Abstract

In the present work, a simplified hydro-thermal model for pore pressure calculation in concrete exposed to high temperatures is presented. The model is based on heat and mass transfer analysis in multi-phase porous media. The model has been structured in such a way that it is possible, due to assumptions, to reduce the numbers of inputs without compromising the results of the predictions. The validation process has been performed, and it has shown that the computational model is capable to reproduce with a high reliability and accuracy the mass losses reported in the experimental tests and the evolution of temperatures on concrete due to thermal exposure, both at the exposed surface and inside the element. Likewise, pore pressure estimated by the model agrees with the experimental results.