Simulation on temperature field of concrete raft foundation of the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant considering construction process

For accurately simulated temperature field of concrete raft foundation of the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant, finite element analysis (FEA) was used to consider effects of age, temperature and construction process. Based on concepts of equivalent age and hydration degree of concrete, equivalent age-hydration degree curve (EAHDC) was obtained based on adiabatic temperature curve. With subroutine HETVAL of the software ABAQUS to specify hydration exothermic rate according to equivalent age-hydration degree curve, the effects of age and temperature on the hydration exothermic process of cement were considered. According to construction process and geometry of the raft foundation, half model of the raft foundation was adopted, and the model change interaction function (MCIF) of ABAQUS was used to simulate the construction process. Analysis results show: effects of temperature and age on the hydration exothermic process of cement can be simulated by using EAHDC; characteristics of temperature field, such as symmetric distribution and effect by construction process, can be captured by using half model of the raft foundation and MCIF of ABAQUS; simulated values, such as time of initial temperature rise, maximum temperature and its corresponding time, agree well with tested values by considering construction process.