The present study deals with the numerical thermal modelling of two slab-specimens made of high performance concrete that underwent thermal spalling tests. The specimens were equipped with thermocouples located at selected points and subjected on theirs undersides to a fire…
The present study deals with the numerical thermal modelling of two slab-specimens made of high performance concrete that underwent thermal spalling tests. The specimens were equipped with thermocouples located at selected points and subjected on theirs undersides to a fire of the order of Eurocode 2 ISO 834 standard fire. The thermocouples responses were recorded and reported and some of them revealed the effects of presence of water in zones near the specimens heating faces. Temperatures of the heated faces of the specimens were measured and theirs evolutions with respect to time were used as inputs of the numerical modelling. The numerical modelling of the temperature field considering the selected points and using the standard concrete thermal characteristics was not satisfactory because the discrepancies between experiment and modeling reached 41 to 63 °C at the highest temperatures. The study showed that by reducing the thermal conductivity of the concrete, it is possible to predict satisfactorily the specimen’s thermal behavior during the spalling tests. Hence, the numerical modelling of spalling tests with the use of thermo-mechanical approach becomes then possible.