The scenario of a severe accident in the containment building of a nuclear plant results in an increase in pressure, temperature and relative humidity that can reach respectively 5 bars, 140 C andthewatervapoursaturation. Accurateknowledgeofthethermalandmechanicalbehaviourofma- terials and more specifically of concrete…
The scenario of a severe accident in the containment building of a nuclear plant results in an increase in pressure, temperature and relative humidity that can reach respectively 5 bars, 140 C andthewatervapoursaturation. Accurateknowledgeofthethermalandmechanicalbehaviourofma- terials and more specifically of concrete is required to carry out more precise numerical simulations, in order to be able improve the precision of regulatory calculations. Ourstudyaimstoinvestigatethemechanicalbehaviourofconcreteunderhomogeneousconditions of moisture and temperature. An experimental apparatus was designed in order to assess the evolu- tions of the fracture energy, the modulus of elasticity and the traction resistance of concrete. Different temperature levels up to a maximum of 140 C and at different values of the controlled moisture con- tent were investigated. The equipment was used to perform DCT (Disk-shape Compact Tension) tests at 30, 90, 110 and 140 C. Five levels of degree of liquid water saturation ( S ) were investigated for w each temperature level between 36 and 100 %.