Numerical Simulation of the Freezing Process of Concrete
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 25, Issue 9
Abstract
Based on the equilibrium, continuity, and energy principles of multiphase porous media, a thermal-hydro-mechanical coupling model was developed for concrete upon freezing. To solve the governing differential equations, a three-dimensional finite-element analysis is performed based on the software program Comsol Multiphysics. Finally, temperature distributions, frozen water contents, and strains as a function of freezing time are predicted. A comparison of the analytical results with available experimental data for concrete mortars illustrates the validity of the proposed model. This numerical model can be used to assess the effect of cooling rate, the role of pore-size distribution, the role of permeability, the effect of cross section size and shape, the effect of superimposed stresses attributable to applied loads, and other factors that cannot easily be evaluated by current tests.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the financial support of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51108413), and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2012QNA4016).
References
Barer, S. S., Churaev, N. V., and Derjaguim, B. V. (1992). “Viscosity of nonfreezing thin interlayers between the surfaces of ice and quartz.” Prog. Surf. Sci., 40(1–4), 371–378.
Bazant, Z. P. (1988). “Mathematical model for freeze-thaw durability of concrete.” J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 71(9), 776–783.
Brun, M., Lallemand, A., Quinson, J. F., and Eyraud, C. (1977). “A new method for the simultaneous determination of the size and the shape of pores: The thermoporometry.” Thermochim. Acta, 21(1), 59–88.
Carslaw, H. S., and Jaeger, J. C. (1959). Conduction of heat in solids, 2nd Ed., Clarendon Press, Oxford, UK.
Cho, S. W. (2012). “Using mercury intrusion porosimetry to study the interfacial properties of cement-based materials.” J. Marine Sci. Technol., 20(3), 269–273.
Comsol Multiphysics, Version 3.3 [Computer software]. Burlington, MA, Comsol, Inc.
Concrete Institute of China Academy of Building Research (CICABR). (1997). “Test method for durability of normal concrete.”, Beijing, China (in Chinese).
Coussy, O. (2005). “Poromechanics of freezing materials.” J. Mech. Phys. Solids, 53(8), 1689–1718.
Coussy, O., Detournay, E., and Dormieux, L. (1998). “From mixture theories to Biot’s theory.” Int. J. Solids Struct., 35, 4619–4635.
Coussy, O., and Monteiro, P. J. M. (2008). “Poroelastic model for concrete exposed to freezing temperatures.” Cem. Concr. Res., 38, 40–48.
Duan, A. (2009). “Research on constitutive relationship of frozen-thawed concrete and mathematical modeling of freeze-thaw process.” Ph.D. thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, Tsinghua University, China (in Chinese).
Fagerlund, G. (1973). “Determination of pore-size distribution from freezing point depression.” Mater. Struct., 6(33), 215–225.
Gregg, S. J., and Sing, K. S. W. (1982). Adsorption, surface area and porosity, 2nd Ed., Academic Press, London.
Hobbs, P. V. (1974). Ice physics, Clarendon Press, Oxford, UK.
Kowalski, S. J. (1994). “Thermomechanics of the drying process of fluid-saturated porous media.” Drying Technol., 12(3), 453–482.
Lide, D. R. (2003). CRC handbook of chemistry and physics, 84th Ed., CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Mortimer, R. G. (2000). Physical chemistry, 2nd Ed., Academic Press, San Diego.
Olsen, M. P. J. (1984). “Mathematical modeling of the freezing process of concrete and aggregates.” Cem. Concr. Res., 14, 113–122.
Penttala, V. (1998). “Freezing-induced strains and pressures in wet porous materials and especially in concrete mortar.” Adv. Cem. Based Mater., 7, 8–19.
Penttala, V. (2002). “Stress and strain state of concrete during freezing and thawing cycles.” Cem. Concr. Res., 32, 1407–1420.
Pigeon, M., and Pleau, R. (1995). Durability of concrete in cold climates, E&FN Spon, London, 12–30.
Powers, T. C. (1945). “A working hypothesis for further studies of frost resistance of concrete.” J. Am. Concr. Inst., 16(4), 245–272.
Powers, T. C. (1949). “The air requirement of frost-resistant concrete.” Proc., Highway Research Board, Vol. 29, Highway Research Board, National Research Council, Washington, DC, 184–211.
Powers, T. C., and Brownyard, T. L. (1947). “Studies of the physical properties of hardened portland cement paste.” J. Am. Concr. Inst., 18(8), 933–969.
Scherer, G. W. (1999). “Crystallization in pores.” Cem. Concr. Res., 29(8), 1347–1358.
Setzer, M. J. (1999). “Micro ice lens formation and frost damage.” Proc., Int. RILEM Workshop, Bagneux, France, 1–15.
Yang, Z. F., Weiss, W. J., and Olek, J. (2006). “Water transport in concrete damaged by tensile loading and freeze-thaw cycling.” J. Mater. Civ. Eng., 18(3), 424–434.
Yuan, R. Z. (1989). Science of binding materials, Wuhan University of Technology Press, Wuhan, China (in Chinese).
Zeng, Q. (2007). “Influence of freezing rate on the cryo-deformation and cryo-damage of cement based material.” Master’s thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, Tsinghua University, China (in Chinese).
Zuber, B., and Machand, J. (2000). “Modeling the deterioration of hydrated cement systems exposed to frost action. Part 1: Description of the mathematical model.” Cem. Concr. Res., 30, 1920–1939.
Zuber, B., and Machand, J. (2004). “Predicting the volume instability of hydrated cement systems upon freezing using poro-mechanics and local phase equilibria.” Mater. Struct., 37(4), 257–270.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 16, 2012
Accepted: Aug 14, 2012
Published online: Aug 29, 2012
Discussion open until: Jan 29, 2013
Published in print: Sep 1, 2013
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.