FEA model for the simulation of the hydration process and temperature evolution during the concreting of an arch dam

Temperature plays a significant part in the cracking phenomenon of mass concrete structures, and therefore thermal analysis is of major importance, especially during construction, due to the heat of hydration of the cement. A transient coupled 3D finite element analysis of the thermal behaviour of Alqueva dam during construction is presented in this paper. The method used for the thermal analysis is described in detail, along with the simulation of the different actions. The thermal state of the dam is affected not only by climatic actions but also by concrete's constituent materials and by the construction methods. The chemo-thermal problem is solved using a heat transfer model. An exponential function was calibrated taking into account the heat of hydration of the cement at 3, 7 and 28 days and the function obtained was then used to establish the chemical affinity relationship. The temperatures predicted using the numerical model are compared with the actual temperatures recorded in situ. Despite the uncertainties characteristic of this type of problem, results lead to the conclusion that the methodology applied in this paper can be effectively used for the chemo-thermal analysis of concrete arch dams, which is particularly relevant during the construction phase.