Long-term study of the impact of temperature changes, material aging and service load on the strains of a reinforced concrete structure

Strata Mechanics Research Institute of Polish Academy of Sciences, Cracow, Poland

^* Corresponding author: kanciruk@img-pan.krakow.pl

Abstract

The article discusses five year long measurements of strains of a concrete floor of a hangar. That hangar, originally meant for servicing light military aircraft, was rebuilt with a view to making it fit for servicing larger and heavier passenger planes. As part of that redevelopment, a new floor - reinforced concrete slab, capable of withstanding the weight of the planes - was constructed. In the areas of the floor where the greatest loads occur, ie. in the areas of the concrete slab on which the wheels of the three undercarriage legs rest, three strain rosettes were installed so that the slab strains could be measured. The rosettes were connected to two meters - dataloggers. The latter were programmed in such a way as to register the measured strains and additionally temperatures many times during every 24 hours. The monitoring process, conducted in such an automatic way, demonstrated the occurrence of strains resulting from service load, aging of the reinforced concrete, as well as changes in its temperature.