Numerical modeling of mass concrete structures: practical applications and relevance to society

Resumo

Computational analysis has become crucial in almost all disciplines of our society, together with theory
and experimental analysis. In civil engineering, the thermal cracking of young concrete, associated with the high
costs and safety requirements of infrastructure works, has been a concern of the engineering community since
the first applications of mass concrete. It happens that several massive concrete structures such as hydroelectric
and nuclear power plants, thick foundations, bridge pier columns and caps, thick walls, and tetrapods breakwaters
may experience cracking induced by the generation of heat during hydration reaction (hardening). Considering
the nature of this type of work, whose risk, cost, and predictability of behavior are extremely important factors for
our community, accurate models are necessary to guarantee the success of the project. In this sense, this work will
considerer the most commonly used numerical method – Finite Element Method (FEM) - in practical applications
for numerical modeling of concrete structures developed by PEC/COPPE/UFRJ in several engineering works,
showing its impact and importance for society.