Variation Pattern of the Compressive Strength of Concrete under Combined Heat and Moisture Conditions

Abstract

The compressive strength of concrete is not the same in high temperature humid environments and normal temperature dry environments. In this study, quasi-static uniaxial compression experiments of concrete with different temperatures and water contents were carried out to investigate the variation pattern of the compressive strength of concrete under combined heat and moisture conditions. The results showed that the temperature softening effect and water softening effect of the compressive strength of concrete were coupled with each other. The compressive strength exhibited a variation trend from increase to decrease with the increase in both temperature and water content, and the relations among the heat–moisture coupling factor, temperature, and relative saturation ratio were obtained. The water absorption of concrete after immersion had a more significant effect on the compressive strength than the free water content stored inside the specimen before immersion. The “pseudo-temperature strengthening effect” distinguished the thermodynamic response of immersed concrete from that of dry concrete, and the functional relationships among the heat–moisture coupling factor, temperature, and relative water absorption ratio were established. The evolutionary mechanism of the competition between the microcrack expansion and healing of concrete under combined heat and moisture conditions was revealed.

Keywords

• concrete compressive strength
• temperature softening effect
• water softening effect
• heat–moisture coupling factor