Hybrid Analytic-FEA Method for Calculating Hygro-Thermal Deformation of Concrete

A new hybrid analytic-FEA method for calculating coupling hygro-thermal deformation of concrete was proposed based on moisture and heat transfer mechanism of porous medium. The procedure comprises of an analytical solution of heat and moisture transfer, a calculation of moisture induced stress and a finite element analysis (FEA) of hygro-thermal deformation. The methodology of a software named Combined Temperature and Moisture Simulation System for concrete (CTMSoft) is introduced, in which Visual Basic programme was used for the graphical user interface (GUI) and the numerical calculation was developed using Matlab and ANSYS. The working of the proposed hybrid analytic-FEA method and CTMSoft has been validated by a case analysis. The heat-moisture transfer and deformation of the concrete in practical structure were numerical simulated by CTM-Soft. The results of numerical simulation, field test and fiber Bragg grating (FBG) monitoring were comparatively analyzed. The coherence between them reveals that the hybrid analytic-FEA method and software developed are effective and accurate.