assumptions: _ Local damage results from elongation deformations; _ Damage is represented by a scalar quantity D. The numerical results are compared with data from FERREIRA (2011, [1]) and experimental information available for concrete-rock bilayer samples. It is observed a clear numerical/experimental correspondence. Resulting discrepancies indicate the need for further investigation concerning the effects of mechanical degradation on the thermical and mechanical properties of concrete.