Early-age finite element modelling of concrete industrial floors

A series of finite element models of ground floor slab behaviour has been developed and validated against in-situ data from site instrumentations. Good agreement was obtained for thermal flow models, and the negative impact of air movement over the top of the slab has been highlighted. Plane stress models of slabs exposed to uniform and differential thermal gradients representing hydration and shrinkage effects demonstrated that the stresses resulting from frictional restraint are significantly less than those caused by warping restraint, even though the latter are currently not considered in design.