Numerical Simulation on Thermomechanical Coupling Behavior of Early-Age Concrete in the Large-Scale Steel–Concrete Connecting Segment of a Hybrid-Girder Cable-Stayed Bridge
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 25, Issue 11
Abstract
Large-scale connecting segments can provide reasonable load transition in hybrid girders, and have been broadly used in long-span cable-stayed bridges. However, the large volume of concrete in connecting segments bears a high cracking risk at an early age in the life of the concrete. In this study, field measurement and numerical simulation were performed on a large-scale connecting segment with early-age concrete to investigate its thermomechanical coupling behavior. Based on the thermal behavior modeling, mechanical behavior modeling was subsequently carried out by considering the comprehensive effects of temperature history and actual age on the development of the hardening concrete’s mechanical properties. Both measurement and simulation show that the peak temperature can reach about 90°C, which is far beyond expectation, and high cracking risks exist in the external surfaces of concrete in the monitored connecting segment. To reduce the cracking risk, methods of multilayer pouring and cooling pipes were then adopted to quantitatively evaluate the anti-cracking effects. Results show that embedding cooling pipes in the thick concrete slabs can significantly lower the peak temperature, further reducing the cracking risk of the concrete.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This study is funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51978061), the Special Fund for Basic Scientific Research of Central College of Chang’an University (No. 300102219310), and the Science and Technology Project of Department of Transport of Shaanxi Province (No. 17-14K), which are grateful acknowledged.
References
Azenha, M., and R. Faria. 2008. “Temperatures and stresses due to cement hydration on the r/c foundation of a wind tower—a case study.” Eng. Struct. 30: 2392–2400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2008.01.018.
Bazant, Z. P. 1970. “Constitutive equation for concrete creep and shrinkage based on thermodynamics of multiphase system.” Mater. Struct. 3: 3–36.
Byard, B. E., A. K. Schindler, R. W. Barnes, and A. Rao. 2010. “Cracking tendency of bridge deck concrete.” Transp. Res. Rec. 2164: 122–131. https://doi.org/10.3141/2164-16.
CEB-FIP (European Committee for Concrete-International Federation for Prestressing). 2010. Model code for concrete structures. London: Thomas Telford.
Chen, B., C. Li, W. Huang, M. An, S. Han, and Q. Ding. 2018. “Review of ultra-high performance concrete shrinkage.” [In Chinese.] J. Traffic Transp. Eng. 18 (1): 13–28.
Cheng, X., X. Nie, and J. Fan. 2016. “Structural performance and strength prediction of steel-to-concrete box girder deck transition zone of hybrid steel-concrete cable-stayed bridges.” J. Bridge Eng. 21: 04016083. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0000958.
China Metallurgical Construction Association. 2009. Code for construction of mass concrete. [In Chinese.] GB 50496–2009. Beijing: China Planning Press.
Choi, S., S. W. Cha, and B. H. Oh. 2011. “Thermo-hygro-mechanical behavior of early-age concrete deck in composite bridge under environmental loadings. Part 2: Strain and stress.” Mater. Struct. 44: 1347–1367. https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-011-9752-7.
Cristofari, C., G. Notton, and A. Louche. 2004. “Study of the thermal behaviour of a production unit of concrete structural components.” Appl. Therm. Eng. 24: 1087–1101. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1359-4311(03)00161-3.
De Schutter, G. 2002. “Finite element simulation of thermal cracking in massive hardening concrete elements using degree of hydration based material laws.” Comput. Struct. 80: 2035–2042. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0045-7949(02)00270-5.
De Schutter, G., and L. Taerwe. 1996. “Degree of hydration-based description of mechanical properties of early age concrete.” Mater. Struct. 29: 335–344. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02486341.
Do, T. A. 2014. “Influence of footing dimensions on early-age temperature development and cracking in concrete footings.” J. Bridge Eng. 20 (3): 06014007.
Do, T. A., H. L. Chen, G. Leon, and T. H. Nguyen. 2019. “A combined finite difference and finite element model for temperature and stress predictions of cast-in-place cap beam on precast columns.” Constr. Build. Mater. 217: 172–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.05.019.
Do, T. A., A. M. Lawrence, M. Tia, and M. J. Bergin. 2014. “Determination of required insulation for preventing early-age cracking in mass concrete footings.” Transp. Res. Rec. 2441: 91–97. https://doi.org/10.3141/2441-12.
Faria, R., M. Azenha, and J. A. Figueiras. 2006. “Modeling of concrete at early ages: Application to an externally restrained slab.” Cem. Concr. Compos. 28: 572–585. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2006.02.012.
Fourier, J. 1955. The analytical theory of heat. New York: Dover Publications.
Hottel, H. C. 1976. “A simple model for estimating the transmittance of direct solar radiation through clear atmospheres.” Sol. Energy 18 (2): 129–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-092X(76)90045-1.
Huang, Y., G. Liu, S. Huang, R. Rao, and C. Hu. 2018. “Experimental and finite element investigations on the temperature field of a massive bridge pier caused by the hydration heat of concrete.” Constr. Build. Mater. 192: 240–252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.10.128.
Kehlbeck, F. 1975. Einfluss der sonnenstrahlung bei bruckenbauwerken. [In German.] Dusseldrof, Germany: Technische Universitat Hannover.
Kurita, A., and A. Ohyama. 2003. “Recent steel–concrete hybrid bridges in Japan.” Int. J. Steel Struct. 3 (4): 271–279.
Liu, J., Y. J. Liu, and J. H. Fang. 2017. “Vertical temperature gradient patterns of -shaped steel-concrete composite girder in arctic-alpine plateau region.” [In Chinese.] J. Traffic Transp. Eng. 17: 32–44.
Liu, J., Y. J. Liu, L. Jiang, and N. Zhang. 2019a. “Long-term field test of temperature gradients on the composite girder of a long-span cable-stayed bridge.” Adv. Struct. Eng. 22: 2785–2798. https://doi.org/10.1177/1369433219851300.
Liu, J., Y. J. Liu, and G. J. Zhang. 2019b. “Experimental analysis of temperature gradient patterns of concrete-filled steel tubular members.” J. Bridge Eng. 24: 04019109. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0001488.
Liu, Y. J., J. Liu, and N. Zhang. 2019c. “Review on solar thermal actions of bridge structures.” [In Chinese.] China Civil Eng. J. 52: 59–78.
Liu, Y. L., A. K. Schindler, and J. S. Davidson. 2018. “Finite-element modeling and analysis of early-age cracking risk of cast-in-place concrete culverts.” Transp. Res. Rec. 2672 (27): 24–36. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198118774157.
Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the P. R. China. 2010. Code for design of concrete structures. [In Chinese.] GB 50010–2010. Beijing: China Building Industry Press.
Schindler, A. K., and B. F. McCullough. 2002. “Importance of concrete temperature control during concrete pavement construction in hot weather conditions.” Transp. Res. Rec. 1813: 3–10. https://doi.org/10.3141/1813-01.
Topkaya, C., J. A. Yura, and E. B. Williamson. 2004. “Composite shear stud strength at early concrete ages.” J. Struct. Eng. 130: 952–960. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9445(2004)130:6(952).
Ulm, F. J., and O. Coussy. 1995. “Modeling of thermochemomechanical couplings of concrete at early ages.” J. Eng. Mech. 121: 785–794. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9399(1995)121:7(785).
Zhang, K., Y. J. Liu, M. J. Ju, and J. Liu. 2016. “Analysis of structural types and mechanical performance in steel-concrete connections without cell.” [In Chinese.] J. Highway Transp. Res. Dev. 10 (4): 73–79. https://doi.org/10.1061/JHTRCQ.0000535.
Zhang, N., X. Zhou, Y. J. Liu, and J. Liu. 2019. “In-situ test on hydration heat temperature of box girder based on array measurement.” [In Chinese.] China Civ. Eng. J. 52 (3): 76–86.
Zhou, L., Y. Xia, J. M. W. Brownjohn, and K. Y. Koo. 2016. “Temperature analysis of a long-span suspension bridge based on field monitoring and numerical simulation.” J. Bridge Eng. 21 (1): 04015027. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)BE.1943-5592.0000786.
Zhu, B. F. 2013. Thermal stresses and temperature control of mass concrete. 1st ed. Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 26, 2019
Accepted: Jun 11, 2020
Published online: Sep 2, 2020
Published in print: Nov 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Feb 2, 2021
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.