Prediction of Temperature Distribution in Concrete under Variable Environmental Factors through a Three-Dimensional Heat Transfer Model

Abstract

Temperature distribution in concrete is significant to the concrete structure’s macro properties and different factors affect the heat transfer in concrete, and therefore influence the temperature distribution. This work established a three-dimensional transient heat transfer model coupled with various environmental factors, using the finite element method for calculating the results and real-measured data for testing accuracy. In addition, a sensitivity evaluation of various factors was conducted. Due to various environmental factors, the results revealed that the prediction of temperature distribution in concrete by the three-dimensional model had great accuracy with an error of less than 4%. A particular hysteresis effect of temperature response in the concrete existed. Considering heat transfer in different spatial directions, the model can predict the temperature change of each spatial point instead of the spatial surface in different depths, proving the shortcomings of a one-dimensional heat transfer model. A greater solar radiation intensity caused a more significant temperature difference on the concrete surface: the surface temperature difference in July was twice as significant as that in December. Wind speed had a cooling effect on the concrete surface, and stronger wind speed accompanied with a stronger cooling effect made the surface temperature closer to the ambient temperature. Material properties had different effects on the temperature distribution of the surface part and internal part: the specific heat capacity determined the speed of the outer layer temperature change while the thermal conductivity determined the speed of the inner layer temperature change.

Prediction of uniform temperature effect on rectangular hollow concrete pier based on measured temperature data

“…Yingshu Yuan [14] et al, in order to predict the temperature response of concrete in natural climatic environments, a model based on the heat conduction of concrete proposed by considering the natural weather variations induced by diurnal and seasonal temperatures, and based on the extreme value of the Difference Decomposition, gave a method to deal with climatic temperature data, and the results showed that the prediction model can be more effective in predicting the temperature response of concrete under natural environment.MP Dissanayaka [23] et al, applied the finite element method and the finite difference method to the concrete temperature prediction model, and found that applying these two methods to predict the temperature of concrete is more effective, and emphasized the importance of cold water pipe is important for the cooling of concrete structure, but the calculation method is more complicated and can not be applied to the long-term prediction of concrete temperature. Haoyu Zeng [24] et al, studied and established a three-dimensional transient heat transfer model, calculated the model using the finite element method, and compared and analyzed the calculation results with the measured data. The results showed that: the prediction of temperature distribution in concrete by the three-dimensional model was relatively accurate, with an error of less than 4%; the surface temperature difference in July was twice as much as that in December; the wind speed had a cooling effect on the surface of the concrete, and the larger the wind speed was, the stronger the cooling effect was.…”

Analytical and experimental analysis of concrete temperature and energy considering open-air environmental variations

“…The temperature field of concrete structures can be affected by various environmental factors, and some necessary environmental factors, such as solar radiation, air convection, and heat conduction, have been widely considered in the prediction of concrete temperature 25 – 27 . Zhang et al 28 conducted wind tunnel tests on the convective heat transfer coefficient of concrete surfaces and proposed a relationship between the convective heat transfer coefficient and the wind speed.…”

Prediction of uniform temperature of rectangular hollow concrete pier based on measured temperature data

“…Yingshu Yuan [14] et al, to predict the temperature response of concrete in natural climatic environments, a model based on the heat conduction of concrete is proposed by taking into account the natural weather variations induced by diurnal and seasonal temperatures, and based on the extreme value of the Difference Decomposition, gave a method to deal with climatic temperature data, and the results showed that the prediction model can be more effective in predicting the temperature response of concrete under natural environment.MP Dissanayaka [23] et al, applied the finite element method and the finite difference method to the concrete temperature prediction model, and found that applying these two methods to predict the temperature of concrete is more effective, and emphasized the importance of cold water pipe is important for the cooling of concrete structure, but the calculation method is more complicated and can not be applied to the long-term prediction of concrete temperature. Haoyu Zeng [24] et al, studied and established a three-dimensional transient heat transfer model, calculated the model using the finite element method, and compared and analyzed the calculation results with the measured data. The results showed that: the prediction of temperature distribution in concrete by the three-dimensional model was relatively accurate, with an error of less than 4%; the surface temperature difference in July was twice as much as that in December; the wind speed had a cooling effect on the surface of the concrete, and the larger the wind speed was, the stronger the cooling effect was.…”