Transient thermal creep of concrete in accidental conditions at temperatures up to 400°C

In this work, the transient thermal strains of high-performance concrete (HPC) under constant load and increasing temperatures up to 400°C in accidental conditions are studied experimentally. Heating is applied at a rate of 1·5°C/min until successive constant temperature levels are reached. These temperature stages are maintained for 24 h to ensure the stabilisation of internal temperature and the physico-chemical thermo-dependent process. The analysis of experimental measures is concentrated on the so-called transient thermal creep. Test results confirm the existence of transient thermal strains during heating even for small loads. The transient thermal creep (TTC) values were estimated for four temperature levels: 150, 200, 300 and 400°C.