Permeability and damage of partially saturated concrete exposed to elevated temperature

Hognon Sogbossi (1) , Jérôme Verdier (1) , Stéphane Multon (1)

1 LMDC - Laboratoire Matériaux et Durabilité des constructions

This work analyses the impact of elevated temperature on the permeability and on the damage of concrete according to its saturation degree. The Young Modulus and gas permeability were measured on samples with different initial saturation degrees that were subjected to thermal loading (80, 150 and 200 °C). These conditions were defined to simulate the hydrothermal loading of nuclear plant concrete in case of accident. To analyse the behaviour of concrete exposed to high temperature, it is necessary to distinguish the effects of water saturation and the impact of damage on permeability. Experimentations shows that concrete with high saturation degree can be permeable to air after thermal loading, while it was not permeable before the loading. Relations are proposed to link the permeability variation to temperature according to the initial saturation degree of the concrete and to evaluate the permeability variation from the induced damage.

Mots clés: Damage; Durability; Permeability; Saturation degree; Temperature; Transport properties

Domaines: Sciences de l'ingénieur [physics]; Génie civil

Hognon Sogbossi, Jérôme Verdier, Stéphane Multon. Permeability and damage of partially saturated concrete exposed to elevated temperature. Cement and Concrete Composites, 2020, 109, pp.103563. ⟨10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2020.103563⟩. ⟨hal-02617082⟩