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Estimation of cracking risk of concrete at early age based on thermal stress analysis

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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to simulate the early age concrete behaviors and evaluate the cracking risk with the thermal and thermal stress analysis. A new finite element method program associated with ANSYS program is developed for the computation of thermal field and thermal stress field for early age concrete considering the following characters: degree of hydration, thermal properties (such as specific heat, thermal diffusivity), thermal boundary conditions, and mechanical properties (such as shrinkage, creep) which occur at early age. The results from simulation compared with experimental values found in the literature show a good agreement. Finally, based on this user-developed subroutine, the effects of hydration heat, ambient temperature, wind velocity, shrinkage, and length-height ratio on cracking risk were analyzed for a concrete wall which is one part of the structure of Maridal culvert in Norway. By which, the measures to control the cracking were provided for the engineering application.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) under Grant No. 50779017. The authors also want to appreciate the scholarship awarded to the Donghui Huang by the China Scholarship Council during his 1-year study in City College of City University of New York. Dr. Xiaochun Li and Dr. Hongmei Gao are very appreciated for their contribution to this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hohai University, 1 Xikang Road, 210098, Nanjing, China

    Shengxing Wu, Donghui Huang, Haitao Zhao & Panxiu Wang

  2. City College of New York, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, NY, 10031, US

    Feng-Bao Lin

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  1. Shengxing Wu
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  2. Donghui Huang
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  3. Feng-Bao Lin
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  4. Haitao Zhao
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  5. Panxiu Wang
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Correspondence to Haitao Zhao.

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Wu, S., Huang, D., Lin, FB. et al. Estimation of cracking risk of concrete at early age based on thermal stress analysis. J Therm Anal Calorim 105, 171–186 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-011-1512-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-011-1512-y

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