Hygro-mechanical model for concrete specimens at the meso-level: Application to drying shrinkage

Apreviously developed FE-based mesomechanical model for concrete, based on the systematical use of zero-thickness interface elements to represent cracks, is extended to the domain of diffusion-driven phenomena. In particular, the model is applied to the hygro-mechanical coupled analysis of drying shrinkage in concrete specimens, in which the influence of microcracks on the diffusion of moisture is explicitly accounted for and evaluated. First, the model predictions are quantitatively compared with classical drying shrinkage experiments on concrete specimens, and the coupled behavior of the hygro-mechanical model is studied. In addition, the effect of the main heterogeneities of concrete on the drying process and drying-induced microcracking is addressed.