Microstructure-guided numerical simulation to evaluate the influence of phase change materials (PCMs) on the freeze-thaw response of concrete pavements. (20th March 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Nayak, Sumeru; Krishnan, N.M. Anoop; Das, Sumanta
• Is Part Of: Construction & building materials. Volume 201(2019)
• Page Start: 246
• Page End: 256
• Publication Date: 2019-03-20
• Subjects: Microstructure -- Finite element -- Numerical homogenization -- Damage -- Freeze-thaw -- Phase change materials (PCMs); Building materials -- Periodicals; 624.18
• DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.12.199
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0950-0618

Abstract

Highlights: Multiscale numerical simulation evaluates influence of PCMs on freeze-thaw response. The Latent-heat of PCMs is efficiently incorporated into the simulation framework. Simulations employ continuum damage mechanics to evaluate freeze-thaw damage. Significant reduction in freeze-thaw damage observed with PCM-addition in concrete. The simulation framework provides efficient means of optimizing the material design. Abstract: The use of phase change materials in infrastructure has gained significant attention in the recent years owing to their robust thermal performance. This study implements a numerical simulation framework using finite element analysis to evaluate the influence of phase change materials (PCMs) on the thermal response of concrete pavements in geographical regions with significant winter weather conditions. The analysis is carried out at different length scales. The latent-heat associated with different PCMs is efficiently incorporated into the simulation framework. Besides, the numerical simulation framework employs continuum damage mechanics to evaluate the influence of PCMs on the freeze-thaw induced damage in concretes. The simulations show significant reductions in the freeze-thaw induced damage when PCMs are incorporated in concrete. The numerical simulation framework, developed here, provides efficient means of optimizing the material design of such durable PCM-incorporated concretes for pavements by tailoring the composition and material microstructure to maximize performance.