Creep effects in concrete structures: A study of stochastic behavior

Reports a study of concrete creep effects by stochastic analysis performed through Monte Carlo simulation. Monthly average distributions were determined for air temperature and humidity, and random values for these characteristics were extracted for each month. Samples with 10,000 viscous stories were constructed and analyzed to determine the probability density functions of the most important output quantities. The cases analyzed concerned the redundant forces from coupling of cantilever beams and the loss of prestress in a prestressed section. The output quantities have bimodal-shaped histograms, significant dispersion, and non-normal distributions.