Experimental Investigations on Temperature Generation and Release of Ultra-High Performance Concrete during Fatigue Tests

Abstract

Smarter, more filigree, and resource-saving buildings are the aim of developments in the construction industry. In reinforced concrete construction, ultra-high strength concretes have been developed to achieve these goals. Due to their use and requirements, these highly pressure-resistant materials are increasingly exposed to cyclically occurring and high-frequency loads. Examples of this are applications in long-span bridges or wind turbines. Research into the fatigue behaviour of the new construction material is therefore very important for the standardization and practical introduction of the high performance material. In this article, we want to investigate the heating process of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) under fatigue stress in more detail. In previous investigations in this project, an influence of the heating on the fatigue strength could be determined. A systematic parameter study has defined decisive load configurations for a maximum heating process. The aim is now to better understand the heating process. For this purpose, the temperature generation rate and the temperature release, which probably influences the overall temperature development, are investigated. A test program with eight experiments gives information about the temperature release during the experiment and the heating rate with and without pre-damage in the sample. In addition, the causes of failure caused by temperature are investigated with additional insulated tests. The results are presented, discussed, and conclusions are drawn in the article. For instance, fatigue damage affects the rate of temperature increase, but not the thermal conductivity of the material. In the different configurations, the test specimens essentially overlap at the maximum temperature reached in the inner test specimen. In addition to the assumed influence of the temperature gradients in the cross section as a cause of premature failure due to additional constraint stresses, the maximum temperature in particular turns out to be decisive, independent of the gradient.