An elasto-plastic damage model for plain concrete subjected to high temperatures

A computational model allowing for the thermo-mechanical analysis of concrete structures at high temperatures by means of the finite element method is presented. The degradation of a part of the mechanical properties due to temperature is given through a diffused thermal damage model. Further, the model includes transient creep interaction with localized mechanical damage due to cracking. A comparison is made between experimental tests performed by some authors on concrete specimens at high temperatures and the numerical results obtained from the model presented.