Modeling the Thermal Behavior of Concrete Slabs Subjected To the Astm E119 Standard Fire Condition

A mathematical and computational model simulating the coupled heat and mass transfer and related processes in porous media exposed to elevated temperatures has been developed. Taking into account the conservation of mass, momentum, and energy, and the evaporation of free and chemically bound water released by dehydration and their effect on the transport phenomena, a set of three coupled nonlinear differential equations is obtained. Carbonate aggregate concrete slabs subjected to the ASTM E119 standard fire exposure are modeled and validated against test data. Output depicts the coupled relationships between the material's temperature, moisture content, and pore pressure histories and distributions.