Thermo-Mechanical Analysis of Mass Concrete Foundation Slabs at Early Age—Essential Aspects and Experiences from the FE Modelling

Abstract

In this paper, the focus is placed on essential aspects of finite element modelling of thermo-mechanical behaviour of massive foundation slabs at early ages. Basic decision-making issues are discussed in this work: the potential need to explicitly consider the casting process in the modelling, the necessary size of the underlying soil to be modelled and the size of the FE mesh, and the need of considering daily changes of the environmental temperature and the temperature distribution over the depth of the soil. Next, the contribution of shrinkage to early age stresses, the role of the reinforcement, and the type of mechanical model are investigated. Comparative analyses aiming to investigate the most important aspects of the FE model and some possible simplifications with negligible effect on the results are made on the example of a massive foundation slab. Finally, the results are summarized with recommendations for creating the FE models of massive slabs at early ages.

Modeling of Heat and Mass Transfer in Cement-Based Materials during Cement Hydration—A Review

“…Modeling guidelines considering geometric aspects have been outlined by the RILEM TC 287-CCS in [59]. Further analyses and recommendations regarding subsoil considerations can be found in [55,108,109].…”

“…Furthermore, a discussion on the available DIANA software options can be found in [140]. Examples of applications of mass concrete slabs are provided in [55,108].…”

Construction and Building Materials: Masonry Structures and Reinforced Concrete Structures

“…Aspects of concrete ageing in mass structures were considered as both material and structural problems. This topic was presented in two papers [6,18]. The paper [6] by Klemczak and Smolana (dd.…”

“…This topic was presented in two papers [6,18]. The paper [6] by Klemczak and Smolana (dd. Żmij) presents the thermal and mechanical FEM model of mass concrete foundation slabs at an early age.…”

“…The original methods of validation were used to develop reliable and advanced models of reinforced concrete [1], slab and column systems [8], columns [22], and strengthening [19]. The FEM analyses were also used to model the thermomechanical process in ageing mass reinforced concrete constructions [6,18]. There are far fewer papers on this aspect of masonry structures.…”