Open Access

ARTICLE

Experimental Study of Thermal-Hydraulic-Mechanical Coupling Behavior of High-Performance Concrete

Wei Chen^1,*, Wenhao Zhao¹, Yue Liang¹, Frederic Skoczylas²

1 School of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Environment, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, 430068, China
2 CNRS, Centrale Lille, UMR9013-LaMcube-Laboratoire de Mécanique Multiphysique et Multiéchelle, Université de Lille, Lille, F-59000, France

* Corresponding Author: Wei Chen. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Advances in Solid Waste Processing and Recycling Technologies for Civil Engineering Materials)

Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing 2023, 19(9), 2417-2430. https://doi.org/10.32604/fdmp.2023.030028

Received 19 March 2023; Accepted 18 April 2023; Issue published 16 May 2023

Abstract

The design of an underground nuclear waste disposal requires a full characterization of concrete under various thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical conditions. This experimental work studied the characterization of coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical effects using concretes made with cement CEM I or CEM V/A (according to European norms). Uniaxial and triaxial compression under 5 MPa confining pressure tests were performed under three different temperatures (T = 20°C, 50°C, and 80°C). The two concretes were dried under relative humidity (RH) to obtain a partially saturated state of approximately 70%. The results showed that the effects of water saturation and confining pressure are more important than that of temperature. Drying in high RH at different target temperatures led to an increase in uniaxial and triaxial strength but drying at 105°C had a negative effect on the strength and Young‘s modulus. Oven drying caused microcracking in the concrete. The microcracks deeply influenced the thermal damage to the material, affecting its mechanical behavior. The triaxial strength clearly increased due to the presence of confining pressure. Moreover, an important influence of cement type was observed on the mechanical properties; the concrete based on CEM V/A had a greater porosity than CEM I, and a finer pore structure appeared due to the presence of mineral admixtures.

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Keywords

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