Mesoscale simulation of concrete behavior with non-uniform frost damage with verification by CT imaging

The degradation of concrete materials under freezing and thawing cycles is an important issue for structures in cold and wet regions and concrete material degradation in real environment is to be predicted. This paper proposed a mesoscale simulation program to investigate the material deterioration considering the non-uniform environmental condition, which causes non-uniform distribution of humidity and temperature inside concrete. Theoretical coupled heat and moisture transfer model, internal pressure model and degradation constitutive model are applied in a discrete numerical method (Rigid Body Spring Model) to simulate the crack propagation as well as the strength degradation of concrete with non-uniform frost damage. In addition to simulation studies, experimental work is conducted to verify the reliability of the simulation program, where satisfactory agreement is found. With this program, further research related to prediction of structure performance is planned to be conducted.