Calculating DryingShrinkage Stresses

readily available software tools can be used for analyses of concrete structures
By MohaMMed h. Baluch, MuhaMMad KaliMur rahMan, and isaM a. MahMoud

any practicing engineers have access to multiphysics finite element software packages with heat transfer and stress analysis modules and elements. Those packages may not, however, include modules formulated for evaluating diffusion problems, so it can be difficult for engineers to analyze a concrete structure or component for the effects of moisture loss over time. The technique described in this article takes advantage of the analogy between the diffusion equation and the heat transfer equation, allowing engineers to use commonly-available software tools to analyze concrete structures for stresses arising from restrained drying shrinkage. The procedure is a two-step process. After establishing the analogy of the diffusion problem with the heat transfer problem, the first step is to determine moisture movement in concrete using the heat transfer module of a commercial finite element program. In the second step of the process, an empirically-derived coefficient is used in the stress analysis module of the same program to obtain stresses due to constrained shrinkage strains.

where C = C(x, y, t) is the moisture content as a function of location variables x and y and the time variable t, and D(C) is the isotropic moisture diffusivity in the concrete which, in the general case, is a function of C.1 Moisture diffusion at a boundary is considered to be in the form of a convective boundary condition and can be written as (2)

where is the moisture gradient at a surface with unit normal n, hf C is the convective transfer coefficient, Ce is the moisture content at the surface of the porous medium, and CS is the relative humidity of the ambient space. In a generalized two-dimensional solid, the governing nonlinear differential equation for heat transfer can be written as (3)

FunDamentalS

analog for diffusion

In a generalized two-dimensional porous medium (concrete), the governing nonlinear differential equation for diffusion (Ficks second law) can be written as (1)

where T = T(x, y, t) is the temperature as a function of location variables x and y and the time variable t, k is the isotropic thermal conductivity, is the density, and c is the specific heat for the solid. Heat transfer at the surface is considered in the form of a convective boundary condition and can be written as
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(4)

been used productively for the analysis of electronic circuits,3 and our work shows that it can also be successfully used to determine shrinkage effects in concrete.

where is the thermal gradient at a surface with unit normal n, hfT is the convective transfer coefficient, Te is the temperature at the surface of the solid, and TS is the temperature of the ambient space. Comparing the equations describing the diffusion and heat transfer problems, its clear that a one-toone analogy exists between the two problems. The correspondence is highlighted in Table 1. Based on these associations, its possible to create initial and boundary conditions for the analysis of moisture diffusion in a porous medium using the heat transfer module and elements in a commercial multi-physics package such as ANSYS. 2 This concept has

analog for moisture change

To evaluate shrinkage effects, weve developed an empirical material property we term the coefficient of moisture contraction, hygro, which is evaluated by measuring the free shrinkage strain sh and the moisture loss in concrete samples.4,5 Using the relationship (5) where M is the percentage of moisture loss in the concrete, weve established values for hygro ranging from 9 106 to 15 106 mm/mm for a variety of normal and high-performance concretes (Table 2).5 Stresses due to restrained shrinkage can be found by modeling a concrete element using the heat transfer and stress analysis modules in a multi-physics software package (Fig. 1). In the first step, the heat transfer module is applied using the appropriate analogs for diffusion in place of the inputs normally required for heat transfer analyses. Because this step requires that initial moisture contents must be modeled as temperatures, its convenient to set the maximum value at 100 C when working in SI units or 100 F when working in in.-lb units. Upon completion of the heat transfer analysis, the M values output from the heat transfer module as temperature change values can be assembled. In the second step, the stress analysis module is applied, inputting nodal values for M in place of temperature

Table 1: Corresponding terms in the differential equations for

diffusion and heat transfer

Diffusion
C(x, y, t) D(C) hfC Ce CS

Heat transfer
T(x, y, t)

hfT Te TS

Table 2: ConCrete mixture properties and assoCiated hygro values

Cement,* kg/m3 (lb/yd3) 420 (708) 420 (708) 420 (708) 425 (716) 500 (843) 355 (598) SCM, kg/m3 (lb/yd3) Ultra-fine fly ash 106 (179) Silica fume 30 (51)

Mixture type normal normal normal scc enhanced scc silica fume
*

Coarse aggregate, Fine aggregate, kg/m3 (lb/yd3) kg/m3 (lb/yd3) 770 (1298) 770 (1298) 770 (1298) 840 (1416) 762 (1284) 1110 (1871) 945 (1593) 1003 (1691) 788 (1328) 800 (1348) 924 (1557) 680 (1146)

w/cm 0.45 0.5 0.6 0.34 0.36 0.4

admixture types and dosages

hygro, 106 mm/mm 10.5 11.1 12.0 11.4 15.0 9.2

||

Type I portland cement Supplementary cementitious material Self-consolidating concrete 4.25 kg/m3 (7.6 lb/yd3) high-range water-reducing admixture and 7.0 kg/m3 (11.8 lb/yd3) dispersing agent for each concrete || Polycarboxylic ether polymer at a dosage of 1.6 l per 100 kg cement (24.5 fl oz per 100 lb cement) # Sulfonated napthalene polymer at a dosage of 1.4 l per 100 kg cementitious material (21.5 fl oz per 100 lb cementitious material)

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change and using hygro as input in place of the coefficient of thermal expansion thermo. The output from this analog step can include shrinkage strains, stresses, and deflections.

Analog Te = 30% (SI units) in.2/day (in.-lb units) The analog hf T represents the moisture convective term hf C and was estimated based on work reported in Reference 1. The analog Te represents the ambient relative humidity Ce corresponding to the estimated ambient environmental conditions of the tests reported in Reference 6. The analog k/c represents the moisture-dependent coefficient of diffusivity D(C) and is also based on the work presented in Reference 1. The parameters of the moisture diffusivity problem have been studied extensively for various environmental conditions of temperature, wind speed, and material properties.1 It should be noted that the moisturedependent diffusivity renders the problem nonlinear. The model for the fresh concrete slab with its boundary conditions is shown in Fig. 2. A transient thermal diffusion analysis was conducted, assuming that the fresh concrete and sand were initially fully saturated. This condition was

example

moisture distribution

Consider the example of a slab-on-ground comprising a 75 mm (3 in.) thick layer of concrete cast over a 100 mm (4 in.) thick layer of saturated sand (Fig. 2). This example simulates a concrete slab test specimen6 that was cast over saturated sand and monitored to obtain the evolution of shrinkage strains and slab warping over a period of 1 year. Of the five slabs documented in Reference 6, we selected the case of a plain, normal concrete slab for simulation. In the analyses, eight-noded thermal and compatible structural elements were used in the ANSYS finite element program. The first step in determining the restrained shrinkage stresses was to find the moisture loss. Using analog thermal parameters, the input material parameters for the fresh concrete slab were Analog hfT = 30 mm/day (SI units) = 1.18 in./day (in.-lb units)

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represented by an initial body temperature of 100 oC (100 oF). The temperature distribution after 1 year represented the moisture distribution after the same period from which the moisture loss (M) was computed (Fig. 3(a)).

Shrinkage stresses

Using the initial and final moisture distributions, we found the nodal values for M. For computation of stresses, M values were input in the thermal stress analog model (instead of T). A thermal stress analysis was performed using ANSYS with the following material parameters. For the fresh concrete slab: E = 9000 MPa (1.3 106 lb/in.2) = 0.1 hygro = 12 106 mm/mm For the sand layer: E = 7000 MPa (1.0 106 lb/in.2)

Fig. 1: Flowchart for sequential application of the diffusion and thermal analogs

Fig. 2: Finite element model of half of the slab (1 in. = 25.4 mm)

Fig. 3: Finite element analysis results: (a) M after 1 year; (b) stress field for normal stress in longitudinal direction; (c) strain field for normal strain in longitudinal direction; (d) displacement field for deflection in longitudinal direction; and (e) displacement field for deflection in vertical direction

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Table 3: Comparison of experimental data with results of

numeriCal analysis results

Parameter Maximum curling, mm (in.) Total strain at midspan, mm/mm strain at joint, mm/mm Joint opening, mm (in.) Maximum longitudinal stress, MPa (lb/in.2)

experimental data6 4.80 (0.19) 308 106 366 106 1.78 (0.070)

Numerical analysis results 4.28 (0.17) 430 106 300 106 1.80 (0.071) 4.2 (610)

2. ANSYS Multiphysics, ANSYS, Inc., Canonsburg, PA. 3. Wong, E.H.; Teo, Y.C.; and Lim, T.B., Moisture Diffusion and Vapour Pressure Modeling of IC Packaging, Proceedings of the 48th Electronic Components and Technology Conference, Seattle, WA, May 1998, pp. 1372-1378. 4. Baluch, M.H.; Rahman, M.K.; Al-Gadhib, A.H.; and Raza, A., Coefficient of Moisture ContractionA New Concrete Material Parameter, Proceedings of Sustainable Construction Materials, Coventry University, UK, June 2007, pp. 457-460. 5. Baluch, M.H.; Rahman, M.K.; Saleem, N.S.; and Mahmoud, I.A., Shrinkage-Induced Stresses in Concrete Using a New Concrete Material Parameter, Proceedings of International Conference on Advances in Cement Based Materials and Applications in Civil Infrastructure (ACBM-ACI), Lahore, Pakistan, Dec. 2007, pp. 411-420. 6. Bissonnette, B.; Attiogbe, E.K.; Miltenberger, M.A.; and Fortin, C., Drying Shrinkage, Curling, and Joint Opening of Slabson-Ground, ACI Materials Journal, V. 104, No. 3, May-June 2007, pp. 259-267. Selected for reader interest by the editors after independent expert evaluation and recommendation.

= 0.1 hygro = 12 1012 mm/mm The bond between the fresh concrete and sand was modeled using a contact element with a friction coefficient of 0.5 and opening stiffness of 0.01 N/mm (0.057 lb/in.). The value for concrete modulus E was selected to reflect the influence of creep relaxation. The restrained shrinkage stresses and total shrinkage strain are shown in Fig. 3(b) and (c), respectively. Horizontal and vertical deformations are shown in Fig. 3(d) and (e), respectively. In Table 3, data from the finite element model are compared with experimental results from Reference 3. It can be seen that the model yields fairly accurate estimates for the salient indexes characterizing the slab-on-ground experiment.

Mohammed H. baluch is a Professor of civil engineering at King Fahd university of Petroleum & Minerals (KFuPM), saudi arabia. his research interests include computational modeling of problems in concrete mechanics and durability.

appliCation

Using the coefficient of moisture contraction hygro, introduced in References 4 and 5, its now feasible for design and repair engineers to solve the problem of restrained shrinkage stress in concrete structures, repair patches, and slab overlays. Making use of mathematical analogies, these analyses can be made using existing software models for transient heat transfer and thermal stress determination using commonly available commercial software.

Muhammad Kalimur Rahman is a research engineer at the research institute, KFuPM. his research interests include strengthening and repair of concrete structures and finite element modeling.

acknowledgments
The support of the Civil and Mechanical Engineering Departments at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) is deeply acknowledged. This work was completed under a grant from the University Research Committee at KFUPM under Project CE/Mix Design/267.

Isam a. Mahmoud is a Phd student in civil engineering at KFuPM. his research interests include finite element modeling of concrete and pavement structures.

References
1. Baluch, M.H.; Rahman, M.K.; Al-Gadhib, A.H.; Raza, A.; and Zafar, S., Crack Minimization Model for Hot Weather Concreting, Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, V. 31, No. 1C, June 2006, pp. 77-91.
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