COST TU1404 benchmark on macroscopic modelling of concrete and concrete structures at early age: proof-of-concept stage

Modelling of early-age behaviour of cement-based materials is still a challenging task. The challenge is implied by the extent of the knowledge on the subject which results in a variety of different models used for simulation of cement-based materials. That is why a numerical benchmark program has been launched within the COST Action TU1404 aiming at improvement and harmonisation of computational prediction of early-age behaviour of cement-based materials as well as its behaviour on structural level. This paper presents the result of the proof-of-concept stage of the benchmark. The goal of this stage of benchmark was to compare the performance of currently used models for simulation of early-age behaviour of concrete. The participants were requested to simulate thermo-chemomechanical behaviour of simple concrete elements covering adiabatic and real evolution of temperature, shrinkage, stiffness and stresses accounting for early-age creep. The tasks were formulated based on the experimental measurements. This stage of benchmark allowed to evaluate the influence of different phenomena occurring in early-age concrete on the behaviour of early-age concrete structures, define the discrepancies between experimental results and numerical simulations, as well as to indicate the weak points in the models.
COST Action TU1404, Competitivity Factors Operational Programme– COMPETE, Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (BK-237/RB-6/2018).
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion