Temperature Effect of Concrete Hydration Heat under Atmospheric Wind Based on Fluid-Solid Coupling

Concrete inevitably gets subjected to the effects of atmospheric wind during pouring. It is a significant factor to predict the temperature stress and gradient of concrete structure during pouring. In this paper, the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Finite Element Method (FEM) were used to analyze the temperature and stress generated by temperature gradient of mass cap concrete under the wind environment. Then, the reliability of the temperature value was verified by the field test. The analysis shows that the use of the fluid-solid coupling method allows considering not only the thermal movement and thermodynamic properties of wind (given by CFD), but also the thermal expansion and stress of the concrete structure (given by FEM). Because of the wind, temperature of the windward side of the concrete is lower than that of the leeward side. Highest temperature is located at the center biased towards the leeward side. Increase in the wind speed increases the temperature difference and the maximum principal tensile stress. However, the study shows that change in the wind direction has limited effect on the concrete temperature stress.

Automated summary

In this study, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Finite Element Method (FEM) were used to analyze the temperature and stress distribution of mass cap concrete under wind environment, and the reliability of temperature values was verified through field tests. Wind affects concrete temperature distribution, with lower temperatures on the windward side and higher temperatures towards the leeward side. Higher wind speeds lead to increased temperature differences and maximum tensile stress, while changes in wind direction have limited effect on concrete temperature stress.