INFLUENCE OF THERMAL CYCLES ON THE MECHANICAL BEHAVIOUR OF CONCRETE OF THERMO-ACTIVATED STRUCTURES

Abstract

This article examines the behavior of concrete when subjected to thermal cycles, thus, imitating the process of thermal loading and unloading in thermo-activated structures, throughout their in-use period. Cylindrical specimens have been performed to study the behavior to compression and tensile strength, and prismatic specimens were performed to flexural test strength. The analysis of results shows that in thermo-active structures subjected to thermal cycles, temperature variation influences on the evolution of concrete mechanical properties, not staying constant over time. Likewise, a greater amount of reinforcement to withstand compression is necessary, as well as the reformulation of calculation methods outlined in the concrete standard EHE, so that analysis of this type of structures can be performed on the safe side, regarding both stresses and strains. Keywords: ? concrete, temperature-related & thermal effects, thermo-active structures, compression test, splitting tensile test, flexural test